Alpine Lakes Loop Trail, Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Stella Lake (with Mt. Wheeler in the background), Great Basin National Park, Nevada

( if you've seen my previous post about Lehman Cave, could you imagine underneath this alpine lake and mountain peak is that beautiful marble cave with all those rare cave formations? Earth is beautiful, inside and out! )

Great Basin National Park, in Baker, Nevada, is a land of great diversity, where hot desert valleys meet cool mountain ranges. It is home to ancient bristlecone pines, rock formations, fossils, springs, caves, creeks, and even a lone glacier in Nevada. At the time we were there July 1- July 3 this year, the desert valley was at 115 degree Fahrenheit ( 46 Celsius), yet Lehman Cave, the first place we explored was at 50 degree Fahrenheit ( 10 Celsius). After exploring Lehman Cave, we hiked Alpine Lakes Loop trail, where the temperature was 72 degree Fahrenheit ( 22 Celsius).

Here are some basic information regarding Alpine Lakes Loop Trail:

Trailhead: Bristlecone Parking Area.

Aspen Grove at the Trailhead

 ( I could imagine how much more beautiful this trail would be with vivid yellow aspens in the fall)

Mileage: 2.7 miles loop trail, 600 ft gain that starts at 9,800 ft elevation (which means you will reach 10,400 ft elevation). There are various trails that can be continued from this loop, such as Bristlecone Pine and Glacier Trail and Wheeler Peak trail.


Alpine Lakes Loop trail connects two lakes, Stella Lake and Teresa Lake, both totally freezes in the winter. We hiked in the counterclockwise direction, so the first lake we saw was Stella Lake. In the very first picture above of Stella Lake, notice the reflection, the wind was a little bit calm when we got to the lake, so there were not much ripples then. After taking a few pictures, we could feel the wind strongly blowing on us, and slowly, the reflection disappeared for more ripples on the water.

Us Taking Memories of Stella Lake ( reflection in the water here slowly disappearing because of wind)

By the time we were done taking pictures of ourselves, the lake was already filled with ripples. 

Stella Lake

We were glad to at least see the different conditions of the lake, when the air was calm, and when it was windy. :) We could see patches of snow at the slopes of Mt. Wheeler. It was amazing for us to see the patches of snow on the mountain knowing that at the desert floor, it was 115F(46C)! Yet where we were was cool enough that snow still lingers. Though of course we know the thermodynamics behind this phenomena and we have experienced it many times already, but somehow, experiencing it again still makes us thankful and appreciative of our AMAZING EARTH.

After Stella Lake, we continued following the trail counterclockwise to the next lake. While hiking, we saw two hikers who were hiking with their inflatable raft.

Hiking the Alpine Lakes Loop Trail with their Inflatable Rafts

I could not help but took them a picture since they gave us an idea to do the lake hopping too, our style. :) We do not have inflatable raft, but we thought of swimming in every lake or every stream in our next hikes if time allows.

The trail is mostly in the middle of pine forest, however, we did not see any bristlecone pine yet. Though we were excited to see an ancient bristlecone ( ancient because they are the world's oldest living things), but we were not in a hurry since we would be hiking the Bristlecone and Glacier trail the next day. Before reaching the 2nd lake in the loop trail, we saw a stream so richly lined with wildflowers. We could not resist of course but stop and take a lot of pictures. :)

Stream lined with wildflowers

Following the course of this stream, we soon saw Teresa Lake. 

Stream coming from spring and feeding Teresa Lake

Teresa Lake

Teresa Lake is smaller compared to Stella Lake. Actually, both lakes are small, but beautiful with the rugged landscape adorning their surrounding. 

Teresa Lake and Mt. Wheeler

After Teresa Lake, we continued to follow the trail, and in a short while, we reached the junction, one trail goes back to the parking area, and the other one goes to Bristlecone and Glacier trail. Because of the time of day, we decided to hike the Bristlecone and Glacier trail the next day, and took the trail back to the parking lot. 

We were happy to note that we did not feel the 600 ft elevation gain at above 10,000 ft elevation ( thinner air), which meant we could do a lot more hiking in our next destination which would be at above 10,000 ft elevation as well.

After the hike, before resting in our hotel, we stopped to take in the desert valley and mountains, at Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive.

 The Great Basin Mountains at Higher Elevation

The Great Basin Desert Valley Below

as you can tell, we all were busy with camera. Hubby's niece was taking picture of desert below. I was busy reviewing my pictures. While hubby was busy taking picture of us :) 

Mt. Wheeler Cirque and Nevada's Lone Glacier from afar, the Rock Glacier

( looking at where we would be hiking the next day)

 Lehman Cave, Milky Way, and Alpine Lakes Loop, at Great Basin National Park, in Baker, Nevada.

What is next?.....

Bristlecone and Glacier Trail, an ancient forest with some of the Earth's oldest living things at 5000+ years old, and Nevada's only glacier, in my next post. 

♥♥