As picturesque as it is, Convict Lake has a dark past, according to U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Keith Dawley. “There was a group of convicts that escaped from Carson City and ran down here,” said Dawley. The convicts Dawley is talking about were 29 murderers and thieves who escaped a Nevada prison in 1871. Hot on their trail was a posse led by Sheriff Robert Morrison, who cornered the escapees at the base of the mountain and the lake. “Most were captured, but in the ensuing shoot-out, Sheriff Morrison was killed,” said Dawley. From then on, the water was known as Convict Lake, and the tallest peak was named after Sheriff Morrison. 

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Convict Lake is near Mammoth Lakes, California. You can get a beautiful Sunrise Photograph and walk the Convict Lake Loop.  

 

Get there before sunrise and wait for the Eastern Sky to start brightening the Eastern Face of Laurel Mountain.  

 

You want to position your camera on the East Side of the Lake, where there is a small parking lot and steps that lead down to the shoreline.  Be sure to get the rocks in the foreground.

 

The GPS location is: 37.5939N 118.8511W.  For a Google Map of its location click   HERE