Wawona, California

Looking for the best hiking in Wawona? We've got you covered with the top trails, trips, hiking, backpacking, camping and more around Wawona. The detailed guides, photos, and reviews are all submitted by the Outbound community.

Top Hiking Spots in and near Wawona

  • Lakeshore, California

    Evolution Valley via Florence Lake

    4.5
    30.36 mi / 3238 ft gain
    You can get to the Evolution Basin a variety of ways, but the easiest is through the Florence Lake Trailhead. Here, you can choose to either take the Florence Lake Ferry across the lake, or save $25 and hike the extra 4 miles around the lake. Personally, I would choose the ferry. About five mile...
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  • Lakeshore, California

    Backpack to Crater Lake, Sierra National Forest

    5.0
    8.4 mi / 2100 ft gain
    Starting at Lake Florence, this hike starts out with a climb up and keeps this up over the next 3 miles. After about 3 miles of climbing you reach another lake, Dutch Lake which provides shade and a nice place to rest. From there it's a relatively flat 1.2 miles in to your destination. Once at Cr...
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  • Lee Vining, California

    Backpack Virginia Lakes to Green Creek

    10.5 mi / 1234 ft gain
    Keep in mind that this is a point to point hike, so you will need to park a vehicle at Green Creek trailhead in Bridgeport as well as your start point at Virginia Lakes Resort.Starting at 9,886' at The Virginia Lakes Trailhead, you will begin by heading Northwest towards Virginia Pass. During yo...
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  • Bridgeport, California

    Virginia Lakes Trail

    4.0
    9.22 mi / 2464 ft gain
    If you are looking for a hike with a view every half mile or so, then Virginia Lakes Trail is one to mark on your must-see list. You start at the parking lot near the first lake where bathrooms are available onsite.  Try to hike right before the first snow in November so you can see the fall col...
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  • Lee Vining, California

    Mono Lake Boardwalk

    3.5
    0.69 mi / 30 ft gain
    Mono Lake Boardwalk is an out-and-back trail that takes you by a lake located near Lee Vining, California.
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  • Lee Vining, California

    Hike Panum Crater Trail

    5.0
    3.3 mi / 874 ft gain
    If you are visiting Mono Lake, the Panum Crater Trail is not to be missed! From 395, take highway 120 east for about 2.5 miles. Look for a small wooden sign for Panum Crater and turn left onto a dirt road. If you reach the turn-off to the South Tufa Area, you have gone too far! After about a mile...
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  • Pinecrest, California

    Backpack to Chain Lakes

    4.4 mi / 864 ft gain
    This trip begins at ~7500 feet at the Box Springs Trailhead This trail is at the end of Forest Route 3N20Y. The trail, which is not regularly maintained and may at times be hard to follow, initially descends slightly to 7300', then stays mostly flat before rising just before the lakes. You will p...
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  • Mono County, California

    Summit Mount Baldwin (12,614')

    15 mi / 5000 ft gain
    Directions The hike for Mount Baldwin starts at the Convict Lake trailhead. The turn off for Convict lake is about 4.5 miles south of the Mammoth Lakes exit along the 395 and roughly 35 miles North of Bishop, CA. Take this exit and follow the road West towards the mountains. Turn right at the ...
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  • Bridgeport, California

    Backpack to Green Lake and Virginia Pass

    17 mi / 4452 ft gain
    Day 1 Green Creek Trailhead to Green Lake When we went on this hike, it was primarily to explore the area and see if it would be a feasible entrance to Northern Yosemite for extended backpacking trips.   However, it also is a great two night trip to a lovely area of the Hoover Wilderness.  Best...
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  • Lee Vining, California

    Mono Lake's South Tufa Loop

    4.4
    0.91 mi / 39 ft gain
    Mono Lake is was formed at least 760,000 years ago, making it one of North America's oldest lake. Explore the coastline of this unique lake filled with unusual rock formations called tufas. Photograph the tufa towers with the majestic mountains in the background. The towers can make for some very...
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  • Mammoth Lakes, California

    Convict Lake Loop

    4.9
    2.46 mi / 56 ft gain
    In 1871, a group of inmates escaped from a prison and were ambushed near the lake by a posse who had tracked them down. The inmates escaped the shoot out after killing two of the men in the posse and the lake now had a name – Convict Lake. You won’t witness a wild west shootout here, but if you ...
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  • Lee Vining, California

    Explore the Mono Lake Tufas under the Milky Way

    5.0
    This past spring, I got the urge to photograph the Milky Way over the other-worldly landscape of Mono Lake, a large, desert saline lake at the edge of the eastern Sierras in California. One of the the lake's defining features is it’s incredible tufa rock formations, a variety of limestone. The e...
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  • Bridgeport, California

    Barney Lake Trail

    3.0
    8.85 mi / 1263 ft gain
    Barney Lake makes for an incredible day hike or trail run, but is also very accessible for camping. Start at the trailhead near the Mono Village Resort at Twin Lakes and follow the Robinson Creek Trail. If you plan on hiking during the winter, the resort will be closed and you will have to park ...
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  • Bridgeport, California

    Peeler Lake via Twin Lakes

    16.19 mi / 2927 ft gain
    This trip can be done as a day trip or backpacking trip. It is around an 11 mile out-and-back trip. Park at Twin Lakes in Bridgeport, CA. There is a $10 fee and it can take a while on busy weekends. A permit is required to stay overnight in Hoover Wilderness. The trailhead can be hard to find; i...
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  • Bridgeport, California

    Matterhorn Peak via the East Couloir

    5.0
    12.09 mi / 5036 ft gain
    Matterhorn Peak in the northeastern Yosemite Wilderness is an SPS Emblem Peak and many regard it as the beginning of the High Sierra, as there are no peaks higher to the north in the Sierra Nevada. There are many routes to the summit, but the shortest and most direct (though not easiest) begins ...
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  • Lee Vining, California

    Explore the Black Point Fissures

    4.3
    2 mi / 500 ft gain
    This area is such a great way to spend time exploring. It's a lot different than what it's surrounded by, making it a great change of pace in the Eastern Sierra.Just East of Lee Vining, California is Black Point, which sits on the North side of the massive Mono Lake...Which used to be an underwat...
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