California trails · John Muir
John Muir
A 14.1-mile out-and-back in California, with 2,450 ft of climbing. Reaches Minaret Falls and other lake/waterfall destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 45% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 4.7. It gives back about 1,806 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Minaret Falls (waterfall)
- Johnston Lake (lake)
- Ruby Lake (lake)
- Gladys Lake (lake)
- Emerald Lake (lake)
- Trinity Lakes (lake)
- Rosalie Lake (lake)
- Vivian Lake (lake)
- Shadow Lake (lake)
- Johnston Meadow (lake)
Heads up
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:37 a.m., the sun rises at 7:03 a.m. and sets at 6:20 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:46 p.m. (PDT) — 11 h 17 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 28.2-mile round trip works out to roughly 12 h 53 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Shadow Creek + John Muir + GARNET-RIVER CUTOFF — 13.6 mi loop, 2,383 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Alger Lakes — 9.4 mi
- Isberg — 11.6 mi
- Minnow Creek — 14.0 mi
- Mcgee Pass — 16.7 mi