The hook
The most alpine lakes you can reach for the least climbing in the whole Sierra: a nearly flat trail from the highest trailhead in the range, past lake after lake under a wall of thirteen-thousand-foot peaks.
01Why it's worth it
Most High Sierra lakes cost you thousands of feet of climbing. Little Lakes Valley cheats. The Mosquito Flat trailhead sits at about 10,200 feet, the highest road-end in the Eastern Sierra, so the classic alpine scenery starts almost at the parking lot. The trail up Rock Creek runs nearly level past a string of lakes — Mack, Marsh, Heart, Box, Long, and on to the Gem and Treasure lakes — laid along the floor of a glacial valley walled by a cirque of thirteen-thousand-foot peaks: Bear Creek Spire, Mount Dade, Mount Abbot. It's the rare high-country hike that a family with kids and a hardened backpacker both rave about, because you can turn around at any lake and still have seen the real Sierra. Fall lays gold aspens over the whole thing.
02How to experience it
The trailhead is at the end of Rock Creek Road off Highway 395 near Tom's Place, about five and a half hours from the Bay. Hike it as a dayhike, where any lake makes a good turnaround, or as an easy overnight with a wilderness permit. The altitude is real from the first step, so pace yourself and drink more than you think you need. Late September for the aspens.