Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board When will the Portal Road Open - Part 2

I understand that the Portal Road is closed due to storm damage.
Would like to know if the trailhead is still accessible and if so, how?
If via the Portal Road, can one drive gear beyond the lower gate?
Also, any estimates on when it may reopen?

Thanks for any information. I have a Mountaineer's Route permit for the 15th and trying to plan accurately

I called the Eastern Sierra Visitor's Center (Inyo NF) this morning and they confirmed that Whitney Portal campground and Whitney trail is still open. They were unsure when the road would open, but thought it might be closed up to a week.

I have an 8/10 day pass (campsite starting 8/8) so investigating some side roads up. Does anyone have any experience taking Moffat Ranch Rd.>Movie Rd>Hogback Rd. to the Portal?

I rode thru Death Valley, hoping to have a burger for lunch at the Portal...Road Closed signs on the Portal Road (at the new housing project) and also Horseshoe Meadow Road (at Lubken Canyon Rd). Obviously, they weren't blocking the road, as I'd image there are plenty of people at both hiking areas.

There were a couple of big trucks heading down the road as I got to the closure. I'm guessing they were part of the clean-up.

Hi Jake - Thanks for the info from the visitors center.
The Whitney Portal road is the ONLY road that goes to the Whitney Portal campground, trailhead, store and large parking lots.
What we need to find out (if the road remains closed) is:
1 - Can you get past the damage via the road on foot, or does one have to take the trail up Lone Pine Creek to access the Mt. Whitney Main Trail?
2 - If we can pass the damage on the road, how far up the road can we go? The standard winter closure gate, complete with a small parking lot, is 3.5 miles (& 1,800 vertical feet) from the trailhead. In the spring, before the road is opened after winter, you can often drive some distance to deposit gear at an "upper gate". On occasion one may also park further up the road. If the damage is below the standard gate, that's a bigger problem! For instance, the road crosses Lone Pine Creek 5 miles from the Portal, did that wash out? Etc.
3 - There is a trail to the Portal that originates at the Lone Pine Campground and goes up on the south side of Lone Pine Creek (the opposite side from the road). All Trails say that it's 3.3 miles with 2,200' of elevation gain. Don't know if there's parking at the campground. It might be possible (if accessible) to park at the standard gate "mini lot" and hike down and across the creek to access the trail. Jake, if we don't get other info, I will look for your report after you are there in person!!

Oh, BTW, Death Valley from Trona is closed due to flash flooding danger, but I decided to ignore the signs.

I didn't see any other signage in the park itself.

Your report is encouraging Richard.
Looks like reasonable access may be available!

Thanks for the response ClimbSTRONG, but are you sure you can't access Whitney Portal Rd (east of closure)via Moffat Ranch Rd.>Movie Rd>Hogback Rd.? I've seen posts on Twitter and AllTrails today indicating that this is an option.

Would be great to get confirmation one way or another.

p.s., I will post an update when I arrive on 8/8 if still an open issue.

Yes, you can access via Moffat, but the closures are typically higher.....but this might not be typical!
If it's a slide or falling debris (those are typical), then the activity will usually be above the long switchback. Or on the upper part of the switchback where the road is traveling south.
But....like I say....we don't know what we don't know....and right now we don't know much.
Looking forward to a first hand report, hopefully we won't have to wait for yours!

Just read your message all the way to the end where some are mentioning a detour. That is very promising. One scenario where this could absolutely be the case is if the road is damaged at the creek crossing 5 miles from the portal. Fingers crossed!

Hi hikers/climbers/campers,

According to the Facebook page for the Inyo County Sheriff, the Whitney Portal Road opened an hour ago (ie, 6 pm).

Jim

Awesome news, hopefully no more flash floods (or thunder storms for hikers). Thanks for the update!

Wonderful!
Thanks Jim
Have a great trip Jake

Just spoke to Inyo Public Works. Horseshoe Meadow Road also open.

Looks like Portal Rd closed again.

And now open!

Oh my goodness!!!

Don't scare us like that!