Bonus Sherpa: Lake Adventures

Ready to cool off? From Mammoth to Tahoe to Big Bear and Sequoia, here are a few outstanding ways to hike, bike, backpack or just lounge by some of California's most famous lakes. Better lake than never!

Week: 07.28.2016
Regions: Southern CA

Mammothly Epic Hike

Hike the Mammoth Crest Trail

You're going to need your hiking game-face for this adventure. Trekking in the Sierra high country at any time of year requires common sense and a check of the weather; doing it during shoulder season requires even more vigilance. But if the autumn weather's good in the next few
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Rae of Light

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park Rae Lakes Loop Backpacking Trip

Want special access to some of the most beautiful lakes in the Sierra Nevada? Grab your backpack and lace up your hiking boots for a multi-night journey on Rae Lakes Loop in Kings Canyon. On the agenda: spiky granite peaks, rivers and lakes for refreshing swims, high mountain passes, and starry nights.
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Best Bootfit You Can Get

Adventure 16 Boot and Pack Fitting

Hiking, backpacking, travel vacation—whatever you’re doing outdoors, your outfit matters! By that, we mean properly fitting hiking boots and backpacks. Visit the premiere outfitters at Adventure 16, the homegrown employee-owned company, with four retail stores throughout Southern
Visit our sponsor Adventure 16

Trending Stories NorCal

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  1. Can't Top This

    San Francisco’s Presidio was already a fantastic place to hang out for the afternoon, a beautiful site within the largest urban national park in the United States (the Golden Gate National Recreation Area). And Presidio Tunnel Tops is like a cherry on top. Make that two cherries on top, with the newly opened (July 2025) Outpost Meadow, a 1.5-acre green space located at Old Mason Street across from the Crissy Field Marsh in the Presidio.

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  2. This Is Paradise

    Granite mountain-scape, superb sunset views, crystal lakes, and shoreline campsites … the trip to Paradise Lake in Tahoe National Forest lives up to its idyllic name.

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  3. Aloha from California

    Say Aloha without leaving California with a 7-mile out-and-back hiking adventure to Lake Aloha in El Dorado National Forest. You can also camp here, a premier place for stargazing.

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  4. Sequoia Re-opens Crystal Cave

    Step inside Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park's hidden world by visiting the newly re-opened Crystal Cave—the only cave in the parks open to the public. Closed for four years, this rare marble karst cavern is welcoming visitors once again, but only through the summer season!

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Trending Stories SoCal

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  1. Hot As (Bumpass) Hell

    So you like going to all the hot spots when you visit places? Well, in Lassen Volcanic National Park there’s a place so hot it gets downright steamy. Bumpass Hell is the largest hydrothermal area in the park, with sputtering mud pots, sulfur vents, and boiling pools. It’s California’s Yellowstone. But it only opens in summer through fall.

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  2. Underground Garden

    Looking to escape the summer heat? Head to Fresno and discover its cool secret: the Forestiere Underground Gardens–an enchanting garden and architecture oasis like no other.

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  3. Oh Ryan

    Sure, it’s those whimsical trees that give Joshua Tree National Park its marquee billing; but this beautiful landscape also has surrounding mountains and its night sky—one of the darkest in Southern California and designated an International Dark Sky Park. Joshua Tree has four allowable stargazing parking lots, and a newly opened haven for spending the night nearby...

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  4. Easiest Best Hike in the World

    Choose the easiest and most view-rewarding hike in Yosemite. Okay, we’ll go first: the combination of hiking to Sentinel Dome and Taft Point. Both of these lookouts are within a couple miles of each other on Glacier Point Road

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