View down Kirkwood Meadow.jpeg
Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0

Kirkwood Lake & Kirkwood Lake Loop is a 2.5-mile out-and-back near Kirkwood, CA. The route reaches Kirkwood Lake. It is mostly level, with 118 ft of elevation gain. It scores 30/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: green fringe.

Elevation

0 mi7,658 – 7,753 ft2.5 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Unnamed 38.70082, -120.07714
Nearest town Kirkwood, CA

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Kirkwood Lake & Kirkwood Lake Loop

2.5 mi · ▲ 118 ft · 54 min

Elevation 7,658–7,754 ft

Out & Back

Trailhead: 38.70082, -120.07714

Weather Sep 20: sunrise 6:47 AM · sunset 7:02 PM

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading N.
  2. 0.5 miSharp right onto Kirkwood Lake Loop, heading E.
  3. 50 ftPass Kirkwood Lake.
  4. 0.8 miReach Kirkwood Lake, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  5. 0.8 miSharp left, heading SE.
  6. 0.5 miArrive back at the trailhead.

Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.

Weather

Sunrise 6:47 AMSunset 7:02 PM

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 1.1 mi in (~28 min). Leave by 6:14 PM for the 7:02 PM sunset. Back at your car by 7:47 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.

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