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Carson Goodall

It's such an amazingly beautiful and surreal area! We got a super late start and only had a day and half to explore so only made it to Booth Lake but I'm looking forward to going back in the fall or early spring. It was HOT even though the temp was only 70 out though. The trail is sandy so it retains heat which definitely makes it feel much hotter. Because of the hot sand issue I'd recommend NOT bringing your dog if you're doing this loop when it's hot. Our poor pooch burned her little paws and kept trying to crawl off to hide in the shade to die :( She was miserable! Everyone we met on the trail was having the same issue with their dogs as well.

Just got back from Indian Heaven today! Five girls, 3 dogs, 3 liters of wine, ~16 miles, and countless lakes. So amazing! I'd definitely recommend getting a complete map of ALL the trails in the area. Some trails are marked, some are not and there are so many lakes it's hard to know which one you are actually at since they typically aren't marked. The bugs were bearable but bug spray was passed around pretty constantly. We saw some other groups but overall I think the distance scares off most of the crowds. We spent time at Thomas Lake (super close to the trailhead and VERY swimmable!), Junction Lake, Bear Lake (beautiful and swimmable but buggy), Clear Lake (gorgeous and great for swimming), Lemai (not much this year - very low), Blue Lake (so beautiful! Cold but way worth getting in!) not necessarily in that order. I can't wait to go back and see all of the things we missed this time around!

Beautiful! One of my favorite places to bring out of town visitors before we hit the airport - it's a great chance to wave goodbye to Portland!

Gorgeous views and I'm planning to go back to see what it's like at different times of the year. There was a little bit of trash left around though so plan on doing your part to clean up a little while you're there.

So beautiful! Go during the week to avoid the crowds and watch for poison oak - it was everywhere... Also, leave some room in your back so that you can pack out more trash then you brought in since this trail does get LOTS of use. We did the full 10 miles up the first day and camped at Sykes the first night, hiked back to Terrace Creek (~5 miles back down) and camped there the second night, then back to Big Sur Station the next day. It was a good split that gave us time to enjoy the hot springs before next day's campers arrived that afternoon and take it a little easier on the way back.

The hike is great for even inexperienced hikers but beautiful enough to be worth it even for those who like a bigger challenge.