This guidebook features 80 hiking and backpacking trips in the Sierra Nevada, with trip details, maps, day-by-day trail descriptions, and more.

Acknowledgments

Sierra South Locator Map

Going High to Get High

Trip Cross-Reference Table

Introduction

• Updates for the 9th Edition
• Care and Enjoyment of the Mountains
• Safety and Well Being
• Maps and Profiles
• How to Use This Book

WEST SIDE

CA 168 West Side to Kaiser Pass Road Trips

Deer Creek Trailhead (Huntington Lake)

• Kaiser Loop Trail

Potter Pass Trailhead (Huntington Lake)

• George Lake

Mono Creek Trailhead (at Lake Thomas A. Edison)

• Arch Rock and Margaret Lakes
• Graveyard Lakes

Bear Diversion Trailhead

• Bear Lakes Basin
• Medley Lake
• Bear Creek to Florence Lake

Florence Lake Trailhead

• Martha Lake
• Red Mountain Basin

CA 168 West Side to Dinkey Creek Road Trips

Cliff Lake Trailhead (Courtright Reservoir, Dinkey Lakes)

• Cliff Lake
• Dinkey Lakes

Maxson Trailhead (Courtright Reservoir)

• Post Corral Meadows
• Bench Valley Lakes
• Red Mountain Basin

Woodchuck Trailhead (Wishon Reservoir)

• Woodchuck Lake
• Blackcap Basin
• Crown Lake

CA 180 Trips

Lewis Creek Trailhead

• Volcanic Lakes

Copper Creek Trailhead (at Roads End)

• Granite Lake
• Middle Fork-South Fork Kings River Loop

Cedar Grove Roadend Trailhead

• Lake Reflection
• Rae Lakes

CA 198 (Generals Highway) Trips

Big Meadows Trailhead

• Jennie Lakes

Twin Lakes Trailhead (Lodgepole Campground)

• Ranger Lake
• Deadman and Cloud Canyons

Wolverton Corral Trailhead

• Alta Meadow

Crescent Meadow Trailhead

• High Sierra Trail

CA 198 to Mineral King Road Trips

Mineral King Roadend Trailheads (Timber Gap and Franklin Pass)

• Pinto Lake
• Nine Lake Basin
• Big and Little Five Lakes

Tar Gap Trailhead (in Cold Spring Campground)

• Hockett Lakes

CA 190 and Sherman Pass Road Trips

Summit Trailhead

• Maggie Lakes

Blackrock Trailhead

• Redrock Meadows and Jordan Hot Springs

EAST SIDE

Horse Meadow Road Trip

Gibbs Lake Trailhead

• Gibbs Lake

CA 158 Trip

Rush Creek Trailhead

• Gem, Waugh, and Thousand Island Lakes Loop

CA 203 to Minaret Summit Road Trips

Agnew Meadows Trailheads

• Thousand Island Lake via the High Trail and JMT
• Ediza Lake

Devils Postpile Trailhead

• Minaret Lake
• King Creek Lakes

Fish Creek Trailhead

• Silver Divide Lakes

CA 203 to Lake Mary Road Trips

Red Cones Trailhead

Deer Lakes Trailhead

• Deer Lakes

Duck Pass Trailhead

• Upper Crater Meadow
• Iva Bell Hot Springs
• Ram Lake and Lake Virginia

McGee Creek Road Trips

McGee Creek Trailhead

• Steelhead Lake
• Pioneer Basin
• Big McGee Lake
• Rock Creek via the Silver Divide

Rock Creek Road Trips

Hilton Lakes Trailhead

• Hilton Creek Lakes

Mosquito Flat Trailhead

• Little Lakes Valley
• Mono Creek
• Pioneer Basin

Pine Creek Road Trips

Pine Creek Trailhead

• Upper Pine Lake
• Royce Lakes
• L Lake

CA 168 East Side Trips

North Lake Trailhead

• Humphreys Basin
• Lamarck Lakes
• Darwin Lakes
• Evolution Basin via Lamarck Col

Sabrina Lake Trailhead

• Tyee Lakes
• Midnight Lake
• Baboon Lakes

Tyee Lakes Trailhead

Bishop Pass Trailhead (at South Lake)

• Treasure Lakes
• Chocolate Lakes
• Dusy Basin
• Palisade Basin
• South Lake to North Lake

Glacier Lodge Road Trips

Big Pine Creek Trailhead

• Big Pine Lakes
• Brainerd Lake

Taboose Creek Road Trip

Taboose Pass Trailhead

• Bench Lake and Woods Lake Basin

Division Creek Road Trip

Sawmill Pass Trailhead

• Sawmill Lake

Onion Valley Road Trips

Kearsarge Pass Trailhead

• Flower Lake
• Charlotte, Rae, and Kearsarge Lakes
• Sixty Lake Basin

Symmes Creek (Shepherd Pass) Trailhead

Whitney Portal Road Trip

Mount Whitney Trailhead

• Mount Whitney Summit

Horseshoe Meadows Road Trips

Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead

• Cottonwood and South Fork Lakes
• Upper Rock Creek

Cottonwood Pass Trailhead

• Horseshoe Meadow to Mount Whitney
• Milestone Basin and the Upper Kern
• Rocky Basin Lakes

Useful Books

Index

About the Authors

Since childhood, Elizabeth "Lizzy" Wenk has hiked and climbed in the Sierra Nevada and continues the tradition with her husband, Douglas Bock, and daughters, Eleanor and Sophia. As she obtained a PhD in Sierran alpine plant ecology from the University of California, Berkeley, her love of the mountain range morphed into a profession. But writing guidebooks has become her way to share her love and knowledge of the Sierra Nevada with others. Lizzy continues to obsessively explore every bit of the Sierra, spending summers hiking on- and off-trail throughout the range, but she currently lives in Sydney, Australia, during the "off-season." Other Wilderness Press titles she has authored include John Muir Trail, One Best Hike: Mount Whitney, One Best Hike: Grand Canyon, 50 Best Short Hikes: Yosemite, and Wildflowers of the High Sierra and John Muir Trail, the latter a perfect companion book for all naturalists.
Mike White was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He learned to hike, backpack, and climb in the Cascade Mountains, and he honed his outdoor skills further while obtaining a bachelor's degree from Seattle Pacific University. After college, Mike and his wife, Robin, relocated to the Nevada desert, where he was drawn to the majesty of the High Sierra. In the early 1990s, Mike began writing about the outdoors, expanding the third edition of Luther Linkhart's The Trinity Alps for Wilderness Press. His first solo project was Nevada Wilderness Areas and Great Basin National Park. Many more titles for Wilderness followed, including the Snowshoe Trails series; books about Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Lassen National Parks; Backpacking Nevada; Top Trails: Northern California's Redwood Coast; Best Backpacking Trips in California and Nevada; Best Backpacking Trips in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico; 50 of the Best Strolls, Walks, and Hikes Around Reno; and Afoot & Afield: Reno-Tahoe. Two of his books, Top Trails: Lake Tahoe and 50 Classic Hikes in Nevada, have won national awards. Mike has also contributed to the Wilderness Press classics Sierra South and Sierra North, as well as Backpacking California. In addition to his books, Mike has written for Sunset, Backpacker, and the Reno Gazette-Journal. A community college instructor, Mike is a featured speaker for outdoors groups. He and Robin live in Reno; his two sons, David and Stephen, live in the area as well.