June 30, 2026 — The hike to Chocolate Peak begins at the South Lake parking, utilizing the same trailhead as Bishop Pass. It had snowed the day before while I was at Kearsarge Pass, so the trail had some snow cover at times. You will take the well maintained Bishop Pass trail roughly 2 miles until you hit the junction with the Chocolate Lakes Loop trail on your left. The trail becomes slightly less obvious at times compared to the Bishop Pass trail, but overall it is pretty easy to follow. Once on the loop trail, you will quickly pass Bull Lake before reaching the numerous Chocolate Lakes, which are absolutely stunning with towering granite peaks backdropping the skyline. The only downside about the lakes are all of the black flies lingering around as the trail hugs the shoreline. Just one of those things we put up with for the views! After about 1.5 miles past the initial junction, after passing the Chocolate Lakes, you will be a few hundred feet above the lakes with a pretty obvious spur trail leading to Chocolate Peak. I believe you could find a truly Class 1 approach to the summit if you really wanted to, but the scrambling is so light and easy that any way up will be fast work. At the summit, you are rewarded with panoramic views that extend deep into Bishop Pass and the many lakes surrounding Chocolate Peak. As you'll see in my pictures, much of the rock up here indeed is chocolate colored, and the contrast of these tones against the alpine blue lakes and neutral toned granite is quite remarkable! After enjoying your time at the summit, it is straightforward working your way back to the junction of the spur trail with the main trail. You will want to pay careful attention at this point to remain on the correct trail, as you will drop over the saddle and encounter a steep boulder field which can easily disorient you off track. You can't truly get lost as your next landmark is Ruwau Lake, but it can be easy to end up tracking a line down the boulders instead of staying on the actual dirt trail. Once down at Ruwau Lake, the way back to the initial junction is very straight forward. You will pass Long Lake on the way back, which is that long lake with the small cute island on it.
