Cherry Lake > Huckleberry Lake Loop

Emigrant Wilderness · Stanislaus National Forest · Yosemite NP boundary

6 legs · 39.5 miles · +6,443 / −6,433 ft

Topographic route overview of the Cherry-Huckleberry loop, the full loop drawn in red from Mercur Peak to Huckleberry Lake

The Country

Wilderness: Southern Emigrant Wilderness, Stanislaus National Forest — western-slope central Sierra. Yosemite NP boundary at Kibbie Ridge.
Access: Paved to Cherry Lake reservoir (~4,700 ft); high-clearance dirt (FR 1N04D) to Shingle Spring TH (~5,800 ft). Lower signed trailhead: Kibbie Ridge (FR 1N07, ~5,000 ft).
Terrain: Glaciated granite benches and lodgepole forest, dotted with lakes. Mostly on-trail with short cross-country segments.
Elevation: Route spans 5,879–8,442 ft. High point ~8,442 ft at the Red Can–Huckleberry divide (leg 4).
Destination: Huckleberry Lake (~7,700 ft, ~200 acres) — far point of the loop.
Season: Roughly July–October. The ~8,400 ft divide can hold snow into early summer.
Trailhead: Loop · Shingle Spring TH (Cherry Lake) · FR 1N04D
Live map: Open CalTopo

The Route — 6 legs, clockwiseDistanceGainLoss

Cherry > Mercur Partial XC 8.5 mi +2,380 −466 +2,380−466 ft

Trail to Sachse Spring, XC to Mercur Lake · 5,879–8,044 ft

Mercur > Yellowhammer XC 3.59 mi +870 −922 +870−922 ft

XC descent into Cherry Creek Canyon, XC climb to Yellowhammer Lake · 6,952–7,793 ft

Yellow > Red Can XC 2.62 mi +684 −102 +684−102 ft

XC plateau traverse to Red Can Lake · 7,728–8,336 ft

Red Can > Huckleberry Partial XC 5.42 mi +864 −1,320 +864−1,320 ft

XC over divide to Wood Lake, trail to Huckleberry Lake · 7,791–8,442 ft

Huckleberry > Many Island Partial XC 10.15 mi +854 −1,384 +854−1,384 ft

Trail to Styx Pass, XC descent to Many Island Lake · 7,100–7,924 ft

Many Island > Cherry Partial XC 9.22 mi +791 −2,239 +791−2,239 ft

XC from Many Island to trail, descent to Cherry Lake / Shingle Spring TH · 5,889–7,909 ft

Total 39.5 mi +6,443 −6,433

The Fishing

Lake	Fishing	Trout	Size	Notes
Huckleberry Lake	●●●Excellent	Rainbow & brook	to 18–20″	Self-sustaining wild fishery in gin-clear water. Fish run big but spooky — small dries, stealth, a float tube for the deep water. The best fishing on the loop.
Red Can Lake	●●●Good	Rainbow	—	Wild rainbows; work the south shore.
Big Lake (side trip)	●●●Good	Rainbow	to 14–15″	One of the more productive Emigrant lakes; wild rainbows. Access via Cherry Creek corridor.
Wood Lake (side trip)	●●●Good	Rainbow	to 16″	24 acres at 8,298 ft; strong reputation for large rainbows. Southwest of Lower Bucks Lake.
Cherry Lake (trailhead)	●●●Good	Rainbow · brook · brown · kokanee	—	Multi-species reservoir; best from a boat, or at the Cherry Creek inlet during the spring rainbow run.
Yellowhammer Lake	●●●Fair	Rainbow	—	Productive water but limited spawning — usually fair. Species per inference; CDFW data thin, confirm with Groveland RD.
Many Island Lake	●●●No data	—	—	No reliable reports — plan as possibly fishless.
Lake below Mercur	●●●No data	—	—	Undocumented tarn near the first camp — likely marginal.
Five Acre Lake (side trip)	●●●No data	—	—	No documented fishery data — too small (~5 acres) to appear in any guide. Plan as possibly marginal.

Frog restoration. CDFW removes trout from some Emigrant lakes to restore the mountain yellow-legged frog. The one confirmed removal nearby — Camp Lake — is off-route on the northern Crabtree side, and none of this loop's lakes appear in the restoration dataset. Worth a confirmation call before a fishing-focused trip.

Huckleberry Lake: compiled from High Sierra Topix trip reports, flyfishingthesierra.com, and sierrahiker.com. Kibbie, Many Island, Grouse, and Cherry Lake: CDFW Interactive Fishing Guide and Emigrant Wilderness trip reports. Red Can, Bigelow, and unnamed tarns: CDFW data where available — west-slope data is thin and species often inferred. Confirm conditions with the Groveland Ranger District, (209) 962-7825, before counting on any specific water.

The Maps

Regional locator map of the southern Emigrant Wilderness with the trip area boxed — Locator — southern Emigrant Wilderness, trip area boxed

Route overview showing the full loop on a topographic basemap — Overview — 39.5-mile loop, clockwise from Cherry Lake

Detail topo map of Cherry Lake and the trailhead approach — 1 · Cherry Lake & the trailhead approach

Detail topo map of the Kibbie Ridge climb past Kibbie Lake — 2 · Kibbie Ridge, past Kibbie Lake

Detail topo map of Camp Meadow and the high country — 3 · Camp Meadow & the high country

Detail topo map of the high-lakes traverse over the divide — 4 · Over the divide

Detail topo map of Huckleberry Lake, the turnaround — 5 · Huckleberry Lake — the turnaround

Open the live CalTopo map

Before You Go

Permit: Required April 1–Nov 30 · Quota: 25 people/day · phone-only through Groveland RD, (209) 962-7825 · not self-issue.
Yosemite: Route grazes the park boundary near Kibbie Ridge — any time inside Yosemite needs a separate park wilderness permit. Verify the crossing on CalTopo.
Fires: No fires above 9,000 ft (verify current restrictions) · stove only in the high country.
Bears: Canister required in Yosemite NP boundary areas · strongly recommended throughout.
Camp: 100+ ft from water, trails, and other parties · durable surfaces only.

Two trailhead names. The signed, official trailhead is Kibbie Ridge (FR 1N07, ~5,000 ft). The higher Shingle Spring start (FR 1N04D, ~5,800 ft) needs a high-clearance vehicle but saves ~800 ft of climbing. The permit system lists this corridor as "Shingle Springs TH / Kibbie Lake."

For More Information

Groveland Ranger District (STF)(209) 962-7825

Stanislaus NF — Supervisor's Office(209) 532-3671

Tuolumne County Sheriff — Search & Rescue(209) 533-5815