Mid Sierra Musings: College Rock Day Hike Near Huntington Lake

Dale Matson

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Hike Route

This is both the beginning of the hiking season and the evident snow melt out at the lower elevations. Although some of my friends have already hiked to the top of Kaiser Peak (10,380') through lots of snow, I hiked to the halfway point at College Rock on the same trail. It is about three miles to College Rock. The Kaiser Peak trailhead parking is off Huntington Lake Road at the end of Deer Creek Lane. The trailhead is above the D&F Pack Station. Get there early on the weekends since there is only room for about 8 cars.

This is a challenging hike in its own right with an attitude gain of nearly 2,000’ in three miles. There is one nice ledge of flat boulders at about 1.5 miles where you can rest and enjoy the view of Huntington Lake. The Sierra Nevada Mountains will be just peeking out at this point. For some, this may be enough climb.

The climb to College Rock from this point is a bit more shaded and somewhat less steep. I was content to stop at College Rock. For those of you who have hiked to Kaiser Peak, I have provided a photo since you may not even know it is there. Here the view begins to open up a bit more with more mountains evident.

I took it really slow and the hike time for me was a total of about 5 hours. There are some water sources as of this writing but they will be dried up soon. Bring plenty of water with you in your daypack.