Rae Lakes Loop
Kings Canyon National Park · near Three Rivers / Cedar Grove · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Route type
- loop
- Distance
- 41 miles
- Elevation gain
- 7,000 ft
- Time needed
- multi-day · long-haul
- Best season
- July–September
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon wilderness permit via Recreation.gov, released 6 months ahead at 7am; walk-up permits available the day before at Road's End. Clockwise (Woods Creek entry) is the recommended direction. Bear canister mandatory.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 3 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Glaciated lake basins · Glen Pass (11,978 ft) · Rushing waterfalls & canyons · Overlaps JMT/PCT on day 3
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Nights
- 3–5
- Resupply
- None needed — carry all food. Bear canister required (bear boxes at some designated camps).
- Intl tip
- The single most-photographed spot on the loop is the log crossing and reflection at Middle Rae Lake with the Painted Lady behind it — camp there if you can get a spot. Glen Pass holds snow into July in big years; check conditions before committing to an early-season trip, as the north side can be an icy traverse.
The guide
If the John Muir Trail is the graduate thesis of California backpacking, the Rae Lakes Loop is the ideal first big Sierra trip …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Rae Lakes Loop — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.7947, -118.4041