Run, Recover and Explore in Mammoth Lakes CA

As background, I am a distance runner for UCLA and one of my favorite places to train during the summer is in Mammoth Lakes, CA. I have been coming up for the past 8 years from high school to college. It provides incredible scenery and tough trails to help get in better and better shape (not to mention the 7500ft of elevation and thin air). Now that is some quality training! I recommend staying longer than a week though because it takes about that long to get acclimated to the thinner air. Take the first week of easy running and your body will get used to the thin air and you will feel better during runs after. Some of the trails worth running are: the Convict Lake loop (picture 3), Mammoth rock trail, Big Smokey Loop, Lake Mary Loop (2 mile road loop), Horseshoe Lake loop and Shady Rest Park. All of those offer great views and a lot of dirt to keep the legs feeling fresh. After, go ice in the lakes or streams (Lake Mary (picture 2), Lake George (picture 4), Convict Lake to name some colder ones) to help recover and get ready to hit the trails again later or the next day.

Convict Lake is a short drive down the 395 south and the sign and road to it will be on the right.

Lake Mary is straight up Main St. where it will turn into lake Mary road and at the top you will see the large lake on your left.

Shady rest is just right off Main St. before you get to old mammoth road coming west.

Mammoth rock trail is below the large rock so you can park under it on Old Mammoth Road at the trailhead that is past all the houses.

Big Smokey Loop is 13 miles around and is not for the faint of heart. The trail is marked normally but I would have someone who has done it before go with you because it is a tough run. Going north on the 395 on the right side of the road, there is a picture of Smokey the bear and behind him is a large clearing. The next turn on the dirt road in the clearing is your stop. The two trails to the right and straight ahead are the trails that connect. I recommend going out on the straight. If you try the whole loop then good luck and enjoy the views!

McGee Creek is another scenery filled run just south on the 395. About 5 to 10 minutes down you will get to McGee Creek Road and take a right. Follow it all the way to the trailhead parking lot (after it turns into a dirt road). Follow the trail out about 4 to 5 miles for an "out and back" run and enjoy the views (picture 1).

Horseshoe Lake is on Lake Mary Road past Lake Mary where it dead ends into a parking lot. There isn't much water in the lake right now but it is still beautiful and the trail around it is fantastic.

In between training there are the places to see: Lake Mary (picture 2), Lake George (picture 4), Horseshoe Lake, Convict Lake, and June Lake to name a few. All have beautiful water to go paddle boarding, kayaking or fishing in. Hiking is great and the photography opportunities are endless.

Lake George is just west behind lake Mary so take a left right after lake Mary and follow the sign at the end to the right to go up to Lake George.

For places to stay, there is great camping places or condos to rent. Especially during the summer, there is a lot available. I usually stay in a condo (like Snowflower Condominiums with a lot of people) because of the high level of training I am doing (80 miles a week). But any place you can find would be great. Go and run with friends!

Treat this adventure as less of a "rough it" backpack adventure and more of a "see as much as possible" kind of trip. The day could end at a nice restaurant and a relaxing condo which is better if running and training is your main goal in Mammoth.

I will be posting some of my favorite spots in mammoth soon on my account for adventures so stay tuned, but also get out and run!