Mammoth Lakes Basin & the Uphill
Mammoth Lakes · near Mammoth Lakes · Eastern Sierra
Trail Running
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Distance
- 8 miles
- Elevation gain
- 1,300 ft
- Best season
- July–October (snow-free) · fall aspen color late Sept
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit for day running on most Mammoth-area trails. Inyo NF wilderness permits apply only for overnight backpacking. Some trails start from the Lakes Basin ($ parking at some trailheads in peak season).
What is here
- Features
- Altitude training mecca (8,000–11,000 ft) · Lakes Basin singletrack & alpine tarns · Home base of many pro trail runners · Fall aspen color
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Trail Running detail
- Surface
- singletrack
- Race
- Mammoth Trail Fest (Sept), a hub of the pro-runner scene
- Intl tip
- Mammoth is on Hwy 395, the Eastern Sierra spine. The Lakes Basin, Mammoth Mountain, and the Reds Meadow/Devils Postpile area (shuttle-access in summer) all offer world-class running. Combine with Little Lakes Valley and the hot springs (hiking & swimming guides). Acclimatize — this is real altitude.
The guide
Mammoth Lakes is California's high-altitude trail-running capital — a resort town at 8,000 feet ringed by alpine lakes, volcani…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mammoth Lakes Basin & the Uphill — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.598, -119.013