Treasure Lakes
South Lake, Bishop Creek · near Bishop · Eastern Sierra
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 5.4 miles
- Elevation gain
- 866 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Mid-July–early October
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit for day use. A couple of stream crossings run high in early season. Trailhead at 9,820 ft — a good acclimatization test.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 0 of 5
What is here
- Features
- South Lake shoreline start · Granite basin below Mt Gilbert · Cluster of alpine tarns · Wildflowers & fishing
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- Even this 'moderate' hike starts at 9,820 ft — it'll feel harder than the mileage suggests until you acclimatize. A great first-day objective to test how you handle elevation.
The guide
The friendliest 'real alpine payoff for modest effort' hike from South Lake — it branches off the Bishop Pass trail early and c…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Treasure Lakes — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.1683, -118.5636