California trails · Green Creek
Green Creek
A 10.7-mile out-and-back in California, with 3,133 ft of climbing. Reaches Hoover Lakes and other lake destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 46% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 3.6. It gives back about 1,470 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Hoover Lakes (lake)
- Virginia Lakes (lake)
- Nutter Lake (lake)
- Frog Lakes (lake)
- Blue Lake (lake)
- Cooney Lake (lake)
- Big Valley Lake (lake)
- East Lake (lake)
- Gilman Lake (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
GREEN CREEK TRAILHEAD — parking nearby, restroom, water. About 1 h 41 min drive (58 mi, 9 of them unpaved) from Mammoth Lakes. 38.11224, -119.27534 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:38 a.m., the sun rises at 7:04 a.m. and sets at 6:20 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:47 p.m. (PDT) — 11 h 16 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 21.3-mile round trip takes roughly 11 h 02 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 6:06 p.m. — 14 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Green Creek + Green Creek Trail — 5.8 mi loop, 454 ft gain
- Green Creek + Green Creek Trail — 11.4 mi loop, 1,234 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Green Creek Trail — 0.3 mi
- Robinson Creek — 6.3 mi
- Robinson Creek Trail — 6.7 mi
- 20 Lakes Basin Loop — 9.0 mi