Rock Creek Lake - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

The Little Lakes Valley is a spectacular, glacier-carved canyon bursting with lakes and wildflowers. What makes it even more special is that the Mosquito Flat trailhead lies at 10,300 feet, giving easy access to the rarified High Sierra. So your car does the bulk of the climbing, instead of your feet.This is a very popular area for camping, fishing, and hiking, so you'll likely encounter other people while exploring.

Morgan Pass is a saddle in Inyo County. Morgan can be accessed by trail from Rock Creek Canyon, above Tom's Place on 395. Its trailhead is at the far end of the lake. The trail is well marked the first 4 miles to Francis Lake, where it ends. From there it is a scramble up rocky slopes for 2 miles to the summit

Bear Creek Spire is an amazing high peak on the Sierra Crest, located at the head of the Rock Creek drainage. It is striking from all sides and has two classic routes that every Sierra mountaineer should experience, all the way to the top of an exciting summit block. It is the 46th highest mountain in California and the 225th highest mountain in the United States. The first ascent of Bear Creek Spire was a solo climb by Hermann Ulrichs in 1923 up its west face.

Mt. Tom is the immense, good-looking peak just west-northwest of Bishop. It is situated right on the eastern edge of the Sierra crest, allowing for a very large vertical relief. It is a popular back-country ski descent in the Spring years when there is enough snow. Elderberry canyon is the most popular ski descent. It is 7000 vertical feet of skiing and is steeper towards to summit.

The Buttermilks, is a well known bouldering destination near Bishop, California. It comprises the western edge of the Owens Valley, in the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The boulders in the Buttermilks are glacial erratics, meaning they don't match the rest of the rock found in the area because they were carried by glaciers from far away.

Mount Humphreys is a mountain peak in the Sierra Nevada on the Fresno-Inyo county line in the U.S. It is the highest of a group of dormant volcanic peaks known as the San Francisco Peaks. The summit can be most easily reached by hiking the 4.8 miles long Humphreys Summit Trail that begins at the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort in the Coconino National Forest.