Cottonwood Lakes (Golden Trout)
Golden Trout Wilderness (above Lone Pine) · near Lone Pine · Eastern Sierra
Fishing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Best season
- July–September (snow-free)
Permits and booking
- Licence required
- Yes
- Licence detail
- CA license (16+) required. The Cottonwood Lakes basin holds California's state fish, the golden trout, in a chain of high alpine lakes at 11,000+ ft. A day-hike or overnight from the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead (Horseshoe Meadow). Wilderness permit for overnights (Inyo NF).
What is here
- Features
- California's state fish — the golden trout · Chain of 11,000-ft alpine lakes · Broodstock lakes for the species · Sierra crest grandeur
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Fishing detail
- Water type
- high-sierra
- Water
- fresh
- Methods
- Fly · Casting
- Boat
- shore
- Target species
- California golden trout (state fish) · Brook trout · Rainbow trout
- Intl tip
- License required (wilderness permit for overnights, Inyo NF). Catch California's state fish, the golden trout, in a chain of 11,000-ft lakes. Day-hike or backpack from Horseshoe Meadow (start at 10,000 ft — acclimatize!). Small flies/lures. July–September. Combine with the Whitney-area high country. A bucket-list golden-trout trip.
- Nickname
- Home of California's state fish
The guide
The Cottonwood Lakes, a chain of jewel-like alpine lakes at over 11,000 feet in the Golden Trout Wilderness above Lone Pine, ar…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Cottonwood Lakes (Golden Trout) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.489, -118.172