[2] This hike requires a Backcountry Permit, if staying overnight, which is available at the Wilderness Center in Yosemite Village.

Several excellent campsites can be found on the west side of the lake, particularly on the benches overlooking the rocky ridge that forms the eastern shore backdrop.

The Ostrander Ski Hut is a two-story stone structure built in 1941 by the Civilian Conservation Corps specifically for cross-country skiers.

[3] It was intended to be part of a larger system of winter trails and huts along the Sierra Crest that never were developed.

Drinking and wash water is hauled from the lake in buckets; treatment is the individual visitor's responsibility.