What's Open to Hike in the Eastern Sierra?
UPDATED AS OF JANUARY 13, 2021
“Inyo National Forest Terminates Creek Fire Closure; Closures still in place in the Sierra National Forest.
The Inyo National Forest, in coordination with the Sierra National Forest, is terminating the closure order on the Inyo National Forest for the Creek Fire, effective January 13, 2021. The Creek Fire, which started Labor Day weekend last year was 100% contained on December 24 at 379,895 acres.
By terminating Forest Order 05-04-52-20-22, the Inyo National Forest opens that portion of the Ansel Adams Wilderness Area and John Muir Wilderness Area on the Inyo.” per Inyo National Forest’s facebook post
UPDATED AS OF OCTOBER 28, 2020 - a new Forest Order was released on October 23, 2020 with an effective date of October 24, 2020 - see here
The last few weeks my inbox has been flooded with people asking about the Inyo National Forest Partial Reopening, asking about what’s open, what’s closed, etc. I’ve decided to compile all the information on a blog post to help everyone hike safely where it is open. This blog post will cover as far north as Bridgeport then as far south as Bishop.
Some important information before we dive into what’s open; please remember that the reason Inyo National Forest is only partially reopened is because of the high fire danger this fire season. So please be responsible and follow the fire restrictions in place to help keep our First Responders & National Forests safe.
Please note that even though the listed areas below are open, you should check the air quality before hand. Right now, smoke is still an issue in all of these areas and it can vary drastically day to day, I use airnow.gov before I head out anywhere.
In each area, I will include completely open hikes & then hikes you can only go to the wilderness boundary. Completely open hikes are hikes that you can hike with no worries of entering a closed area, because they are in an open wilderness, not one of the closed wildernesses. Hikes that you can only go to the wilderness boundary are hikes that start in the front country of Inyo National Forest, which is open, but will lead you to the wilderness, which is closed. You cannot hike beyond the Wilderness Boundary. I know what you’re thinking, how will I know where the Wilderness Boundary is? Well there is a sign at every Wilderness Boundary which will be your turn around point. Here’s an example of a few Wilderness Boundary Signs.
In addition to the Wilderness Boundary signs, you can also download different apps that show the wilderness boundaries, I use Gaia Maps. The Gaia Topo (feet) Map overlay shows where the wilderness boundary starts. Using Gaia Maps, I’ll track how far along on the trail the wilderness boundary is from the trailhead and put it with the trails below so you know how far you can go on each trail.
Bridgeport Area
Hoover Wilderness in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest : COMPLETELY OPEN (with fire restrictions)
Open Hikes :
Buckeye Creek Trail (Bridgeport)
Robinson Creek Trail (Bridgeport)
Horse Creek Trail (Bridgeport)
Tamarack Lake Trail (Bridgeport)
Green Creek Trail (near Bridgeport)
Virginia Lakes Trail (near Bridgeport)
lee vining Area
Hoover Wilderness in the Inyo National Forest : COMPLETELY OPEN (with fire restrictions)
Open Hikes :
Lundy Canyon Trail (Lee Vining, CA)
Warren Fork Trail (Tioga Pass)
Gardinsky Lake Trail (Tioga Pass)
Saddlebag Lake/Twenty Lakes Basin Trail (Tioga Pass)
Mine Creek Trail (Tioga Pass)
Inyo National Forest Front-Country/More Open Areas
Open Hikes :
Black Point Fissures (Mono Lake)
Panum Crater (Mono Lake)
Closed Hikes/Areas due to the Beach Fire :
South Tufa Area (Mono Lake)
Navy Beach (Mono Lake)
June Lake Area
Ansel Adams Wilderness in the Inyo National Forest : CLOSED AT THE WILDERNESS BOUNDARY
You can hike to the Wilderness Boundary of :
Gibbs Lake Trail (near Lee Vining) - 1.81 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Bloody Canyon Trail (near June Lake) - 1.31 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Parker Lake Trail (near June Lake) - 0.31 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Fern/Yoste Lake Trail (June Lake) - 0.58 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Rush Creek Trail (June Lake) - 0.90 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Inyo National Forest Front-Country/Open Areas
Open Hikes :
Reversed Peak Trail (June Lake)
Mammoth Lakes Area
John Muir Wilderness in the Inyo National Forest : CLOSED AT THE WILDERNESS BOUNDARY
You can hike to the Wilderness Boundary of :
Duck Pass Trail (Mammoth Lakes) - 0.26 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Heart Lake Trail (Mammoth Lakes) - 0.88 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Emerald Lake Trail (Mammoth Lakes) - 0.45 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Mammoth Pass Trail (Mammoth Lakes) - 0.66 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Mammoth Crest Trail (beyond Crystal Lake towards Deer Lakes) - 2.23 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Sherwin Creek Trail (Mammoth Lakes) - 3.04 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
McGee Creek Trail (near Mammoth Lakes) - 0.95 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Hilton Creek Trail (starting on the Crowley Lake side) - 1.79 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Inyo National Forest Front-Country/Open Areas
Open Hikes :
Obsidian Dome Trail
Earthquake Fault Trail
Inyo Craters Trail
Crystal Lake Trail
McLeod Lake Trail
Panaroma Trail
Mammoth Consolidated Mine Trail
Laurel Lakes Trail/OHV Road
Crowley Lake Columns
Closed Hikes/Area due to the Creek Fire/Inyo National Forest Closure Order
Devil’s Postpile (includes any hikes out of that area)
Bishop Area
John Muir Wilderness in the Inyo National Forest : CLOSED AT THE WILDERNESS BOUNDARY
You can hike to the Wilderness Boundary of :
Little Lakes Valley / Mono Pass Trail (near Bishop) - 0.38 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Hilton Creek Trail (starting on the Rock Creek side) - 0.81 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Pine Creek Trail (near Bishop) - 2.85 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Gable Lakes Trail (near Bishop) - 1.11 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
North Lake Trail (near Aspendell) - 0.12 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary, applies to both trails out of North Lake
Sabrina Lake Trail (near Aspendell) - 0.62 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Tyee Lakes (near Aspendell) - 0.06 miles or 342 feet from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Bishop Pass Trail (near Aspendell) - 0.67 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
Baker Lakes Trail (near Aspendell) - 4.00 miles from the trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary
If you see any trails I may be missing, feel free to let me know so I can add more on! I didn’t go any further south than Bishop only because I am not familiar with hiking in Big Pine, Independence, and Lone Pine, but you can apply the same methods above to find out how far you can hike. By using Gaia Maps for distances and Wilderness Boundary signs as your turn around point, you can still safely hike in the Eastern Sierra. Thanks for reading my latest post and of course… Happy Trails!
THANKS FOR READING MY LATEST ADVENTURE!
Tiare Kirkland
Hi! My name is Tiare, but you can just call me ‘T’. I’m a California based hiker and I spend most of my free time taking photos and videos of some of my favorite hikes. You can usually find me ‘Out Hiking’ in the Sierra Nevada mountain range or road-tripping to new areas. Read more about me here and follow along with my adventures by subscribing below!