Duck Lake Pass Trailhead

"This is an amazing and very scenic hike, although quite steep at the very beginning once you reach the initial peak, there is a larger rock out crop from which you can have a beautiful, overlook and resting spot. And you can tackle the rest of the pass to arrowhead Lake and beyond. This is a semi-crowded hike so don’t worry about isolation. There there is a healthy bear population during July and August and August. There’s seem to be extra hungry famished from the heavy snowfall of 2023 consider taking a bear can however, locals referred to the Bears as big raccoons. Take water and a hat. If you’re planning to run this Trail, it’s rather rocky with sharp outcroppings and a little too steep to run full bore- on the way down. This is one of my new favorite trails! Exremely scenic totally worth it with high altitude training opportunities. This will definitely leave you breathless’s if you have any lung issues. I saw quite a few hikers doing a multi day hike with large heavy packs looks like a great beginner trail for multi day backpacking trips"

"Parking lot is decent size. Trash can, 2 vault toilets, trail info, and a bear bin to store scented items. Several lakes along the trail. Can be used as day use or overnight with a permit. We camped at Duck Lake and it was beautiful. Duck Pass is strenuous but worth the view."

"This is a beautiful trail which is moderate to slightly strenuous in Mammoth lakes region. It’s a nice trail which covers a lot of lakes on its way like the Duck lake, Pika lake, Blarney lake etc. To name a few. The strenuous part is the switchback section around mile 3-4, with loose rock. The weather was really good when we hooked. It took around 5 hours for the hike roundtrip."

"One of my absolute favorite trails. You don't need to go far up for incredible views, there are plenty of lakes to enjoy. I went all the way up to Duck Lake and I would say it was a fairly moderate hike if you are used to the high elevation. Lots of people at the trailhead and throughout the first two miles but after that it gets pretty secluded. Most folks had masks and respected the 6 feet rule."