Laurel Lakes Road

Just outside Mammoth Lakes, Laurel Lakes Road climbs steeply from the sagebrush flats of the Eastern Sierra into a granite-lined alpine basin beneath Laurel Mountain and Bloody Mountain. The drive quickly trades open valley views for rocky climbs, narrow switchbacks, loose terrain, and stretches of aspen before cresting near 10,000 feet and dropping toward a pair of secluded mountain lakes at the edge of the John Muir Wilderness. With dramatic scenery, primitive camping, fishing, and enough rocky terrain to make the journey feel earned, Laurel Lakes is the kind of high-country trail where the destination is every bit as memorable as the climb itself.