Crowley Lake

Hike Review

• After driving on a short 1-mile offroad trail (with a 30-yard section that needed 4-wheel drive), we parked at the trailhead and hiked the quarter mile down to where we could see Crowley Columns.

• The trail was mostly packed dirt with a short section of loose sand.

• There was no bathroom or running water at the trailhead, though there was plenty of room for parking.

• The trail had poor signage but was not needed due to the short length of the trail.

• The views of Crowley Lake were awe-inspiring, with the huge storm clouds reflecting off the choppy lake.

What Happened?

.5 miles, 28 mins, 158 ft of ascent

After a great lunch and having more time than anticipated, we drove to Crowley Lake to check out the Crowley Columns that I had heard so much about on Instagram. The off-roading was fun, but when we got there, it was hot. We switched into our sandals, put on our sunblock, and headed down to the lake.

The columns were impressive and alien to see, but after about 10 minutes, there wasn’t much more to do. One thing that I didn’t expect was that there were tons of flies hanging out by the columns and when disturbed, would swarm all around us.

We headed back to Ramona and after a drink of water, we headed off to Convict Lake to cool down.