Leavitt Meadows Loop
Photos Maps Summary: This is an excellent loop hike that can be done a little earlier than many other alpine hikes because it is below 8,000' elevation and it is on the eastern side of the Sierran crest. The views from the Secret Lake Trail are the best of the hike (in our opinion), but that doesn't mean that they are the only good ones. Secret Lake was a nice surprise for us and would make for a nice camping spot. Roosevelt and Lane Lakes appear to be a little more popular and are a little bigger than Secret Lake. The views from the Leavitt Meadows Trail are also very nice and access to the river is easy near the northern end of the meadows. A couple of short side-trips are also shown on the map (in blue) and offer more views of the surroundings including Poore Lake, Falls Creek Falls, and perhaps an old plane crash site. Other attractions close to the trailhead include Leavitt Falls, Sardine Falls, and Sonora Pass.Distance: 7.45 miles total w/o side-trips (8.6 miles total w/ side-trips)Elevation Gain/Loss: 1,250' total w/o side-trips (1,710' total w/ side-trips)Season: mid-May through OctoberFees & Permits: None for dayhikers. Wilderness permit required for overnighters
Finding the Trailhead: 38.33401 N, 119.55177 W (Leavitt Meadows Campground). From the US-395/CA-108 intersection northwest of Bridgeport, follow CA-108 west for ~6.9 miles before turning left into the Leavitt Meadows Campground. Follow the campground loop (CCW) until you get to the northern end where there is a day-use parking area. The trail begins by crossing over the West Walker River on the footbridge to the east.
The Hike: After crossing over the West Walker River on the footbridge, the trail climbs slightly to the east and south before it runs into the beginning of the loop at ~0.2 miles. To the right is the Leavitt Meadows Trail. To the left is the Secret Lake Trail. We took the left trail and I would recommend this because it has most of the elevation gain/loss during this hike, which you can get out of the way in the beginning, and is mostly exposed which will be cooler earlier in the day. The Secret Lake Trail begins by climbing and descending slightly to the east while passing through a couple of small meadows before climbing to the south. Earlier in the season you can find a few flowers in these meadows. The trail reaches a descent viewpoint (best view is just west of the trail) just before the trail turns to the southeast as it passes through classic sagebrush environment. The trail then climbs above 7,500' to the southeast, where more trees begin to appear and it offers nice views to the northeast of Pickel Meadow just before it turns to the south. Mixed in with the trees are some curl-leaf Mahogany (picture at right). After climbing to ~7,600', the trail flattens out and offers more views to the south of Tower Peak. The trail then descends slightly before climbing back up to the highest point during this hike. From here are more good views to the south and as the trail descends to the south views of Poore Lake appear. At ~2.3 miles the trail turns abruptly to the west. Here, you could take one of the short side-trips off-trail to the southeast for better views of Poore Lake and Poore Falls to the east (~0.3 miles round-trip). Continuing on the Secret Lake Trail, you pass by the northern shore of the lake and can walk down to the northwestern shore at ~2.45 miles. From the northwestern shore is a nice view of the unnamed peak, to the east of Poore Lake, over the lake (picture below-left). The trail then begins to climb to the west and southwest as the trees thicken before descending toward a couple of junctions. First, the junction with the Poore Lake Trail is met at ~2.9 miles. If you took the short side-trip mentioned previously, I wouldn't bother walking the ~0.7 miles to Poore Lake's southwestern shore to the left. Stay right at this junction and arrive at the Leavitt Meadows Trail (coming in from the right) junction at ~3.0 miles. Stay left here and continue towards Roosevelt and Lane Lakes to the south.
Shortly, you'll arrive at the wilderness boundary which has an information board about this area's history. Continuing to the south, the trail descends to the northern shore of Roosevelt Lake at ~0.45 miles from the Leavitt Meadows Trail junction (~3.4 miles from the trailhead via the Secret Lake Trail). Here, there were quite a few wild rose bushes blooming during our visit. The trail then skirts around the western shore of the lake before heading south through some pretty sandy sections before reaching the northern shore of Lane Lake at ~0.7 miles from the Leavitt Meadows Trail junction (~3.7 miles from the trailhead via the Secret Lake Trail). The trail again skirts around the western shore of the lake and climbs up and over a small ridge before descending to a marshy meadow south of Lane Lake. As the trail skirts the eastern end of this meadow, a use-trail leaves the main trail to the left at ~0.3 miles from the northern shore of Lane Lake (~4.0 miles from the trailhead via the Secret Lake Trail). Here, we took the use-trail and headed north to reach the southern shore of Lane Lake on the small piece of land that juts north into the lake. This makes for an excellent lunch spot since it sees less people than the northern shore. If you would like to do the second side-trip shown on the map, walk back to the main trail and follow it to the southeast as it climbs for ~0.25 miles. Then, leave the trail to the southwest, pass over a spring (with lots of grass), and then begin climbing up to the top of the ridge (~0.2 miles from the main trail) to the southwest. From the top of this ridge are excellent views of the surroundings including Falls Creek Falls and Roosevelt and Lanes Lakes. Along this route I stumbled upon an old plane crash site with most of the debris spread along a northwest-southeast line. There was also a blackened pile of small things like springs, bolts, etc a little ways to the south. Follow the same route back to Lane Lake. When you are ready to leave Lane Lake, get back on the main trail and follow it past Roosevelt Lake and to the junction with the Leavitt Meadows Trail (~1.0 mile from the southern shore of Lane Lake). Stay left at the junction to follow the Leavitt Meadows Trail and complete the loop. This trail heads north and skirts around the eastern side of a few small ponds before descending to the northwest. At ~0.75 miles from the junction, the trail reaches the meadow floor and flattens out. From here, the trail heads north along the eastern edge of the meadow and offers very good views to the south. At ~1.5 miles from the trail junction, the trail comes within a few feet of the West Walker River where there is a short trail leading down to it (picture at right). The trail then continues to the north and northwest before climbing slightly to complete the loop and meet the trail coming from the trailhead at ~1.95 miles from the southern end of the loop. From here, finish the trail by walking the last ~0.2 miles down to the footbridge and day-use parking area. Lastly, the trail (in red) shown on the top map (on the Maps page) may be a little off from what the Google aerials show because there was a little discrepancy between aerials from different years (I used an older aerial for the trail). For example, my trail appears to lead into the water at the southern shore of Lane Lake, when in fact it is leading to the peninsula on the southern shore.
