About “Shadow Falls”
“Shadow Falls” is a name I’ve made up for this surprise cascade that I happened to see during a hike out to the scenic Shadow Lake near the Devil’s Postpile National Monument.
As a matter of fact, this waterfall drains Shadow Lake as it ultimately tumbles mostly unseen down a mini-granite gorge eventually joining the San Joaquin River.
I think of this waterfall as more of a side attraction to Shadow Lake, which is a very attractive lake backed by Mt Ritter and a few other mountains whose names I don’t remember.
The water in the lake seemed to change color from a deep emerald blue towards some slight shades of green around its banks as the sun went higher on the horizon the morning we showed up in late August 2010.
Hiking to “Shadow Falls” and Shadow Lake
The hike itself was not trivial as we had to go about 3 miles from the Agnew Meadow trailhead.
By the way, I believe Thousand Island Lake backpackers start from here as well, which explained why there were so many cars at the trailhead.
In any case, this hike included a slight decline towards a basin or valley before making the steep climb up to the Shadow Lake on the other side of that basin.
The most visible part of the cascade was about two-thirds of the way up a series of switchbacks as the trail made a steep climb towards the mouth of Shadow Lake.
So if you’ve made it far enough to see the interesting cascade of “Shadow Falls”, you mind as well get all the way to the top to see Shadow Lake.
Beyond Shadow Lake, I was told that this was the trail one would take to get all the way up to the very scenic Thousand Island Lakes.
I had seen photos and heard many stories about that place, but I have yet to make it all the way up there.
We’ve seen lots of backpackers or very fit hikers continue beyond Shadow Lake.
However, “Shadow Falls” on its own provided good enough exercise for a lake excursion done as a day hike.
After all, there aren’t many lakes that you can do comfortably without backcountry backpacking in the Eastern Sierras.
In any case, it did seem like this was either a detour or part of the overall route to the very beautiful Thousand Island Lakes.
So hopefully one of these days, a visit there could be made so I can finally see what the commotion is about.
Authorities
“Shadow Falls” resides in the Ansel Adams Wilderness in the Inyo National Forest near the Mammoth Lakes area in Inyo County, California. It is administered by the USDA Forest Service. That said, the trailhead we took resides in Devil’s Postpile National Monument. For information or inquiries about the park as well as current conditions, visit the National Parks website or the National Forest website.
Since we accessed “Shadow Falls” from the Devil’s Postpile National Monument as we were based in Mammoth, we’ll describe the driving directions from there.
From the intersection of Main St, Minaret Rd, and Lake Mary Rd (there’s a traffic light) in Mammoth Lakes Village, turn right to remain on Minaret Road (Hwy 203) and drive for about 15-20 minutes to the Mammoth Summit Ski Area.
Here’s where you pick up the mandatory shuttle ($7 per person; National Parks Pass not accepted).
If you happen to show up before 7am or after 7:30pm, continue driving 2.6 miles beyond the entrance booth along Minaret Rd until you see the turnoff for Agnew Meadows (about 0.6 miles on unsealed road from the paved Minaret Road).
For context, Mammoth Lakes was about 309 miles (5 hours drive) north of Los Angeles.
Find A Place To Stay
Top down sweep of the falls ending downstream towards San Joaquin Basin
Semi-circular sweep from right to left of the uppermost portion of the cascade and ending towards some knobs and peaks in the background
Related Trip Reports
Related Top 10 Lists
No Posts Found
Related Itineraries
Trip Planning Resources
Nearby Accommodations
Featured Images and Nearby Attractions
Visitor Comments:
Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...No users have replied to the content on this page
Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall
Nearest Waterfalls
