A fun trail to walk with kids. There's plenty of free parking in the lot. The route to the hike is…read morereally just a dirt road. The trail is about a mile to and back. There are 2-3 porta potties available at the parking lot. There is very little to no shade. It's literally the desert and rocks. I do not recommend this hike during the summer. It's definitely too hot. Remember to bring a hat, sunscreen, and water!

+ Short, beginner-friendly hike. About 1.25 mile, 30 minutes…read more + Fantastic photo ops with vantages of arches circumscribing Mt Whitney. + Free access and parking. . One or two porta-potties. . Moderately crowded. . Minimal shade. - No water.

Marvelous experience! Truly deserving of its title Tallest Peak in the Contiguous US. We went the…read morelonger 45-mi route from Cottonwood Pass, which took us 3 days 2 nights. Camped 1st night in the forest by a creek, 2nd night by Guitar Lake. Lots of privacy throughout this ordeal. Each day we passed about 10 ppl each. Heard cows mooing. Saw pikas, marmots, chipmunks, and fighter jets. Mesmerizing night sky completely blanketed with stars. Tough altitude experience. Lightheadedness and windedness from AMS will kick your butt. Better train beforehand by hiking shorter mountains such as San Gorgonio (11.5k', tallest peak in SoCal). Many people camp at least one night somewhere along the trail to help acclimate/acclimatize to the lower air density overnight. Turns out the hut at the summit (14.5k') will protect you from lightning. You will definitely need a water filter. Don't wanna lug 5 L of water for 20+ miles. Refill your bottles at creeks and lakes.

We were very lucky to snag a couple of last minute permits. Drove 4 hours and started hiking at 1…read moream. Summit the mountain around 8 am and enjoyed our time at the top. The views are amazing and the 99 switchbacks seem like eternity. We got back to the parking lot at 6pm and drove home. Weather was great at about 40 degrees. An unforgettable adventure. Please come and create your own.

Overall, It was a great experience. Very comforting to have everything sorted and just focus on the…read moremovement. The weather was great. Almost too hot but better than too much snow. Our guide, Dave was EXCELLENT. Social, made great food, and paced us very well. We all had a wonderful time!

What a fantastic trip put together for us by the Sierra Mountain Center. From the start Emma was…read morefantastic and professional in the coordination efforts for our Palisade Traverse trip. My son and I had a 1:1 guide ratio and the guides, Dave Stimson and Tyler Logan, were exceptional. Exceptional in their knowledge of the route, their efficiency with rope craft and their trailside manner - despite the exhausting climb we had such a fun time. We are already planning next year's outing with SMC. You can see a video of the trip here: https://theearthbeneathyourfeet.com/Hikes/HikeDetails/5574743739453848794f31484538675743512b3472513d3d

This was an incredible day for our family! Our son was there with his scout den earning his water…read morerafting merit badge and we got to do a full day lower Kern River, it was amazing! This company is so professional, nice, organized extremely well, and we will be coming back! And with our packages, it came with lunch provided, so tasty! Our son had Julianna as a guide and he really liked her. He said it was so cool and fun! She put him at ease since this was his first time doing this. We had Kyle and Mitch for our groups, they also put us at ease since we were doing this for the first time too. It was absolutely beautiful! Kyle was so good. Calm, explained everything, and fun. We cannot thank you enough for this amazing experience. We cannot wait to come back!

Jester today was a wonderful guide. He was super friendly and knew the river well. As always, the…read moreentire group is so professional and Dale the bus driver offered some cool stories and music for the ride. Kyle helped the other raft but went over all of the information we needed. He was also super nice. We only raft with this outfit when in Kernville. It is always a great time with wonderful people. Highly recommend!!!

*I would have given 5 stars if the water in the drinking fountains tasted better, if it was COOLER…read moreinside, if the water in the bathrooms were cold, and if there was security cameras around or supervision around on the different layers. I know 2 you can't change... Other then that it was good my kids loved it even though we were hot. It was a struggle to stay cool. Maybe offer a cooling station on a part of that gym by the wave pool? I would soooooo pay money to sit in there on a hot day like today. If you are coming for your first time like us bring cooling towels and cash for water bottles. Super hot!!! I'm from Fresno it's always hot there and it was hot for us.

This place is fun for kids but man does it need a serious cleaning. It made my skin crawl. All the…read moreattractions including the bounce houses had an inch of dust on them. I went with a school field trip and the kids had a great time but I'm telling you they need to deep clean this place like yesterday. The chairs and sitting areas are ripped and run down, floors are filthy, stains everywhere you look, there are cobwebs literally everywhere. It's giving "back rooms" vibes all the way. It smells musty too and there is no A/C so I imagine it gets pretty hot in there. When the weather is nice it stays pretty cool and they do have huge fans everywhere. Also there is a nice view from some of the upper decks. I wanted to enjoy this place but please have it cleaned professionally.

Glacial erratic boulders for the win. We had no idea how gigantic and mind-blowing these boulders…read morewould be before heading out on an unpaved road to see the sights in Buttermilk Country in the East Sierras (so named because there was a dairy in this location many decades ago). The boulders are scattered as if a giant had thrown down his marbles and left them where they lay. Glacial activity, however, is responsible for leaving these most scenic reminders of the Ice Age. Now I had never heard of the sport of "bouldering" before visiting here (I am so old we called it climbing on rocks) but apparently it is all the rage. We came across small groups of "boulderers" who bring out chalk and crash pads to help them "send" (short for ascend) to the top. (I was going to say peak but most boulders really can't be said to have a peak, unless they split in two as you can see in the pictures.) Apparently bouldering is all the rage but this is also the perfect spot for hiking and photography. Free parking on the side of the road. Four-wheel drive suggested as the unpaved road can be rough.

If you're a boulderer, then this is definitely a place to check out. Road tripped out here w/ my…read moreman and a couple friends. It was HOT out there but all worth it. If you're bold, you can go up some high balls! Very scenic & beautiful. Bring tons of water & be ready to climb some boulders. Loved it!

The Peabody Boulders in the Buttermilk Country west of Bishop are not your average, garden-variety…read morestones. About 55 feet tall, the gigantic Grandpa and Grandma Peabody (once a single boulder) are two of the world's largest, and present challenging problems to even the most advanced climbers. Since the last boulder I scaled was "Big Rock" back in high school, we came to the Buttermilks just to look up at the remarkable rocks. Arriving early to catch the morning light, we hiked the short but steep, decomposed granite trail through the boulder field. At the top of the trail, we scrambled around on the frictiony surface of the quartz monzonite, and marveled at the views of the radiant Sierra Nevada range. The big, bad boulders of the Buttermilks get 3 stars for their extreme girth and brilliant setting. Even though I didn't do any bouldering myself, the Peabody Boulders deserve another star for their world-class climbs. Next visit, I will bring some chalk and a crash pad. Directions: From downtown Bishop, take Highway 168 (W. Line Street) approximately 7.25 miles west, turn right on Buttermilk Road, and travel approximately 3.5 miles west to boulders.

Amazing experience summiting Mount Whitney via the Mountaineers Route with Sierra Mountaineering…read moreInternational! Kurt was an exceptional guide- knowledgeable, professional, and fun to climb with. He made the entire experience feel safe and well-supported while also teaching us new skills along the way. Highly recommend SMI.

Horrific and Traumatizing Experience with SMLGuides - Guide Kurt…read more I recently participated in a guided Mt. Whitney hike with SMLGuides, and it was, without question, one of the most distressing and disappointing trail experiences of my life. What should have been an empowering and memorable climb instead became an experience marked by poor leadership, lack of professionalism, emotional distress, and equipment negligence. To begin with, the backpack I rented from Kurt was completely inappropriate--it was a men's backpack, not sized or fitted for me, and it caused immediate and ongoing issues throughout the hike. I had to stop repeatedly to make adjustments, relying on another guide, Ben, to help me manage the situation. These delays were not due to my fitness or preparedness but solely due to being provided improper gear. Supplying correctly fitted equipment is a basic responsibility of any guiding service, and this failure directly impacted my hike. What followed at the trailhead was even more troubling. After arriving with excitement and anticipation, I was subjected to an invasive and humiliating experience when Kurt went through each of my personal belongings from the rental backpack--handling and examining items that were clearly private--before abruptly tossing the bag into the van. This behavior was unnecessary, intrusive, and deeply uncomfortable, and it immediately set a tone of disrespect and intimidation. Despite my clear and repeated communication--both prior to the hike and in person--about my extensive hiking background, including summiting Mount Kilimanjaro, completing Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim, finishing the Triple Crown Hike in Virginia, and numerous Appalachian Trail hikes, Kurt continuously questioned my ability in a way that was demeaning and demoralizing. This was not constructive guidance; it was discouraging and dismissive. Rather than offering solutions, encouragement, or leadership, Kurt repeatedly suggested that I should quit. At no point did he attempt to properly address the gear issue or support me in continuing. I felt pressured, unsupported, and frankly treated as an inconvenience. It genuinely felt as though he had his own agenda and was eager to drop hikers rather than guide them. Ultimately, I turned back--not because I lacked the physical capability to summit, but because my equipment failed me and my guide failed me. The mountain did not defeat me--the leadership did. This experience stands in stark contrast to my Rim-to-Rim hike, where teammates stayed with me, encouraged me, and supported me through challenges. That is what real leadership and camaraderie look like. That is what hikers deserve--especially on a trail as demanding as Mt. Whitney. Additionally, we were informed there would be four guides, yet only three were present. There was no explanation provided. In contrast to Kurt's behavior, Ben was kind, patient, and genuinely helpful, doing his best to assist me with the oversized backpack and offering the support that was otherwise missing. I left this experience emotionally drained, shaken, and traumatized. I was forced to turn around under circumstances that could and should have been prevented with proper gear, professionalism, and support. Given that I could not complete the hike due to these failures, I am requesting a full refund. I sincerely hope SMLGuides takes this feedback seriously. No hiker should ever be made to feel disrespected, intimidated, or abandoned on a guided expedition. Future participants deserve competent leadership, properly fitted equipment, transparency, and basic human decency.

Wonderful experience and plan to return. I went on a weekend expedition to the Ansel Adams…read moreWilderness by Yosemite. It was absolutely incredible. I went with a church group with 10 other men and we were greeted late at night by two guides that had the best attitudes even though we arrived super-late. They had everything ready to go at the campsite so we didn't have to worry about any gear and just go right to sleep. They took care of all of our meals, too. The next morning we took a 6-mile hike and went swimming in a mountain lake all the while discussing meaningful things in our lives to connect with one another. It was a real bonding and growing experience. We later did a 3-hour solo trip to be alone for 3 hours and really enjoyed it. The next day we went rock climbing and learned a great deal from the experience, much more than just rock climbing. We were only there for about 36 hours in total, but loved every minute of it. Some other things about the company: They have multiple pre-packaged "courses" in addition to the ability to create customized courses which is what we went on. Their pre-packaged courses include Father-Children courses, Leadership development courses, single parent courses, among many other adventure courses. All of the courses are aimed at giving a God-centered educational experience that you will not forget. Activities include camping, hiking, rock climbing, swimming, among other activities. They are headquartered in a cool cabin in Bass Lake, CA, but operate all over the world. Adventure sites include some of the most beautiful places in the world like Mt. Rainier, Yosemite, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Holy Land and South America among other places. Super helpful guides and instructors who obviously love their jobs (I'm candidly a little jealous). From the website: "Our focus is providing custom programming using service, adventure and experiential education as tools to strengthen relationships with God and others......Since 1973, Summit Adventure has used wilderness and adventure as tools to facilitate transformation, build compassion, strengthen relationships and deepen faith. These processes take place through time-tested and proven strategies that Summit Adventure has used over the past four decades." The adventures are reasonably priced. Summit Adventure is a not-for-profit organization.