20 Attractions to Explore Near Rock Creek Lake

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.

Piute Pass is a 11,417 feet mountain pass along the crest of the Sierra Nevada, between Inyo and Fresno Counties in the John Muir Wilderness area. The trail is generally low angle and easy to travel on. It passes by a number of lakes and meadows making it a desirable destination for anglers, pack horses and hikers. For those going deeper into the wilderness, this trail provides an easy access into the back country.

North Lake Campground is situated among the trees and adjacent to the north fork of Bishop Creek. It is a lovely campground - all 11 campsites have shade among the tall Jeffery and Lodgepole pines. Three of the sites are very short walk-in's. The remainder have small parking spots at the sites. The road to North Lke is partially paved and partially gravel and is narrow and winding.

Inyo National Forest is located in California's beautiful Eastern Sierra. It offers clean air, crystal blue skies, mountain lakes and streams, challenging trails, high mountain peaks, and beautiful views. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States; Boundary Peak, the highest point in Nevada; and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, which protects the oldest living trees in the world.

A beautiful lake created by damming the middle fork of Bishop Creek in the Inyo National Forest. The dam was built in 1907–8 to supply a constant flow of water to the hydraulic power plants. The lake is part of the Bishop Creek system. It is one of the iconic tourist destination for a camping and also there are so many other interesting leisure opportunities too.

A beautiful trail, which is 211 miles long and runs from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney, in California. Winding through the famed Sierra Nevada, the JMT visits some of the crown jewels of America’s park system. The vast majority of the trail is situated within designated wilderness. The trail passes through large swaths of alpine and high mountain scenery, and lies almost entirely at or above 8,000 feet in elevation. The trail has been described as "America's most famous trail.

The Red Cones are a pair of cinder cones near Devils Postpile National Monument, in eastern Madera County of central California. They are within the eastern Sierra Nevada and Inyo National Forest. They last erupted approximately 5000 years ago, with both cinder eruption, and a basalt flow from the southern cone.

A beautiful lake located in the heart of California and is tucked up against the eastern Sierra crest in the Sabrina Basin. The beautiful mountain lake deep in the John Muir Wilderness offers exciting fishing for rainbow and brook trout. It is agreat camping destination, there are numerous other excellent fishing lakes in the vicinity.

This is the highest waterfall on the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River, in the eastern Sierra Nevada. As water rushes over the cliff, it erodes the vertically fractured rhyodacite more easily. A small cavern begins to form at the base of the falls, and the overlying rock loses its support and collapses. This process, known as undercutting, causes the waterfall to recede slowly upstream.

This Trailhead offers fantastic views nearly all the way, six lakes together with many ponds, streams and floral meadows, and ending by traversing a rocky slope above the final lake and climbing steeply to a saddle along the Sierra Crest at 11,972 feet. The hike begins at South Lake, reached by a paved road off Hwy 168, so the easy access, the relatively gentle elevation gain and the route to the Kings Canyon backcountry with the incredible scenery make the route often relatively busy.

The Laws Railroad Museum and Historic Site includes static displays of a train consisting of an oil-fired steam locomotive, Southern Pacific 9, and several freight cars from the Southern Pacific Railroad's 3 ft narrow gauge lines. There are also operating locomotives that run on the narrow gauge tracks in the museum's grounds. The museum's display explains that the railroad was relied on by many Eastern Sierra communities before modern roads were built during the 1950s and 1960s.

Devils Postpile National Monument is a United States national monument located in Madera County in the Sierra Nevada region of the state of California.The monument protects Devils Postpile, an unusual rock formation of columnar basalt. It encompasses 798 acres and includes two main attractions: the Devils Postpile formation and Rainbow Falls, a waterfall on the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River.

This is a mountain pass on Highway 203 in the central Sierra Nevada. The pass, lying on the Madera-Mono County border, is within the Mammoth Ranger District of the Inyo National Forest and located near Devils Postpile National Monument, Mammoth Lakes, and Mammoth Mountain. It offers views of the Ritter Range, including The Minarets, Mount Ritter and Banner Peak, to the west and the Long Valley Caldera, the Glass Mountains and the White Mountains to the east.

Cloudripper is a 13,525-foot-elevation mountain summit located two miles east of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Inyo County of northern California. It is approximately 14 miles west of the community of Big Pine, 1.1 miles north-northeast of Picture Puzzle, and 2.1 miles south of parent Mount Agassiz. Cloudripper ranks as the 58th highest summit in California, and the highest point of the Inconsolable Range.

Big Pine Lakes is located in the heart of the Eastern Sierras of California. It is roughly 10 miles west of of Big Pine and around 15 miles south of Bishop. Whether you are day hiking or backpacking Big Pine Lakes, the view once you reach the glacial lakes will take your breath away. This hike is one of the biggest bucket list hikes in California that must be done if you are an avid hiker and outdoor adventurer.