Donner Lake as seen from Donner Pass.jpg
Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 3.0

Lytton Lake & Hutchinson Loop is a 3.7-mile out-and-back near Donner, CA. The route reaches Lytton Lake. It climbs 576 ft, with sections as steep as 16% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 36/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: green fringe.

Elevation

0 mi7,025 – 7,392 ft · steepest grade: 16%3.7 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Unnamed 39.32079, -120.32959
Nearest town Donner, CA

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Lytton Lake & Hutchinson Loop

3.7 mi · ▲ 576 ft · 1 hr 31 min

Elevation 7,025–7,392 ft

Out & Back

Trailhead: 39.32079, -120.32959

Weather Sep 5: Partly cloudy, high 55°F / low 38° · precip 4% · wind 11 mph · sunrise 6:34 AM · sunset 7:28 PM

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading NW.
  2. 0.6 miPass Lytton Lake.
  3. 0.9 miSharp right onto Hutchinson Loop, heading N.
  4. 0.4 miReach Lytton Lake, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  5. 0.4 miSharp left, heading NE.
  6. 1.4 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

100% dirt

Weather

Partly cloudyTemperature 55°F38°
Feels like31°Precip4%Wind11 mphUV5Humidity77%
Rained 0.3″ yesterday · trails may be muddy
Hourly temperature
55°35°
Sunrise 6:34 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PMSunset 7:28 PM
Sun 55°35°
Mon 67°34°
Tue 70°41°
Wed 73°48° 20%
Thu 74°52°
Fri 71°47° 16%

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 1.1 mi in (~35 min). Leave by 6:32 PM for the 7:28 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:16 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.

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