Big Five and Little Five Lakes Loop

Big Five and Little Five Lakes Loop is a high-country backpacking circuit from Sawtooth Parking Lot in Mineral King. The mapped version is 31.2 miles for the full loop, including the out-and-back spur to Upper Big Five Lakes and the shared start-and-finish approach. Skip that spur and the loop is about 28.3 miles. Expect roughly 30 hours of walking over several days; four days is a realistic plan. The route crosses Timber Gap, Black Rock Pass, both lake basins, Lost Canyon, and Sawtooth Pass. Carrying a full pack across steep, sometimes faint alpine trails is the price of reaching these lakes.

The climb starts steeply above Monarch Creek. At the first split, keep toward Timber Gap; the grade eases through open fields of grasses, sagebrush, ferns, and wildflowers, with Mineral King Valley opening below. Timber Gap comes about 1.7 miles in. Then the route gives back roughly 2,500 feet as it drops toward Cliff Creek. The lower corridor is wooded, with creek cascades, spring-fed rivulets, and cottonwoods. Cliff Creek has an unimproved crossing that can be hazardous during early-season high water.

The forest opens near a waterfall and canyon views before the route reaches willow-screened Pinto Lake. Its marshy meadow can swallow the tread, so slow down and look for the trail instead of marching across wet ground. Above the lake, talus leads into the long climb to Black Rock Pass, roughly 3,000 feet in about three miles. From the dark rock at the pass, Little Five Lakes and much of Big Five spread below; beyond them are Big Arroyo, Kern Canyon, the Kaweah Peaks, and the Sierra crest. This is the big view the whole loop has been working toward.

From Black Rock, descend through dark metamorphic rock, streams, and sometimes lingering snow to Little Five Lakes. Forest returns around the largest lake. A ridge crossing leads into Big Five Lakes. This route includes the roughly 2.9-mile out-and-back spur toward the upper four lakes; it's unmaintained, so skip it if time or footing is running short, then return to the same junction. The main route continues from Big Five toward Lost Canyon.

Route-finding gets fussy again after Big Five. The tread can disappear at an outlet creek and in a swampy meadow; stay along the south side of the unnamed lake until the trail picks up. Lower Lost Canyon is wooded, then opens above treeline into a creekside meadow beneath glacially shaped granite walls. Near Columbine Lake, the trail thins into sandy gravel and cairns. The lake sits below Sawtooth Peak in open terrain with little shade.

Follow cairns around Columbine's north shore toward Sawtooth Pass. Loose sand, scree, and large rock make the climb slow, and lingering snow can hide the route. The west descent is especially steep and loose, dropping about 1,300 feet in roughly a mile. Beyond Monarch Lakes the path is rough and unmaintained; this is no place to hurry or learn route-finding on the fly. Lower down, the trail crosses Monarch Creek, rejoins the Timber Gap approach near the opening junction, and retraces that short shared segment to the parking area.

An overnight wilderness permit is required; permits for Mineral King trails are issued through the Mineral King Ranger Station. Pets aren't allowed on park trails, apart from service animals accompanying their handlers. Mineral King Road is narrow, steep, winding, and partly unpaved. The area is typically open from late May through October and closes in winter because of snow; there's no gas or electricity in the valley. NPS warns that marmots can chew vehicle hoses and wiring from spring into mid-summer, so follow the park's vehicle-protection advice. There's no food at the ranger station, and the first allowed Timber Gap campsite has no water.