Waterhouse Lake, Emigrant Wilderness

The hike to Waterhouse lake is stunning.  This adventure could be put into the beginner skill level (from trail-head and as an out-and back) however, there are parts of the trail that are not well marked and a few spots where you will do some step hiking on granite rocks.  

The trail-head is North of Pinecrest on Highway 108.  You drive through a small mountain town called Strawberry which will be your final opportunity to grab any provisions at the store or stop for a meal and a drink at the Strawberry Inn.

Before your start your adventure be sure to visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/recare...to find out if the road to the trail head is open.  You can of course hike the road to the trail head but this will add miles to your trip depending on where the road closure is so you will need to calculate this into your distance and timeframe.  https://www.fs.usda.gov/recare...

The drive is a few miles from the 108, the first part is paved but the final climb will be on a dirt road.  Depending on what time of season there could small amounts of snow on the road.

Once you get to the trail head which is marked with a sign the hike is easy.  When you are close to the lake the trail will open up and you will have spectacular views of the granite canyon as you your decent to Waterhouse Lake.  I would suggest bringing a head lamp so you can stay and enjoy the sunset which was nothing short of magical.  As the sunsets there are puddles (again depending on time of year) in the granite which reflect the sunlight and the whole canyon seems to sparkle and glow.