Ediza Lake & the Minarets
Ansel Adams Wilderness · near Mammoth Lakes · Eastern Sierra
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 16 miles
- Elevation gain
- 3,000 ft
- Time needed
- multi-day
- Best season
- July–September
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- Inyo National Forest permit via Recreation.gov, Agnew Meadows / River trailhead quota, 6 months ahead. Summer access to Agnew Meadows is via the mandatory Reds Meadow shuttle from Mammoth during operating hours. Bear canister mandatory.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 3 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Ediza Lake under the Minarets · Jagged Ritter Range spires · Iceberg & Cecile Lakes side trips · Alpenglow on the Minarets
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Nights
- 2–3
- Resupply
- None needed. Bear canister required.
- Intl tip
- Ediza gets busy; the upper Iceberg and Cecile Lakes are far quieter and put you right under the spires, but the route up is steep, loose, and semi-scramble — for confident hikers only. In summer you'll likely have to ride the mandatory Reds Meadow shuttle from Mammoth to reach Agnew Meadows; private-vehicle access is restricted during operating hours.
The guide
If Thousand Island Lake is the Ansel Adams Wilderness's famous face, Ediza Lake is its wild heart — a deep alpine lake set dire…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Ediza Lake & the Minarets — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.695, -119.166