The Devil's Postpile offers a lot of great hikes but bring lots of water, and good shoes. There are parts were all the trees have burned down and there is no shade.
A few miles from Mammoth Lakes on a scenic winding mountain road you will arrive at this special geological wonder. After a short .8 mile scenic trail, you will find the amazing "octagon" shaped "posts" piled in a large heap beneath an unusual cliff where the "posts" have fallen over the years. (see photo)
Another 1.5 mile walk will take you to the Rainbow Falls, which I did not take as it was late in the day.
Make no mistake, this is an unusual thing to see, made more spectacular by the stunning scenary surrounding it. We combined a short walk to the Postpile with a slighly longer walk to the Rainbow falls further along the valley, so for an afternoon's sightseeing, it's not a bad trip to make. Suspect the falls would be better with more water in the Spring time, but the postpile is worth a look. Not many formations around the world that look like this so quite unique in it's own right.
It was OK, but we recommend going to see it if you're also going to hike around the area and possibly picnic. Just for a stop-off that you drive the windy road, park in the overcrowded parking lot, and then take the short walk to, it's kind of average when you see it up close. I'm not usually underwhelmed by natural phenomena either!
We arrived there after 2 pm, on 2nd week of October. So, there was no shuttle. We drove to the Devil's Postpile parking lot then did the round trip 0.8 mile hike, which is pretty easy. You can continue the walk for another 1.5 mile to reach the Rainbow Falls but we decided to walk less. The Postpile is formed only in a small area as exactly seen in every picture; that's it. Then we went to the Rainbow Falls parking lot and did the 2.6 mile round trip walk, again its very easy. The Falls is very pretty and on the way you will see the traces of damaged trees by forest fire and storms. We have also seen some Fall coloration. You may go down by stairs to enjoy the Falls, which I suppose is very exciting though we missed it since I was quite tired after the whole day drive from Bay Area. When you are ready to go back, keep 15-20 minutes time to stop at the vista point which is located at the outside of the immediate left of park entrance. You will definitely enjoy the view.
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