Chicken Spring Lake
This mountain lake is 0.6 miles from Cottonwood Pass, making it an easy 8.2-mile round-trip hike from Horseshoe Meadow. With just 1,330 feet of elevation gain en route to the lake, this is a desirable destination for day-hikers and a good first camp for backpackers.
Follow the Cottonwood Pass Trail over the pass to a junction with the Pacific Crest Trail. Turn right and continue through a rocky forest of Foxtail Pines. Chicken Spring Lake is set back a few hundred feet from the trail, but the alpine waters would be impossible to miss.
There are several good places around the lake to setup a tent. As with all liquid bodies in the park, regulations require that visitors camp at least a hundred feet back from the water. At 11,250 feet, campfires are also prohibited.
The Pacific Crest Trail continues past Chicken Spring Lake toward the Siberian Outpost, Rock Creek, and Lower Soldier Lake. Those only hiking into the Golden Trout Wilderness for the day owe it to themselves to continue along the trail another quarter mile to the top of a mound west of the lake. Here you will enjoy expansive views down on Big Whitney Meadow and beyond.
Chicken Spring Lake
A popular day hike from Chicken Spring Lake is the off-trail scramble to the top of Cirque Peak. The 12,900-foot summit stands over Chicken Spring Lake and serves up a commanding view of the area. The two-mile 1,650-foot ascent can be conquered by breaking from the PCT and swinging north up Cirque's western slope to the summit.
To get to the trailhead: From the city of Lone Pine on Route 395, turn west at the traffic light on Whitney Portal Road. After three miles, turn left on Horseshoe Meadow Road. Twenty miles of pavement switch up the mountain and terminate at Horseshoe Meadow. The Cottonwood Pass trailhead starts at roads end. Make sure your vehicle is bear-safe before leaving the parking lot.
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Hikes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains This list of trails explores the Sequoias, peaks, waterfalls, lakes, and streams of the Sierra Nevadas. |
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