Lake George to Devils Postpile

[Soft Kitty]

Hi peeps! Long time lurker, first time poster. My family will be staying in Mammoth Lakes in late July and would like to do a day trip to the Devils Postpile and Rainbow Falls. Since car/bus access is currently TBD, I was wondering if there are any decent trails to get down there. It looks like there is an established trail from Lake George that will get us down to the valley but we've never that hike done before. We'd like to keep our total RT mileage to <12 miles if possible. Any intel (round trip mileage, conditions, etc.) on this trail would be appreciated. Thanks!

[AlmostThere]

You can walk on the road, or bike it.... not sure you'll find a short route tho. There's also a trail from Horseshoe Lake.

[markskor]

By late July, the road down to DPP should be open and $-tram running. However, still recommend making a hiking day of it -
Free trams run in town, (Red or Purple line), change bus at Village (Orange line) to Horseshoe Lake TH - 5 mile marked trail over Mammoth Pass, McCloud Lake, down to Reds/ Sotcher Lake and easy access on to DPP. Tram ($7) up to the main mountain parking lot and free bus back to town.

[happycamper0313]

Hello!

I just did a 3 night 4 day trip from Lake George to Thousand Island Lake this weekend, with stops at Devil's Postpile and Agnew Meadows on the way up. Conditions are changing quickly, so take this for what it's worth.

I parked at Lake George and walked through the basin to the Mammoth Pass Trailhead at Horseshoe lake. Mammoth Pass was covered in deep snow, and thanks to a local who helped me navigate through, I got to the Rainbow forest fire area in a couple of hours. I stopped at Red's Meadow and chatted up the PCT/JMTers and got the scoop on the conditions. I walked down Red's Meadow road to the Devil's Postpile trailhead and made my way over to the campground. Everything is closed, so I was the only one there. I camped overnight at the campground with not a soul in sight.

The next day I made my way over to Rainbow Falls ( a little bit of a backtrack, but Mammoth Pass was so exhausting for me the prior day, I didn't have energy to hit it on my way to DP).

It's all dry around the Monument area and very quiet. People were going back through Rainbow forest at Red's Meadow and Mammoth Pass to get back to the Lakes Basin though, so you can try that route.

[astrogerly]

The road might not be open. Just read this on Red's Meadow Resorts FB Page: "As a Forest Service permittee, we must comply with Forest Service requests. Unfortunately we have been asked to completely shut down our operations as the Forest Service has concerns with the safety of their road that leads to Red's Meadow. For further information please call 760-924-5500."

Edit: Red's Meadow Resort posted that today. I am also seeing on the Visit Mammoth page today (about campgrounds) that "All Reds Meadow Area - July 15th, except for Agnew Meadows opening July 30th." I guess it's still up in the air of when things might open based on conflicting info. We'll see what they determine with the condition of the road... just wanted to post (and edit) an update that I saw.

[happycamper0313]

The road might not be open. Just read this on Red's Meadow Resorts FB Page: "As a Forest Service permittee, we must comply with Forest Service requests. Unfortunately we have been asked to completely shut down our operations as the Forest Service has concerns with the safety of their road that leads to Red's Meadow. For further information please call 760-924-5500."

Edit: Red's Meadow Resort posted that today. I am also seeing on the Visit Mammoth page today (about campgrounds) that "All Reds Meadow Area - July 15th, except for Agnew Meadows opening July 30th." I guess it's still up in the air of when things might open based on conflicting info. We'll see what they determine with the condition of the road... just wanted to post (and edit) an update that I saw.

The road is definitely not open and doesn't look like it will open for quite some time. The Mammoth Ski resort staff that kindly gave me a ride up to Minaret Vista Road were explaining to me the severity of the damage. I also saw the instability first hand as I walked up, down, and back up it a few times this weekend. The whole area down there looks as if it needs months of work before opening.

[astrogerly]

I figured that was the case given when Red's Meadow Resort posted - and what I've seen from the USFS. The Visit Mammoth post had be a bit curious. I trust Red's Meadow Resort and the USFS over Visit Mammoth any day, but wanted to get it out there too

[The Private]

Good Morning HappyCamper
I am new here to the forum. I was wondering if you have any pictures of your trip?
Thanks