Loch Leven Lakes Trail

If told to «Take a hike» and «go jump in a lake», I will gladly get off your nerves and go away. Needing to go away on a late summer afternoon, I took that hike and jumped in that lake on the Loch Leven Lakes trail.
The hike is an 8 mile (12.9 km) round-​trip, climbing 1,100 feet (335 m) of elevation, to a chain of three scenic alpine lakes. The trail traverses polished granite outcrops, passes cascading pools, and crosses a wooden bridge spanning a rushing creek. Abruptly, the course of the original Transcontinental Railroad severs the path.
At the crossing, an overhead signal structure spans the operating tracks. Two hikers had boldly climbed the ladder and were standing on the catwalk directly over a formidable freight train as it lumbered up the grade. Alarmingly, the double-​stacked container cars passed a mere 6 inches beneath their feet.
Across the tracks, the trail climbs punishingly for 30 minutes over rocky switchbacks. Over the ridge, the string of three clear lakes weaves through the glaciated landscape.
Upper Loch Leven Lake is a small mirror lake. Middle Loch Leven Lake, the largest, is set in a rock amphitheater and dotted with pine-​studded islands. High Loch Leven Lake, like Goldilocks, was just right for a refreshing plunge.
I leapt off a smooth granite ledge on the west side of the lake. First, I screamed for a cardiologist, but I soon became invigorated. Afterward, I dried off and caught my breath on the radiant slab of igneous rock.
The conveniently located hike and revitalizing swim took a total of 4 hours to complete. I will gladly return to the Loch Leven Lakes trail, any time someone tells me to «take a hike» and «go jump in a lake».
Directions: The trailhead is about 75 miles (120 km) east of downtown Sacramento, on the south side of I-​80, between Exits 166 and 168, on Hampshire Rocks Road (Old Highway 40), about ½-​mile (0.8 km) west of the Rainbow Lodge. The trail begins across the road from the small parking lot and vault toilets.

I adore this hike! The only problem I have with it is that the beginning of the hike is such that it’s easy to lose the trail. One day I went out and never did find my way back to the trail and had to head back to the car. I haven’t done the hike for about 1.5 yrs so perhaps that problem was rectified. Apparently none of the other reviewers have this problem. It’s a beautiful hike and I, for one, LOVE that my dogs can accompany me. They deserve to hike and enjoy mother nature too!

We still come here at least 2 or 3 times every summer, but we’re more fond of the PCT these days. PCT is a few more exits further up the Interstate, but much better views, in my humble opinion.

This was a great hike, but be warned that it is very rocky. It took us 2.5 hours to go round trip to the first lake. Parts of the path are quite unmarked, and we did spent a fair amount of time wondering where the path went.

The only reason we don’t rate this Five stars is that it is a busy trail and dogs are allowed on it. This is because it is easy to reach, it is off of Exit 166 if you’re headed eastbound or Exit 168 if you’re headed West. The trailhead is off of Hampshire Rocks Road which runs between the two exits.
It has everything you want in a trail, some open stretches, others under thick forest cover. It has a unique feature of crossing the UP railroad tracks.
There is one stretch that may be considered strenuous — after the tracks, you climb 800 feet in about 1.2 miles, otherwise, the rest of the hike is a slight climb. We noticed that most people stop at Lake 1 only 2.5 miles in and others stop at lake two.
Lake 3 is .7 miles from Lake 2 — Lake 3 is the most pristine, but that is also where the most people camp overnight. Overall, Lake 2 we the best.
This was a good 7.2 mile workout. It took us 3.5 hours with stops for pictures, but we move really fast. Get there before 9am and you should be able to hike up with few if any people. We descended from 10−11am and passed a ton of people.