The Drive to Dinkey Lakes
Saturday morning we drove up the mountain from Fresno to the Dinkey Lakes trail. Most of the drive was along California 168, up through the small resort town of Shaver Lake. We continued several miles further up into the Sierra Nevada, turning off the highway at Tamarack Ridge, elev. 7,582'. From there it was a bit over 10 miles on mostly dirt roads to the trailhead for Dinkey Lakes.
Link: Watch video on YouTube
If you were to look up directions to get to the Dinkey Lakes trailhead, this is probably not the route you'd see recommended. It's an alternate I figured out last year when the normal route was impassable due to a washout. That said, as far as alternate routes go, it's a fairly good one. The trail only gets really bumpy on the last 1/2 mile or so, and by that point the main route has merged in so it's not longer an alternative. Plus, in our Nissan Xterra Pro4x I didn't even have to engage 4 wheel drive. The vehicle's stock high clearance, combined with skilled driving, was plenty to get over everything the trail threw at us.
Stay tuned... the hike comes next!
Click to viewLink: Watch video on YouTube
If you were to look up directions to get to the Dinkey Lakes trailhead, this is probably not the route you'd see recommended. It's an alternate I figured out last year when the normal route was impassable due to a washout. That said, as far as alternate routes go, it's a fairly good one. The trail only gets really bumpy on the last 1/2 mile or so, and by that point the main route has merged in so it's not longer an alternative. Plus, in our Nissan Xterra Pro4x I didn't even have to engage 4 wheel drive. The vehicle's stock high clearance, combined with skilled driving, was plenty to get over everything the trail threw at us.
Stay tuned... the hike comes next!