Join Me On A Scenic 16-mile Hike in Big Pine Lakes

I wanted to celebrate my 10th anniversary of living in America with a memorable experience, so I chose to do the 16-mile Big Pine Lakes trail. The trail is considered one of the best hiking trails in California and takes you on the most scenic hike through the Sierra Nevada wilderness, where you can see up to nine lakes. I backpacked to Big Pine Lakes two years ago. So, this time, I decided to complete the entire Big Pine Lakes hike as a day hike. Below is my hiking guide for Big Pine Lakes.

Camping at the trailhead

I booked a campsite at the Big Pine Creek campground, very close to the trailhead. Of course, I arrived the day before my anniversary to complete the hike on my special day.

If you plan on taking the same hike and staying at this campground, be sure to book ahead! This campground sells out fast. It’s also a dry campground, so make sure you bring plenty of water to drink, do your dishes, etc. There are pit toilets and firepits. The campsites are very pleasant and most of them are super private. I would definitely stay there again.

I stayed there during the full moon and the the surrounding mountains looked so beautiful in the moonlight.

Gear Recommendation

Of course, your gear should be adapted from the ten essentials to suit the conditions on the day you take on this challenging hike, especially concerning food and clothing. For winter conditions, I would also recommend the items below:

Big Pine Lakes Hike

The morning of the hike started pretty slow because I woke up still tired after not sleeping well. So I slowly got ready and ate breakfast at camp, before setting off on my hike around 10 am. I walked from my campsite to the day hike trailhead which is next to the campground entrance.

Honorable mention: There is an overnighter parking and trailhead just down the road from the campground for those who plan on backpacking in Big Pine Lakes. You need to reserve a wilderness permit for that, so plan ahead, and make sure you book your permit for the North Fork. The South Fork isn’t quite as scenic, though still nice and worth the hike too.

The miles before the lakes (I started from the day hike trailhead)

The day hike starts off easy from Big Pine Creek trailhead, along Big Pine Creek. After crossing a wooden bridge over the creek, switchbacks start. This section of the trail is in the forest, so it’s very shaded. I crossed another wooden bridge and joined the main trail, which is basically the trail that started from the overnighters’ parking lot.

That section is very exposed for about two miles. It’s a steady uphill, and a few trees offer a little shade to catch your breath every so often. If you can see a waterfall towards the left in the distance, that’s where you’re headed. After about a mile and a half, you’ll encounter switchbacks (the first set if you started from the overnight parking lot), and after that is where you get easy access to the creek if you need to refill your water. This is also a popular pit stop as the trail now becomes more shaded, and obviously, there’s easy water access.

Keep walking and you’ll find the wilderness ranger house on your left. To me that house marks halfway through to Lake Two. I don’t know if it’s exactly that, but it can’t be far off. I took a lunch break shortly after that house to eat a wrap with spicy tuna and salty chips.

Started walking up again, and found more switchbacks, the trail was super muddy and a river at times. Had to hop on several stones to make my way across at times. Eventually got to the sign where lakes 1-3 are to the left, and Black Lake to the right.

Big Pine Lakes – Lakes One and Two

I kept on walking perhaps half a mile or so and finally got to Lake One at 1:30 p.m.! I love that lake because it’s the beginning of the trail going by faster as it’s a more interesting scenery, and I also had that Lake to myself since I started late. Everyone was already further ahead at Lake Two and beyond.

After enjoying a little photoshoot and a good break, I made my way to Lake Two around 2:30 p.m. That one was obviously more populated, but it was still easy to find a spot with solitude and take photos without randoms in them. Here I made my electrolytes mix, to help restore some of my energy. I spent quite a bit of time just enjoying the scenery, and taking photos.

Big Pine Lakes – Lake Three

Next, I made my way to Lake Three and arrived around 3:40 p.m. That lake is beautiful too with the water being very clear. By that point, it was getting late so I started only taking a couple of photos of the lakes and moving on. I really needed to save my energy for walking.

Big Pine Lakes – Lakes Five, Six and Seven

More switchbacks greeted me as I made my way up to the remaining lakes from Lake Three. Urgh, did I mention I hate switchbacks? By that time I was walking so slowly, but I was determined to make it to the seven lakes. I got to a point where Lake Five was one way and Lake Four another. After checking my map, I chose to go to Lake Five, then Six and Seven, and walk by Lake Four on the way back down.

So I made it to Lake Five around 4:40 pm. Again, I only took a photo there, then kept on walking towards Lakes Six and Seven. By that time I also had enough of going uphill and really had to work on my positive self-talk to keep going. I kept telling myself this was the last uphill and then it’ll all be downhill for eight miles back. But the trail knocked that right off with a downhill on the way to Lakes Six and Seven, which meant I would have an uphill on the way back. I was really exhausted by that time so that really knocked my mental fortitude a bit, but I was so close to seeing those two lakes that I couldn’t just give up and turn around.

I kept pushing through and finally made it to those two lakes around 6:00 p.m. The sun was just setting behind the mountains on the right so it made such a magnificent landscape. I chilled on a rock observing the wildlife on the lake before making my way back.

Big Pine Lakes – Summit Lake, Lake Four, and Black Lake

I had the option of going to Summit Lake at that point, but I was so tired that I chose to skip it. From there, I reached Lake Four around 6:40 pm, and as the sun was still setting, I got to see some alpen glow and beautiful mountain reflections over the lake.

And with that, I had seen all seven lakes in one day!! Though it didn’t feel like the most gracious hike I have ever done, and it was far from being over, I was already proud of myself.

Shortly after leaving Lake Four, the trail became a calf-deep creek. It was 7 pm by that time, the sun was gone, it was getting chilly, and I had to walk through that, so I knew it meant I would have wet feet all the way back down. I was surprised to see two fish swimming in front of me as I stepped in the water, but the frigid water actually gave my legs a much-needed recharge. I felt so refreshed and had a new lease on life after these few steps in that water section. It was so refreshing, energizing, and just what I needed actually, to have enough energy to make my way all the way back down to camp.

Soon I arrived at Black Lake around 7.10 pm. That lake is definitely not a glacier lake either given its color, but it was very serene and scenic at dusk, surrounded by trees and mountains, and to me, it was a bonus lake! I would come back and camp by that lake if the opportunity comes up.

Some flowers I found along the way

Hiking back down to camp

From Black Lake to the intersection with Lakes One through Three, it was what felt like steep and endless switchbacks back down. I was glad I was going downhill because that section would be challenging going uphill. But it was so steep that my right knee started hurting and just kept on hurting all the way back down.

As I walked back down, it was also time for the full moon to rise and light up the path and the surrounding mountains. It was such a magnificent sight. By then, the trail was also full of night critters and I even saw a scorpion!

At 9:30 p.m., after hiking for 11.5 hours, I finally made it back to camp, feeling very accomplished. After a few static stretches, I was ready for bed! 

Garmin tracking and Relive Video

Relive Video output

I love using Relive to visually see my hikes amongst mountains and other terrains. I am sure you will too. And best of all, you don’t need to use your phone’s app to get this tracking. I connected Relive to my Garmin Connect app, and it automatically retrieves my hikes. Then I used the Relive app on my phone to put together this video. You can create the video in multiple formats, It’s a great little app and if you purchase the paid version, you can also add videos to the video and use more than 10 photos.

Garmin Inreach tracking

Final Thoughts

After conquering approximately 16 miles with a staggering elevation gain of 4,000 feet, I proudly declare this as my most challenging hike yet, particularly with the added test of high altitude. I’m thrilled that I successfully completed it in a single day, defying the odds of my late start. This accomplishment has not only brought me immense joy but has also fueled my confidence as a hiker, igniting a passion to take on even more formidable trails in the future.

I ended up sleeping 12 hours the night after this hike. The next day, I enjoyed some quiet time at camp. I knew I would have no cell service, so I recorded a yoga video from YouTube on my phone, and that helped me a lot to recover faster. And later that afternoon, I was able to go for another hike, this time on the South Fork. If you’re interested in taking the same yoga video to recover from your hikes, it’s this one by Amanda Outside!

Happy trails!

Post originally published on September 3, 2023, and last updated on January 24, 2024.