Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Permit requirements.

Hey guys, great forum. I plan to hike Mount Whitney for the first time this summer. I also plan to camp at Horseshoe Meadows to acclimate, since I will be coming in from the east coast. Will I need a permit to camp and hike around Horseshoe Meadows, Cottonwood Lakes, etc.? Do the rangers ever allow anyone to camp there more than one night? Also, are the camp sites at and around Horseshow Meadows near the parking area and the bear boxes, or are they spread out along the trail?

Definitely need permits to trample around Cottonwood Lakes and you can camp more than one night. Check the Orientation notes on this forum for ranger numbers. There are sites near Horseshoe Meadows parking lot with a limited amount of bear boxes. So come early. Try to camp far away from the restrooms unless you like waking up to the smell of somebody's else's napalm.

You only need a permit to hike in this area if you will spending overnite in the field. you can spend several days in the backcountry, if permitted for that.

As for the trailhead "backpackers campground", there are two, located at both Cottonwood Lakes, and Cottonwood Pass trailheads. Each has a one-nite limit, although I suppose it is fine for people to move from one to the other. The sites are around 100 feet from the parking areas designated for the camping (and none are very near the toilets). Each has or shares a bear box.

Doc,

Permits, who needs no stinking permits...if your plan is to camp and day hike to acclimatize. If you plan to backpack into the Cottonwood Lakes area you will need a permit but the quotas for this are are very high.

Camping is a adjacent to the parking at Cottonwood Pass and New Army Pass/Cottonwood Lakes Trailheads. However, IMHO the campsites are much nicer at NAP/CL.

The bear boxes are in the camping areas and at the trailheads.

There are not any bear boxes in the Inyo National Forest areas other than campgrounds.

Thanks for the info. If I am successful in the Mount Whitney lottery, sounds like I will need to go ahead and get my backcountry permit so that I will have the most options. See you at the summit!