Introduction:
What? :
This is a short 5 miles out and back hike but it ascends 2400 ft of elevation in its 2.5 mile of climbing.
The trail will take you from Onion Valley up to Golden Trout Lake at elevation of 11,430 ft.
With all the snow that covered the trail and slow progress for path finding it took me 5:45 hours to complete.
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Where? :
Located in the south eastern side of the high Sierra mountains.
Onion Valley is a small campground at 9.200', located at the end of a steep road winding its way up from Owens Valley at the small town of Independence (highway 395).
The winding road gains more than 6,000' in 16 miles.
Just near the end of the road before the campground there is a large parking lot and the trailhead is nearby.
When? :
During the winter months (Oct-May) the road leading to Onion Valley is closed at Grays Meadows Campground as of snow accumulation and all the high elevation area is covered with deep snow.
I hiked here at the end of May 2025 and the trail in the high elevation above the waterfall was covered with deep snow and half frozen lakes.
The snow was deep but you can hike without snow shoes. Snow levels are different year-to-year.
The recommended time to hike here is June to early October up to the first season snow storm.
Even with the high elevation Summer month can be hot so take enough water with you.
During the summer month thunder storms are common in afternoons. Try not to be in a high exposed location during nearby linings.
Due note 1:
Water: as you hike up Golden Trout water streams become abundant, you need to filter the water before drinking them.
Due note 2:
Most of the trail is exposed to the sun. Bring a hat, sunglasses and use sun protection.
Even during the warm summer months, come prepared for changing weather and have warm clothes with you.
Depending on the season mainly during early summer mosquitoes might be a problem, bring a face net and repellent.
Due note 3:
The trailhead has vault toilets, piped potable water, trash cans and bear food storage boxes.
Due note 4:
This is a popular trailhead but most are hiking up to Kearsarge Pass, the trail to Golden Trout Lake is not overloaded and gets less hikers as you climb up.
Due note 5:
No permit required for Day use hike.
Wilderness permits are needed year-round for overnight stay and you can get them at Eastern Sierra Inter Agency Visitor Center in Lone Pine. Dispersed camping near the lakes is allowed.
Due note 6:
For overnight stay you are required to store food items in bear-proof containers
Due note 7:
Camping: Walk-in campground available near the Trailhead. The place is very popular with backcountry people as a wilderness entry point. All sites can be reserved, and very often, they may fill up months in advance.
You need to stop at the Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor Center (near Lone Pine) to pick up our permits.
Due note 8:
There is another hike that starts from the same trailhead, climbing up Kearsarge Pass and the nearby Matlock Lake Hike.
My thoughts:
Even though it is not a long hike (5 miles out and back) the trail is incredibly steep and difficult to climb. I’m in relatively good hiking shape and it was changing, partly because of the very deep snow, rock/boulder crossing and also because of the climb.
The Hike:
The road leading to Onion Valley from Independence provides amazing view points of Owens Valley below.
The hike up to Golden Trout is a short but challenging climb.
From the parking lot trailhead walk up Kearsarge Pass trail, after a quarter mile you will see a well-marked right turnoff for Golden Trout Lakes.
In this lower section the trail passes within tall pine trees but soon you will get into a dance bushes area.
After a short walk you will need to pass the stream flowing from the waterfall, you can see the waterfall flowing from the cliffs above you.
From here the trail starts climbing the boulder field to the right.
Look back, the view down to the valley is impressive.
This section is not long but extremely steep and the trail is not well marked.
Get your breath and look back down, the Onion Valley surrounded by tall mountains is a nice view.
The trail climbs the boulder field and at some point it turns left and crosses the steep section to the direction of the top of the waterfall.
After a short level hike and crossing over a few boulder fields you will reach the waterfall upper section, here it is a good place to take a rest in the tree shade.
After your rest you will keep climbing up.
For me this area marks the point where deep snow covers the trail and the large rocks.
It was challenging to find the right path over the snow, boulders and falling trees.
Soon I met a group of backpackers that camp here for the night, they told me that all is covered with deep snow and there is a section that was too challenging for them to do.
During the morning climb the snow was still ice so it was safe to walk and I thought to myself that I will keep hiking till a place I will not feel safe.
From this point onward to the lakes and back I was the only hiker that day, no other fresh footprints on the snow.
I know safety is the first priority, fun and good challenges come only after that.
I was walking very slow, trying to find the path over the snow made by the hikers from yesterday. Overall the direction was clear, following alongside the creek.
I had to cross large boulders and fallen trees and there my leg got deep into the snow.
At some point the trail got into a very narrow section of the creek where tall cliffs are on both sides.
Here the large steep section of the snow/ice must be crossed slowly not to sleep and stumble down into the stream below.
After walking slowly in this section
I managed to cross this not fun section of the trail.
Right after the narrow path the creek opens up to a clean snowfield, soon after a short climb I reach the flat meadows area.
This is only 1.8 miles from the trailhead but it climbed 1800 ft and together with the snow challenge it felt a lot more than that.
Everything was covered with snow but the path will take you to the left side of the meadows.
Here you need to turn left and climb the creek leading to Golden Trout lake.
The North Spur Trail would take the creek on the right side of the meadows.
When turning left another 0.4 miles of climbing over the completely covered with snow slope you will reach Golden Trout lake.
What an impressive view, the semi frozen small lake is nested underneath tall granite cliffs that surround it from 3 sides.
I was very tired from all the climbing and battels with the deep snow, so I took a long rest.
It was mid day and the time to start hiking back.
On my way back the snow got heated by the sun and became very soft.
It was more challenging not to sleep on the melting snow.
I walk slowly making sure I have good holding, trying not to sleep down the field snows.
I went down to the meadows and after that crossed the challenging section between the large boulders.
Crossing the last section covered with snow and reaching the waterfall.
From here it was much easier to hike down the boulder fields to the parking lot in the valley below.
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