On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
UncleEbeneezer
Last year we really enjoyed strolling around Convict Lake during our Fall Color trip to the Eastern Sierra. So after a really hard year, with my wife Kelly losing both her Mom and her Dad, in addition to several other health and $ challenges, we decided to treat ourselves by returning to Convict Lake and staying at the cute cabins of Convict Lake Resort for a couple nights before grabbing a campsite somewhere else in the Sierra. Here are some of our pics.
Great view of the mountains and some fall color, at the beginning of our hike around the CL Loop Trail.
The aspens by the creek were just starting to turn.
One really cool thing about the CL Loop is that it has a segment that is wheelchair-accessible along with a couple viewing/fishing spots that are, as well. More places in the Sierra need to do something like this.
As we get to the main part of the trail you can see the aspens already popping off on the far side of the shore.
Lots of color along the trail.
Was mid-day so the light wasn’t the best, but once we got to where the aspens were backlit, things started to look much better.
The boardwalk was where the real action was. We went the full length of it but then there was a slightly tricky creek crossing that we didn’t really feel like dealing with, so we just turned back. The remaining part of the loop didn’t really have much color and was very exposed, so I think we made the right call.
Another view of the mountains on the return trip.
Here is the view from our cabin porch. We stayed in the Eastern Brook 6 cabin. It was basic but cool. We had several deer hang out in front of our cabin both days.
Finally, after our hike we treated our self to dinner at the AMAZING restaurant at CL Resort. While waiting for our table I decided to go full-on Fall and order an Apple-tini! It was delicious. For dinner, Kelly had the pistachio-crusted, tamarind salmon with a cilantro chutney. I had the bourbon-glazed filet mignon. Both were spectacular. Second time at the restaurant was just as good as our first.
JPL
what a fun fall trip.
Rusty
The yellows and golds ofvthe leaves are gorgeous!
Baud
Gorgeous.
martha
We walked that trail in early July! It’s gorgeous to see it in the fall…thanks so much for the pictures. Take care of yourselves.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
Much better color than I saw at Bishop Creek the week before, as Mono County’s website said, “Fall Color has fallen behind schedule.”
BruceFromOhio
Brilliant!
eclare
Great photos and wow that dinner sounds tasty!
Betty
Beautiful shots, but I can’t see a reference to the aspens turning without thinking of Scooter Libby – unfortunately.
Dorothy A. Winsor
That boardwalk just invites you to stroll along it. Sounds like a good decision to go back there.
OzarkHillbilly
Nice trip, beautiful pics. Thanx Unc.
Trivia Man
I am very glad to see some handicap accessible spots. Some extremists insist that EVERY TRAIL NEEDS TO BE PAVED and 100% accessible to everyone. I disagree. But the difference between zero access in public, outdoor spaces and 100% access to motorized scooters and 100% safety for any possible disability or it’s discriminatory… is large.
El Cruzado
I’ve done this one in September and it’s such a memorable hike and doable for almost everyone.
I ought to take some real time off one year and actually hike up from the loop. I suspect the views from above and around the lakes further up will be well worth the steep climb.
Mike in Oly
What a spectacular place! The color palette is so bright. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
MelissaM
And it was all yellow!
Looks lovely and sounds delicious.
opiejeanne
Beautiful photos. I’m trying to remember if we visited there when we were exploring the eastern Sierras, so many years ago. So many gorgeous lakes along 395; thank you for sharing. .
We used to go a little farther north to June Lake with a slightly lower elevation, and I’d have to take some aspirin and take a nap the first day
Forgot to add, there was a place on the June Lake Loop called the Carson Peak Inn, and the food was always very good. I hope it’s still there.
RaflW
Love those aspens and the lovely fall light. Seems like a really good break for y’all after a hard stretch. Thanks for sharing.
opiejeanne
@opiejeanne: And, it’s been closed since October 2022, trying to hire a new chef/manager. So sad.
UncleEbeneezer
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA: Part 2 will be pics from Bishop Creek, which was pretty much “peak” status by the time we got there :)
UncleEbeneezer
@opiejeanne: June Lake is one of our faves too and was one of the other areas we were considering for our camping but the fall color there hadn’t really kicked into high gear yet, so we ended up camping in Bishop Creek (next post) :)
pieceofpeace
Enjoyed each of your photos.
UncleEbeneezer
@Trivia Man: Agreed. Many places it’s just not feasible. But I’d love to see more of them where they are.
UncleEbeneezer
@RaflW: You’re welcome. It was a really great trip.
bluefoot
More accessibility in/to nature would be a great thing. The last few years, I’ve noticed a lot of the NY state parks have accessibility if you want to get close to a river, waterfall or feature of interest. This isn’t ubiquitous, but frequent enough that I noticed it.
UncleEbeneezer
@Dorothy A. Winsor: It really does. And it was definitely the right choice as we got to see a bunch more color on the way back (same stuff but from opposite perspective).
UncleEbeneezer
@Betty: Wow, talk about a name from the past, lol.
Winter Wren
Amazing shots!
way2blue
Gorgeous photos! And. Convict Lake Resort is now on my list. We’d planned a Sierra Nevada loop through Yosemite, but my spouse’s car needed work and now Thanksgiving is upon us… So maybe early December. Hmm.