An awe-inspiring road to Convict Lake in California

Convict Lake is a high mountain lake at an elevation of 2.328m (7,637ft) above the sea level, located Mono County, in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California.

Convict Lake

Is the road to Convict Lake paved?

Set high in the Sherwin Range of the Sierra Nevada mountains, the road to the pretty lake with turquoise waters is totally paved. It’s called Convict Lake Road. The lake starred in numerous TV commercials and print ads and got its name after an incident in 1871, where a group of convicts escaped from prison in Carson City.

How long is the road to Convict Lake?

Situated amidst the beautiful scenery of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, within the Inyo National Forest, the road to the picturesque lake is typically open all year round, with the occasional closure in winters due to dangerous weather conditions. There is plenty of day parking available at the lake but it does get very busy especially from Friday to Sunday. Starting at US-395, the road to the lake is 3.70km (2.3 miles) long. Over this distance the elevation gain is 159 meters. The average gradient is 4.29%, hitting a 9.0% of maximum gradient through some of the ramps.

 

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