Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board What time should I be at Whitney Portal...

...if I want to ensure a spot at the walk-in campground at the trailhead? I talked to the ranger on the phone that said they start handing out spots at 11AM, but what time should I be there to wait in line? An hour? more? less? Not sure what the demand is this time of year. I'll be trying to get a spot for Friday June 4th.

I'm not sure what they are talking about: "handing out". There is no line. There is no place to line up. (except for a great cup of coffee at the Portal Store!)

It is self-service, there is no one managing the process.

In mid-August, when I and my associates were doing our research study, and stayed at that campground for two weeks, we did not see it full once. Must happen, but I think rare.

However, I'd say that anytime before, say 5pm, would guarantee that you'd nail a spot. Remember that a number of people move out at 2am, so there is plenty of space in the am.

It's open most of the time and it's got a lot of spots. If all else fails, I saw some guys get in late last Summer and just lay down a couple of pads near the creek. I don't know what the rules are, but they picked everything up, which wasn't much, when they got up in the morning.

If you are coming in on Friday to hike Friday. You can get a permit the moment you walk in the ESIVC door, if they are available. If you don't walk to up the Friday, they starting giving out priority numbers at opening and draw them at 11 AM for Saturday. There is no need to queue up.

As for the hiker-in campground, we strolled in at about 5 PM last Friday and there was one pad taken. That was the start of Memorial Day weekend...don't sweat it.

Some people like campsites, but I don't like the noise and especially the smoke from fires. Moreover, I feel like it's a waste of money to get a campsite when I'm going to arrive late and leave early the next morning for my hike, so I just crash on the side of the road. Park your car on the S side and sleep on the shoulder using your car as a block for cars and falling rocks. Pretty sure that's not illegal.

There's a sign down the road stating that you can only camp in designated campsites, and I had a Deputy tell me that even sleeping in the car at the side of the road violates this law. He was nice enough to just tell me not to do it anymore.

That sucks. Well, good to know...

This certainly doesn't apply to ALL roads, right? I mean, truckers sleep overnight along highways, and you're encouraged to pull over and nap if you feel sleepy while driving. Why is the Portal Road different?