Cottonwood Lakes, Lone Pine, CA - Horseshoe Meadows - Cottonwood Lakes Trail - New Army Pass - Old

Located close to the town of Lone Pine CA, the Cottonwood Lakes Basin has a number of pristine alpine lakes and creeks located between Mount Langley and Cirque Peak. I decided to take my dog Iris on a solo backpacking trip and explore the lakes. It was great to get out of the city and explore another trail that’s been on my backpacking list for a while.
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Your car definitely does most of the elevation gain for you on this one. Climbing up on Horseshoe Meadow Road from 3,727 ft to over 10,000 ft to the trailhead. This footage is from the way out of the trail but I ended up driving up the night before my hike to acclimate to the altitude. That is something that I recommend everyone does. You also get to be the first one on the trail. I did find that the parking lot was very packed even at night. There’s one overflow parking lot just back up the road from the trailhead.
There's a number of campgrounds here at the start of the trail. One of which is Horseshoe Meadow which is an Equestrian Campground for those horse campers. In a bit, I’ll tell you where you can hire horses to go horse camping a bit later. There’s also a 12 tent walk-in campground that is self-service right next to the parking lot. At the trailhead, there are pit toilets and bear bins so that you can store your extra food.
It was early and Iris and I were eager to get on the trail. This is an extremely well-trafficked trial with plenty of signage. It starts with a gradual elevation gain and then you reach the Golden Trout Wilderness border. As the sign suggests there is plenty of California's state fish, the golden trout in the cottonwood lakes. More on that later in the video.
You’ll get some nice views to the left of Trail Peak. You can hike to the top of Trail Peak from the Cottonwood Pass Trailhead, close to where you parked.
After that, you start descending a few hounded feet dipping below 10,000 ft. Hope you enjoy this gradual slope because you’ll feel it at the end of your hike. When you make it here you run into the South Fork of the Cottonwood Creek. A good place to fill up your bottles.
It was around here that Iris started getting a little tired. I know, I know why in the world did I bring a little white dog on a backpacking trip. And why do you even have a little white dog… Well, the reality is that she’s a champ and always down for anything but she overheats and needs more breaks then I like to take. I live in Los Angeles in a small place which is only really conducive for small dogs. I’m a weekend warrior gang and this is the face of a city weekend warrior dog.
In the comments, I’ve pinned a comment “small dog vs no dog” hit that thumbs up or thumbs down if you agree or disagree.
Now that we’re over that. We get a glimpse of one of many cottonwood meadows. On the other side of that, you can spot the Golden Trout Campground. Soon after you’ll cross into the John Muir Wilderness. Then back across the cottonwood creek.
From here we start really climbing. It’s about a 1,000 ft climb up to the lakes. Which is a breeze at sea level but at 10 or 11 thousand feet not a stroll in the park. A lot of people like to do this trail as training for Mt Whitney as it gets you up to altitude fast. In a future video, I’ll share my favorite backpacking trips in the Eastern Sierras.
A little while up the trail you get to a sign that points you up to cottonwood lakes or new army trail. I’d suggest that you completely ignore the sign and hike up to the New Army Pass. This leads you up to first see cottonwood lakes 1 and 2 up close and then you can head over to see lakes 3, 4, and 5. But more on that later.
As you climb this part of the hike is the hardest but it has a wonderful payoff as you start to see Cottonwood Lake 1. This lake is out in the open with some trees to the left of the trail. I saw a few people camping here basically camping at the first available spot. I recommend you keep going.
*Links above include affiliate commission or referrals. I'm part of an affiliate network and I receive compensation from partnering websites. The video is accurate as of the posting date but may not be accurate in the future.

[@Active_Tours]

Small 🐶👍 vs no 🐶👎

[@jliverty]

How do you really know where you can camp when you're at cottonwood lakes no.1? is there a sign where you can exactly camp there? or just use common sense? I never done this and going to for next spring 2021, just curious about this part

[@Active_Tours]

No signs. But there’s no camping within 100 ft of water and no fires. Otherwise common sense and close to shade.

[@jliverty]

@@Active_Tours got it thanks

[@XA1985]

Where do you park your car if you start at horseshoe meadows?

[@chantel3724]

Iris looks so happy

[@HeartOfTheHorses]

What a great video. I miss those mountains. We spend summers riding our horses in and around Yellowstone now.

[@lopezexplora]

Great video! lots of info thank you for that. I had a neighbor in SCV that let her dog loose all the time until the coyotes took it, if you keep ignoring all the warnings don’t be crying when that happens to your “ warrior “

[@adamh603]

Hey! Great video, and Jess and I hope to see you again soon!

[@Hallahanify]

Beautiful!

[@peter_bazinet]

Definitely PRO small dog. Iris is great and the perfect pal for a hike. She's easier to carry than a human!

[@jliverty]

I think you did a pretty good job explaining how to get here, hike, and camp. Clear explanation for general information. And I think it's a great experience that you bring your companion with you. Such a cute doggo not gonna lie. Mind to explain when or what date you request for the permit and what date you start your backpacking?

[@Active_Tours]

Thanks 😊

[@kyrg]

I'm headed there in September, can't wait. I had an Exped sleeping pad have that same delamination issue. Only had used it a few times at that point. The kicker was, I was near the Arctic Circle on Baffin Island at the time. Not good.

[@Gabrielishere]

GREAT video. I'm a weekend warrior from Los Angeles too... Mostly Angeles Crest these days, but did my fair share of Eastern Sierras and Yosemite...

[@sdriza]

Overinflate the pad? Did they send you a refurb? Nice trip.

[@Active_Tours]

Yes they did!

[@BigDukeX]

Actives Tours... see my comment regarding hiking with dog in the added reply’s

[@esthervargas3202]

small dogs :)

[@user-nd9re8vr6l]

Cotton wood lakes to happy isles?

[@kimdokkyu]

Yes 🐶!

[@schreiberwriter]

This is great!

[@FishinWithAlex]

How many miles total was it for you?

[@Active_Tours]

I think it was 6 miles total to my campground and back with many more on day trips

[@FishinWithAlex]

@@Active_Tours awesome I’m leaving tomorrow night to get there by morning! What camp ground did you stay at?

[@jaimeram909]

What month was the trip made and what was the temperatures for day and night

[@angelhernandance]

What backpacking trips have you done with your dog? I would love to know what backpacking trips are dog friendly :)

[@Active_Tours]

None of the national park trails allow dogs other than service animals 🐕‍🦺 but most of the nation forests trails allow dogs on leash. State parks all have there own rules 😀

[@ronaldmcdonald3965]

What is the likely hood of getting a campsite at the trailhead campsite? We're planning to go in August 23, 2021 and don't to drive the 24 miles in and find a full campsite.

[@Active_Tours]

There are 13 walk in campgrounds at the trail head for backpackers. I recommend getting there early or sleeping in your car like I did. Enjoy!

[@ronaldmcdonald3965]

@@Active_Tours Thanks

[@jellybelly111]

very cute outdoors companion 🐶

[@rkatrails]

👍 Definitely agree, little dog is better than no dog. I live in a small place too and I'll be getting a small dog even though I'm a big dog lover. I had the same experience with my Big Agnes Air Core pad. The seams on the baffles finally tore apart after 4 years of heavy use. Enjoyed your video, I'll be at Cottonwood Lakes in 2 weeks.

[@Active_Tours]

Happy to report that they replaced my sleeping pad free of charge

[@Active_Tours]

Enjoy your trip!

[@louisamartinez2007]

Beautiful place!!

[@alexzamarripa5949]

Yewwwwwwwwww

[@karinr5168]

you carried your dog the whole way?

[@Active_Tours]

haha, she walked about 3 miles a day and carried 3 miles a day. She's worth the company

[@lopezexplora]

Feel bad for the dog, you risking it to be bait for wildlife

[@karlkeating2803]

Nonsense. There are no predators that could go after the dog. It's too high for snakes, and bears (seldom seen in this area) won't bother dogs or other small animals. But I suppose one could come across a vicious Stellar's jay or maybe a mutant chipmunk--otherwise, no problem.

[@BigDukeX]

@@karlkeating2803 sorry to say, but you are uninformed here. Indeed, there are predators in this sector. Most notably are the Coyote that inhabit the entire Cottonwood Lakes - and the surrounding meadows. Additionally, there are nesting Eagles throughout these high-elevations lakes. These birds are very large, and more than capable of taking a small Dog such as this... “on the wing”. Marmot living up there are similar in size, and are taken by these birds regularly. Any Eagle in that area wouldn’t hesitate to swoop down and snatch a small animal of this size for its next family meal.