Favorite Fall Hikes

Day hikes: All of these are shorter dayhikes with trailheads close to major highways, so your chances of getting trapped by bad weather are quite small.

Lake Elizabeth, out of Tuolumne Meadows. This is a relatively easy hike, starting right at the Tuolumne Meadows Campground in Yosemite National Park. After a couple of miles, you arrive at Lake Elizabeth, with a wonderful view of Unicorn Peak, But you can go farther--there is a use trail leading up to the crest of the Cathedral Range that gives you views over Tuolumne Meadows and much of the northern part of Yosemite.

Also in Tuolumne Meadows, the trail up to the top of Lembert Dome is highly recommended.

Loch Leven Lakes of Highway 80 west of Donner Pass is a delightful hike--be careful as you cross the railroad tracks--that takes you a a lovely series of lakes set in granite.

Lassen Volcanic National Park is glorious this time of year. And yes, the wildflowers are gone (and the eastern part of the park is badly burned) but there are still good hikes to be had: Paradise Meadow from the Devastated Area, and the trail to Cliff, Terrace, and Ridge lakes off the main highway are all great hikes.

Carson Pass has a number of lakes within an easy afternoon of hiking: Winnemucca, Round Top, Lake Margaret, Shealor Lake, and the lakes above Silver Lake are all good destinations.

And here's a secret for those visiting SEKI. The visitor traffic in the major groves of Sequoias is heavy during the day...but tapers off quickly as dinner time approaches. Take your hike in the late afternoon and evening, and you will have those magnificent trees to yourselves, with handful of other smart hikers.