Cirque Lake

The route to Cirque Lake and back is a meandering, 10.8-mile loop in the southern Sierra. It connects Cottonwood Lakes Trail to Cirque Lake, and finishes by completing the loop around Flat Top Peak, just for kicks. The route passes through both the Golden Trout Wilderness and the John Muir Wilderness in Inyo National Forest, and it does not cross the Sierra crest. There are excellent views of the crest, however, from Trailmaster Peak on the southern end to Mt. Langley on the northern end. 

Begin from Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead in the Horseshoe Meadows area. After 1.5 miles on Cottonwood Lakes Trail, turn left onto South Fork of Cottonwood Creek Trail. Follow the South Fork for 2.8 miles and then take the left at the junction with Cirque Lake Trail. You’ll pass the very nice South Fork Lakes, and after 0.8 miles, Cirque Lake. The lake sits right under Cirque Peak (12,900ft.) and just to the south sits Trailmaster Peak (12,336ft.). Cirque Lake is a fine place for camp (in a previously used spot). When you’ve had your fill, head back via Cirque Lake Trail. The option is of course open to return the way you came (via South Fork), but for our purposes, continue on Cirque Lake Trail until the junction with Cottonwood Lakes Trail. Turn right here, where the trail circles around Flat Top Peak (11,405ft.) before heading back to Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead. 

Wilderness permits are required for backcountry camping, which can be found at www.recreation.gov. For more information regarding advisories, weather, road conditions, campgrounds and more, check out the Inyo National Forest website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/inyo. Practice the principles of leave no trace, and take action to defend threatened wilderness areas (wildernesswatch.org).