Lyle's Lookout–Serene Lakes, 6 sights is an 11.9-mile out-and-back in Royal Gorge near Donner, CA. The route passes Serene Lakes before reaching Lyle's Lookout at the turnaround, 6 miles in. It climbs 1,307 ft, with sections as steep as 33% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 30/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: green fringe.
Elevation
0 mi6,779 – 7,195 ft · steepest grade: 33%12.9 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Unnamed 39.31681, -120.33058
Nearest town Donner, CA
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Lyle's Lookout–Serene Lakes, 6 sights
11.9 mi · ▲ 1,307 ft · 4 hr 37 min
Elevation 6,779–7,197 ft
Out & Back · Royal Gorge
Trailhead: 39.31681, -120.33058
Weather Sep 22: Partly cloudy, high 67°F / low 47° · precip 2% · wind 5 mph · sunrise 6:50 AM · sunset 7:00 PM
Drinking water at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading W.
- 1.5 miSharp left onto Bill Patterson, heading SE.
- 0.6 miTurn right, heading S.
- 150 ftContinue straight onto Nose Dive, heading S.
- 0.3 miBear left, heading W.
- 300 ftTurn right onto Ana's Chute, heading S.
- 0.2 miBear right onto Nose Dive, heading SW.
- 200 ftTurn right, heading SW.
- 0.1 miTurn right onto Claim Jumper Bike Route, heading W.
- 0.2 miBear left onto Aster, heading W.
- 50 ftContinue straight onto Claim Jumper Bike Route, heading W.
- 0.2 miBear right onto Claim Jumper, heading SW.
- 0.4 miBear right onto Switchback, heading W.
- 0.4 miBear right onto Rowton Peak Trail, heading SW.
- 50 ftBear left onto Switchback, heading SW.
- 100 ftContinue straight onto Tiny Tim, heading S.
- 50 ftContinue straight onto Switchback, heading S.
- 50 ftPass Serene Lakes.
- 250 ftContinue straight onto Reindeer, heading SW.
- 1.1 miTurn left, heading NW.
- 350 ftTurn right, heading NW.
- 0.1 miBear right, heading NW.
- 100 ftTurn left, heading NW.
- 0.4 miTurn left, heading W.
- 0.3 miReach Lyle's Lookout, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.3 miTurn right, heading SW.
- 0.4 miTurn right, heading N.
- 100 ftBear left, heading N.
- 0.1 miTurn left, heading E.
- 1.1 miContinue straight onto Switchback, heading SE.
- 300 ftContinue straight onto Tiny Tim, heading SE.
- 50 ftContinue straight onto Switchback, heading SE.
- 100 ftBear right onto Rowton Peak Trail, heading SE.
- 50 ftBear left onto Switchback, heading SE.
- 0.4 miBear left onto Claim Jumper, heading NE.
- 0.4 miBear left onto Claim Jumper Bike Route, heading NE.
- 0.2 miContinue straight onto Aster, heading NE.
- 50 ftBear right onto Claim Jumper Bike Route, heading NE.
- 0.2 miTurn left, heading E.
- 0.1 miTurn left onto Nose Dive, heading E.
- 200 ftBear left onto Ana's Chute, heading E.
- 0.2 miTurn left, heading E.
- 300 ftBear right onto Nose Dive, heading E.
- 0.3 miContinue straight onto Bill Patterson, heading NE.
- 200 ftTurn right, heading NE.
- 0.6 miSharp right, heading SE.
- 1.3 miArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
68% dirt32% unspecified
Weather
Partly cloudyTemperature 67°F47°
Feels like46°Precip2%Wind5 mphUV7Humidity43%
Hourly temperature
70°45°
Sunrise 6:50 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM9 PMSunset 7:00 PM
Wed
69°48°
Thu
71°45°
Fri
64°41°
Sat
65°40°
Sun
58°33°
Mon
70°31°
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.4 mi in (~11 min). Leave by 6:29 PM for the 7:00 PM sunset. Back at your car by 7:27 PM — 0 min before dark.
Good to know
- Drinking water at the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
Other ways to reach this destination
More from this trailhead
- Lake Mary–Emigrant Trail, 5 sights 12.7 mi · ▲ 2,465 ft
- Petroglyph Cliff–Donner Pass, 4 sights 10.7 mi · ▲ 2,386 ft
- Bill Patterson 6.8 mi · ▲ 258 ft
- Bill Patterson 6.1 mi · ▲ 315 ft
- Tinker Knob–Pacific Crest Viewpoint, 6 sights 15.9 mi · ▲ 2,868 ft
- Andesite Peak–Lake Angela, 8 lakes 11.1 mi · ▲ 1,402 ft
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