Devils Postpile & Rainbow Falls
Devils Postpile NM, Reds Meadow · near Mammoth Lakes · Eastern Sierra
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 500 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Late June–September (tied to shuttle season); peak flow early summer
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- A MANDATORY paid shuttle runs late June–Sept ($15 adult / $7 child) from the Mammoth Mountain Main Lodge; private cars only before 7am/after 7pm or for overnight guests. Dogs prohibited on National Monument trails (may ride the shuttle leashed + muzzled).
- How hard the permit is to get
- 2 of 5
What is here
- Features
- 60-ft wall of hexagonal basalt columns · 101-ft Rainbow Falls · Glacier-polished 'tiled floor' top · JMT/PCT corridor
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- Ride the first shuttle of the day (~7:30am) to beat heat and crowds; the rainbow shows best late morning.
The guide
The Postpile's 60-foot wall of hexagonal basalt columns is one of the world's finest examples of columnar jointing, and the gla…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Devils Postpile & Rainbow Falls — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.6294, -119.0855