Mount Whitney

Mt. Whitney can be most directly reached by a 10.7 mile (17.1 km) trail from Whitney Portal, 13 miles (21 km) west of the town of Lone Pine on the east side of the Sierra. Ice axes and crampons are needed in spring and early summer, but technical climbing equipment is not usually necessary between mid-July and early October. The elevation at the trailhead is 8360' (2550 meters). The elevation at the summit is 14,491' (4417 meters). Permits for this trailhead must be obtained through the Inyo National Forest.

Many visitors to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are interested in seeing Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the "lower 48" states. However, Mt. Whitney is on the east side of the Great Western Divide, a chain of mountains that runs north/south through the center of Sequoia National Park, "dividing" the watersheds of the Kaweah River to the west and the Kern River to the east. Because many of the snowcapped peaks in the Great Western Divide reach altitudes of 12,000' (3657 meters) or higher, it is impossible to see over them to view Mt. Whitney from any of the roads on the west side of the Sierra. The best place from which to see Mt. Whitney is the Interagency Visitor Center on Highway 395, just south of the town of Lone Pine on the east side of the Sierra. Highway 395 can be reached via Tioga Pass in Yosemite National Park (open summer only), or by going around the southern end of the Sierra from the town of Bakersfield. There are no roads across the Sierra in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.