Convict Lake

Hike Review

• Convict Lake is a pretty lake that has a well-operated boat rental and a well-maintained trail that circumnavigates the lake.

• The lake was beautiful with the majestic Laurel Mountain overlooking it.

• The single-track trail followed the shore closely for almost the entire time.

• The northern half of the trail is shared with stock animals, so there was a lot of horse and donkey manure.

• The west side of the lake has a quarter-mile, boardwalk section. It was in a fabulous condition.

• There weren’t too many people on the trail, but that’s probably because we hiked it during a thunderstorm.

• The parking lot was full, but we got lucky with a prime spot.

• There was a bathroom in the parking lot, but we did not use it.

What I Learned

• I was so tired and slow on the other hikes that day, but because of the rain and the wind, I was a ball of energy. I really perform well when it’s cold. When it’s hot... not so well.

• My 3-year-old packable rain jacket totally failed. All the water soaked through and it only protected me from the winds. I’ll try to rejuvenate it, but it might be time for me to get a packable 2 layer jacket.

What Happened?

2.6 miles, 1 hr 5 mins, 518 ft of ascent

I had heard so much about the beauty of Convict Lake that going there was a no-brainer. We arrived at the parking lot, found a lucky spot, and started hiking in a counterclockwise direction with storm-front winds cooling us down.

As we hiked, the winds got heavier and we started hearing thunder. All the boats seemed to head back to the dock—soon after, the rains started falling in earnest. The hike went quickly as we were enjoying our first rain hike in months. As if on cue, about a mile from the car, the rains stopped and the winds dried us mostly off.