Laurel Lakes Road #4S86

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If you carry a water filter, you can get water from the Laurel Lakes before running back down. Otherwise, carry what you'll need for the round-trip.

This is a rough four-wheel drive road that includes several rocky sections (think cobblestone on steroids). Footing can be tricky on the descent.

Laurel Lakes Road is only navigable in a high-clearance, four-wheel drive vehicle—or on two feet. In fact, it may be faster to run the road than to drive it.

To get there, take Highway 395 south from Mammoth and turn right on Sherwin Creek Road. Drive along this dirt road for a few miles until you reach Laurel Lakes Road. Park here and get ready to run.

Follow Laurel Lakes Road as it switchbacks up the hillside and disappears into the valley. After climbing about a mile and a half, the trail flattens out a bit and takes you through a grove of aspen trees. After about three miles from the start, the grade steepens again with another set of switchbacks. At about 4.5 miles, you reach the high point with a view of the two Laurel Lakes down below. Descend a short section to the lakes to complete the 5.1-mile trail.

Take a dip in the lake to cool off or fill up your water bottle if you brought a filter. Then turn around and run back down to the starting point for a 10.2-mile out-and-back (up-and-down) run with about 3,000 vertical feet gained and lost.

Aspen