Big Pine Creek Trailhead — Attraction in Bishop

It was an amazing place. It was my first backpacking trip and the backpackers were saying I was keeping my expectations high for my future backpacking trips by selecting such a beautiful place for first backpacking and no wonder they were correct. We camped at lake 5 as we made our way thru lake 1,2 and 3. All lakes were beautiful with clear water. It was September but I could still see some snow in the mountains that were on the behind the lakes. We camped in lake 5 for the night. It was very windy and was cold. Earplugs saved my night by not having to listen to sounds of tent flapping from wind. We spoke with other campers who camped in lake 2 and they told that they couldn’t sleep because of wind. So, be prepared for strong wind if you plan to camp near lake. Overall this place is beautiful. You have steams everywhere so you don’t need to carry a lot of water. Carry water filter and you should be good. Prepare for a nice day hike or backpacking trip with no cell phone network and to just be in the nature to appreciate the nature. Have...

This is an hard hike to do but totally worth it. This will take you 4 hours to do if you are out of shape. Even a wildland firefighter like me took me 3 hours to hike up.

The color of the lake is different each year. My photos attached here are from early September 2024. However, the color of the lake the year before was an ugly green.

The best time to visit the lakes for the color and temperatures would be between mid August through October.

YOU MUST BRING ENOUGH WATER. There were too many families, teenagers, and inexperienced people that ran out of water before even getting to the first lake and they got dehydrated begging other people for their water. At least bring 3-4 liters of water for yourself and each person. I personally bought 9 liters of water in my personal fire pack because I knew I was going to have to help the inexperienced...

The trail starts at the end of Glacier highway. There are restrooms and a bear box to stash your food while on the hike. There are also several picnic benches with a BBQ along the river. Great place to fish. The trail goes by Lon Chaneys cabin, waterfalls and up to 7 lakes. I think at the 3rd lake, you can see Temple Crag jutting out. Some of the lakes are fed by the glacier melting, so they look almost emerald blue. A person can hike this in one day to and from third lake. Not sure about the total time it would take to hike around...