Thousand Island Lake & Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams Wilderness · near June Lake / Mammoth Lakes · Eastern Sierra
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- loop
- Distance
- 28 miles
- Elevation gain
- 4,500 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 for the Rush Creek / River trailheads out of Silver Lake, or start from Agnew Meadows (Devils Postpile shuttle). Bear canister mandatory. Popular JMT-corridor camping restrictions apply at the lake.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 3 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Banner & Ritter Peaks · Island-dotted alpine lake · Garnet & Ediza Lake side trips · JMT/PCT corridor
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Nights
- 2–4
- Resupply
- None needed. Bear canister required.
- Intl tip
- Ediza Lake, tucked right under the Minarets, is the sleeper highlight — many who make the trip say it outshines Thousand Island itself. If you start from Agnew Meadows in summer you may be required to ride the mandatory Reds Meadow shuttle from Mammoth; private vehicles are restricted during operating hours.
The guide
Thousand Island Lake is the postcard that sold the Sierra to the world — a broad, island-studded alpine lake set directly benea…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Thousand Island Lake & Ansel Adams — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.7217, -119.173