After a couple nights at Silver Lake we moved on to the Mammoth Lakes area. Did the loop then went a little further south to Crowley lake. Except for some good boondocking sites on the west side of the freeway, this did not look welcoming at all. So we went directly to Convict Lake.
Convict Lake is a natural lake, very deep, up to 140′ at its fullest and very clear. Also known for its huge brown trout. It was named after an incident that happened in 1871. A group of convicts escaped from Carson City, Nevada and were cornered at the lake by a posse. After a shootout two of the posse were killed. One of them was a merchant named Robert Morrison. The highest peak above the lake is now called Mt. Morrison. The convicts were eventually caught and the story has been the basis for several movies.
The camp site we got was terrific. Only $12.50/night. 85 campsites available and they hold many open for walk-ins (people without reservations). Free dump, flush toilets, and RV water available. Some sites quite small and sloped so if you are booking off of the net, you may not know the condition of the site you select.
We had a lot of weather here in the afternoons, and one evening it snowed and hailed quite a bit. Got down to 27 degrees at night. We even had a bear come into the campground. I was walking the dogs and saw him in a tree, which he exited and ran down the road with the game warden chasing him away. We even had to abort an afternoon hike around the lake because people were fleeing telling us there was a bear on the trail. Probably the same one.
We finally did that hike around the lake and it was beautiful. About four miles all the way around. At the far end, the creek had overrun the foot bridge so we had to get across on some rather skimpy logs. It was not easy. I wish I had gotten a video of Kate and Charlie crossing after Ben and I got across.
We stayed here two nights and decided to start making our way back north. And there were several sights we wanted to see on the way. Namely Hot Creek and Mono Lake.
Absolutely gorgeous! Lucky you’s.