Kennedy Lake Camping

Emigrant Wilderness

photo of Kennedy Lake, Emigrant Wilderness, California
photo of Kennedy Lake, Emigrant Wilderness, California

Kennedy Lake Camping

Emigrant Wilderness


Camping at Kennedy Lake in the Emigrant Wilderness

One of the nicest campsites near Kennedy Lake is between the trail and the creek at the edge of the meadow with views of Kennedy Peak. Other sites can be found along the creek, beginning several miles downstream from the lake. If water levels allow crossing the creek, nice campsites are found among the trees at Soda Canyon. Kennedy Lake itself is fairly exposed and can be marshy in the early summer. And marshy, of course, means mosquitoes.

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Fishing

Fishing for rainbow and brown trout in Kennedy Lake is good, especially early in the morning and nearing sunset. Kennedy Creek offers good spots for fly fishing for rainbows, browns, and brook trout.

Kennedy Lake fishing, Emigrant Wilderness, California

Kennedy Lake Fishing


Kennedy Lake Cabin

The log cabin at Kennedy Lake was constructed in the 1870s by brothers Andrew Thomas Kennedy and J.F. Kennedy, cattlemen from Knights Ferry. They owned many acres of land in the area, including Kennedy Meadows and land around Kennedy Lake. The land was used as a summer pasture for their cattle.

Kennedy Lake cabin, Emigrant Wilderness, California

Kennedy Lake Cabin

Explore the Area

Exploring the area around Kennedy Lake can take a full day. Visit the historic Kennedy Lake Cabin, hike around the lake as far as you like to get a different perspective of the mountains, and try some fishing. Ambitious hikers will find a use-trail along the left side of the lake and up Kennedy Creek to intercept the Pacific Crest Trail.

Sharon Lakes is an interesting cross-county climb affording great views of the area. A use-trail runs up to the lake from the northwest, but experienced cross-country hikers can make their way there by traversing up the mountainside. Read more about Sharon Lake on Dave's Sierra Fishing - Sharon Lake.


Peak Bagging

10,700' Kennedy Peak can be climbed by experienced mountaineers taking its northwest ridge, a class 2 route.

Read details of other climbs in the area in R. J. Secor's The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, and Trails