There is an amazing sense of freedom that comes from the simple act of putting on your hiking boots, choosing a trail to explore, and spending the day immersed in nature. Hiking also is an opportunity to lift your mood and a chance to press pause to take in the world around you. Here are our six favorite hikes near Sonora to add to your bucket list. 

Pinecrest Lake Loop

The only loop trail on our list, we choose this one because it circumnavigates a high-alpine lake and offers views from every part of the trail. This hike is an easy 4 miles in total and provides plenty of opportunities to swim, fish, rest, and recharge. 

Gianelli Cabin to Powell Lake

The Burst Rock Trail from the Gianelli Cabin trailhead takes you to Powell Lake via the old emigrant trail used during California’s Gold Rush years. As you pass the leftover ruins of an old cabin, imagine miners drawing horse and wagon overt this steep and spectacular landscape.

Leavitt Meadow to Roosevelt Lake

This is a classic Sierra Nevada hike – offering everything from a gentle trail and moderate elevation gain, to an awe-inspiring lake basin. All of it captured in a quick 3-mile out-and-back hike.

Sonora Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail

This 10-mile round-trip hike along the Pacific Crest Trail is an epic one. While the first 2 miles are grueling – you’ll gain 1,500 feet in elevation – the rest of the hike follows the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Here, you’ll be rewarded with views that seem endless.

Kennedy Meadows to Relief Reservoir

This hike mixes history and Hollywood along 3 miles (one way) of well-marked trail. The starting point – Kennedy Meadows – presents an easy walk through a beautiful grassland that might look familiar – a few episodes of the classic Little House on the Prairie was filmed here. From here, you’ll cross a stunning bridge before climbing a wide trail carved out of the mountainside during the construction of the reservoir in the early 1900s. You’ll also pass some relics from the building of the dam, including rusting equipment and, when you reach Relief Reservoir, you’ll see an old blasting powder storage room that was carved into the rock. 

Iceberg Meadow to Boulder Lake

If you’re looking for a challenging hike that tests your fitness and your will to push through, the Iceberg Meadow to Boulder Lake hike (4 miles one way) is the one for you. While the hike starts off in the shade of an old-growth forest, you begin to gain moderate elevation along Boulder Creek as you hike the first 2.5 miles. At the junction for Boulder Lake, pause for a moment, cast a line in the cool-flowing creek, or just rest before tackling the remaining 1.5 miles up to the lake. It’s a 1,200-foot climb, but the views and silence are worth the extra effort.

Create the Ultimate Adventure Locker

If you need a place to stow your hiking gear, backpacks, and other stuff between hikes and adventures, look to StorQuest Self Storage in Sonora. We have our back when it comes to everything you need to keep organized, stowing your stuff, and making life more awesome.