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Highlights
Discover alpine lake basins in Ansel Adams Wilderness on foot
Explore the spectacular scenery spanning Ansel Adams Wilderness alongside a trusted guide who will design trails that cater to your groups’ hiking desires and abilities.
Spend three nights at an incredible basecamp, in the wild, set beside a shimmering lake, where you can enjoy refreshing evening dips!
Enjoy tasty, fulfilling backcountry meals prepared by your guide—you’ll definitely need some sustenance for your adventures.
Summit one of the 10,000-foot peaks jetting high into the sky along the Yosemite National Park border.
Escape society and travel deep into remote wonders tucked into Ansel Adams Wilderness on this guided Alpine Lakes Backpacking Adventure. Alongside a trusted guide, you’ll travel to pristine scenery, such as granite peaks, meadows cloaked in wildflowers, glittering lakes, and rivers cutting into Southern Yosemite’s tremendous landscape.
You’ll spend three nights of this 5-day backpacking trip camping at one secluded spot nestled into Ansel Adams Wilderness. Expect to rest your head by a beautiful lake and within the quiet hush of a canopy of trees. During the day, you’ll depart your basecamp for some day adventures before returning in the evening.
Escape society and travel deep into remote wonders tucked into Ansel Adams Wilderness on this guided Alpine Lakes Backpacking Adventure. Alongside a trusted guide, you’ll travel to pristine scenery, such as granite peaks, meadows cloaked in wildflowers, glittering lakes, and rivers cutting into Southern Yosemite’s tremendous landscape.
You’ll spend three nights of this 5-day backpacking trip camping at one secluded spot nestled into Ansel Adams Wilderness. Expect to rest your head by a beautiful lake and within the quiet hush of a canopy of trees. During the day, you’ll depart your basecamp for some day adventures before returning in the evening.
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Alpine Lakes Backpacking Adventure Itinerary
Day 1 Begin in Bass Lake, California
Check into your hotel sometime after 4 pm. At 6 pm, you’ll meet your guide and the rest of your group for a short orientation. Enjoy dinner on your own at one of the many restaurants in town.
Overnight Location: Hotel in Bass Lake
Distance: None
Meals: None
Day 2 Trek to lakeside camp
Enjoy a delicious breakfast on your own before meeting up with your guide at 8 am. You are responsible for your own transportation to the trailhead, which takes about an hour from where you will greet your guide in the morning. After quickly sorting the gear, you will start hiking. Travel through fir forests before reaching the high sub-alpine lake basin. You will set up camp here.
Overnight Location: Camping in Ansel Adams Wilderness
Distance: 6 mi, 1,706 ft ascent, 1,053 ft descent
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Day 3 Discover the alpine lakes basin
Consume a delicious breakfast before embarking on adventures around your camp. Your guide will tailor the hiking duration to match the desires of your group. End the day with a refreshing dip in the lake and a fulfilling dinner!
Overnight Location: Camping in Ansel Adams Wilderness
Distance: 1-6 mi, elevation varies
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4 Ascend a 10,000-foot peak
Get ready to hike one of the surrounding 10,000-foot peaks standing tall along the border of Yosemite National Park today. If you aren’t in the mood for an exhilarating summit, the guide will take you along various trails to other alpine lakes!
Overnight Location: Camping in Ansel Adams Wilderness
Distance: 1-6 mi, elevation varies
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5 Go back to Bass Lake
Bask in nature and enjoy a tasty breakfast before heading back to the trailhead!
Overnight Location: Camping in Ansel Adams Wilderness
Distance: 6 mi, 321 m ascent, 1,706 ft descent
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Alpine Lakes Backpacking Adventure Price and Dates
This guided tour in the Sierra Nevada is always run as a fixed-departure tour where you would be joining a group, therefore the price is fixed and only depends on the number of people sharing the room or a tent.The prices below are per person:
Start
Finish
Duration
Spaces Left
Price
Wed, Jun 18
From Bass Lake
Sun, Jun 22
to Bass Lake
5 Days
5+
Spaces left
USD$1675
Wed, Jul 23
From Bass Lake
Sun, Jul 27
to Bass Lake
5 Days
5+
Spaces left
USD$1675
Wed, Aug 6
From Bass Lake
Sun, Aug 10
to Bass Lake
5 Days
5+
Spaces left
USD$1675
Wed, Aug 27
From Bass Lake
Sun, Aug 31
to Bass Lake
5 Days
5+
Spaces left
USD$1675
Accommodation on Alpine Lakes Backpacking Adventure
This backpacking adventure will have you staying in one cozy hotel. The hotel has modern necessities that will keep you comfy and relaxed. Keep in mind that rooms are double occupancy, but you can always upgrade to single occupancy for an additional fee. Single travellers are also required to pay a supplement. You will spend the remaining 3 nights backcountry camping.
In some cases, the accommodation listed below may be swapped for other similar accommodations.
Single Rooms and Solo Travelers
You can pay a supplement of USD240 to have a private room in a hotel while traveling with a group. We can match the single travellers up, however, in case there aren’t any matches, you’ll have to pay a supplement of USD120.
What’s included in the Alpine Lakes Backpacking Adventure?
Meals
3 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 3 dinners, and trail snacks along the route are included.
Accommodations
Accommodations for 1 night in the hotel in Bass Lake, and for 3 nights of wilderness camping. Accommodations before and after the tour are not included.
Transportation during the Tour
You are responsible for driving yourself or organizing transportation to and from the trailhead.
Also Included
- Guide
- Personal backpacking gear (per request), such as sleeping bags, backpack, sleeping pads, tents, trekking poles
- Group gear, such as stoves, group first aid kit, cooking items, water filters, etc.
- Hot coffee and tea in the mornings
Not included
- Flights and transportation to get to and from Bass Lake
- Personal clothing and shoes
- Accommodations before and after the adventure tour
- Personal expenses + gratuities (recommended 10-20% for excellent service)
- Evacuations
- Transportation to and from the trailhead
- Insurance
Optional Extras
- You can upgrade to a single occupancy in the hotel for an additional fee
- Extra nights at Bass Lake before or after the tour
- How hard is the Alpine Lakes Backpacking Adventure?
- Do I need a Visa to travel to the United States?
- Do I need to carry my heavy backpack all the time?
- Is there a cook that cooks meals on the trek and is food provided in the trek?
- Are meals included on the Alpine Lakes Backpacking Adventure?
- Do I need insurance?
- How do I get to Bass Lake to start this tour?
- Is the Alpine Lakes Backpacking Adventure in English?
- How big is the group for this tour?
- Where does the Alpine Lakes Backpacking Adventure end?
- Do I need special vaccines to travel to the United States?
- Are there any travel restrictions for the United States?
- When is the best time to travel to California for this tour?
This tour is rated as 2 / 5, as it has you hiking moderate routes each day. You also need to be comfortable with camping in the wild for 3 nights.
Check with your local country about visa requirements. You could also try this website, though you should verify with your government.
You will have to carry your full backpack of around 13-15kg (including the portion of food and a piece of group gear) to the basecamp for 9.6km. After settling in, you’ll be able to enjoy the day hikes from the basecamp by carrying only your daypack with essentials.
The guides will develop a custom menu for the trip based on the specific dietary preferences (and allergies if applicable) of the group. The meals on this tour are hearty and of good quality, described as “backcountry gourmet” by Sunset Magazine!
3 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 3 dinners, and trail snacks along the route are included.
Yes, it is mandatory to have Health and Medical insurance to join this trip. Get your Travel Insurance.
You can fly to Fresno Yosemite International Airport. From here, you can organize public transport or rent a vehicle. For public transportation, take the bus to Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino, and then a taxi from here.
Yes, the tour guide speaks English.
The group consists of max 12 participants.
The tour ends where it starts, in Bass Lake, California.
Check with your family doctor.
Please check with your local government about travel restrictions before you book your tour. This map from the US Department of State provides an overview of the current status in countries around the globe. The UK‘s Foreign Office and Government of Canada also provide advice on foreign travel. Note that the travel advice may change depending on your nationality.
The best time to travel to California for trekking is during the summer. This tour is available from June to August.
Customer Ratings
SYMG was started in 1991 by three friends offering hiking trips into California’s mountains in hopes of more closely meshing lifestyle with work. The combination proved successful and SYMG has become a leader in the active travel and mountain guiding world, providing carefully planned and executed trips in the most spectacular wilderness areas of California and beyond. Now, 30 years later, we’ve shown thousands of people the beauty of Yosemite and the High Sierra and have been named one of the “Best Outfitters on Earth” by National Geographic Adventure Magazine.
