Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Grandview Campground Night Sky

I've mentioned the Grandview campground as a possible place to camp as part of a trip to MW. It's in the White Mountains across the Owens Valley from the southern Sierra. Aside from the Sierra view, the chance for a 4-mile hike around the Bristlecone Pine forest, and even the possibility to bag an easy 14er, there's another reason to build this side trip into your plan.

The Grandview campground has an amazing night sky! On dark (no moon) nights amateur astronomers come from all around for one of the darkest skies and brightest star displays to be seen in the lower 48. If you've never seen a star display away from light pollution it's really worth your time. A Sierra dark night is good - this is incomparable.

Dry campground, bring your water, pack out your trash. Great views! A couple miles further north is the Sierra View Observation Site, a worthwhile stop.

We stayed there at the first of July as part of the acclimatization schedule. As we really wanted to go to the Bristle Cone preserve, it seemed like a perfect choice. Little did we realize that the stars came with no extra charge. It was jaw dropping.