The hook
A chain of impossibly turquoise lakes sits below the southernmost glacier in the country, colored by the rock the ice grinds to powder.
01Why it's worth it
The seven Big Pine Lakes — numbered First through Seventh — lie in a granite basin on the North Fork of Big Pine Creek, and their color is the whole draw: a bright, milky turquoise that looks fake in photos and turns out to be real. It comes from glacial flour, rock ground to fine powder by the Palisade Glacier above and carried down suspended in the meltwater, where it scatters the light. That glacier is a landmark in its own right, the southernmost in the United States and the largest in the Sierra Nevada, though it's shrinking year by year. The climb up from Big Pine is a real one, about 3,400 feet to the lakes past the spires of Temple Crag, and the North Fork trail gets called one of the most beautiful in the country. It's a big day or a better overnight, and the payoff is water a color you won't find anywhere else in California.
02How to experience it
The trailhead is up Glacier Lodge Road from Big Pine on Highway 395, about six hours from the Bay. First and Second lakes are roughly five to six miles in with steady climbing. Go as a strenuous dayhike, or with a wilderness permit as an overnight that lets you reach the upper lakes and the foot of the glacier. Summer through early fall, and carry more water than you think you'll need in the dry, thin air.