Mount Whitney Trail

Inyo National Forest, CA Central Sierra

Trip stats

Distance
21.4 mi
Net Gain
6,500 ft
Time
8-11 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 2
Route
Out/Back
Peaks
1

Ratings out of 10

Effort
8.7/10
Personality
4/10
Beauty
7/10
Solitude
3.1/10
What do these mean? →

Peaks on this hike

Summits listed in route order

  1. Mount Whitney
    14,498′ elevation · 10,078′ prominence

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

36.586884, -118.239952

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Get directions (opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Trip report

Outdated information

This report is from before I put more time into writing and taking route photos, so it may not be very helpful. I'm keeping it up for the memories, and will one day hopefully return to better document. Find other reports in this region.

Aug 10, 2015 — Mount Whitney is the highest point of the contiguous United States. The trail is in excellent shape, well-marked, and very crowded. You need a permit to hike, but there are more up-to-date resources online to learn more about that tedious process. This is a long day at high altitude, and despite its popularity and tame trail, should not be taken lightly due to its overall mileage and vertical elevation.

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Photos

39 photos

  5. Sunrise along Mt. Whitney Trail.
  8. Sunrise looking back toward the start of the trailhead after the first set of switchbacks.
  12. Mirror Lake. Whitney is somewhere in the back.
  14. Consultation Lake. Beautiful.
  15. Consultation Lake.
  16. Trail Camp Lake. Lots of people were overnighting here. Whitney is far right.
  18. Start of the switchbacks. This is the only spot with random, unnecessary metal railings.
  19. Looking down at the switchbacks. Consultation Lake on the right.
  21. Adam as we near the Whitney saddle.
  23. Saddle after the switchbacks before starting the traverse to Whitney.
  24. Along the traverse to the Whitney summit overlooking the High Sierras
  30. Along the traverse from the saddle to summit, looking out to the left. Great rock formations everywhere.
  31. Rock formations along the traverse to the summit - Mt. Whitney is in the far back.
  36. Mt. Whitney rocky, flat summit.
  37. Mt Whitney summit overlook
  39. Sunset at Lone Pine Lake. Worth the .1 mile excursion.

Photo 1 of 1

Hire me or show some love!

Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!

Hire me PayPal Venmo Cash App