When the snow melts in the High Sierra, the rush is on! This is one of the most popular backpacking trips in the Eastern Sierra, as Mt Whitney is the highest peak (14505′ elevation) in the contiguous United States of America. Day hikes to the summit should only be attempted if you are in excellent physical shape & used to high altitude hiking. There are so many folks trying to hike this sought-after peak in the warmer summer months (MAY-OCT) that the National Forest has put tight restrictions on these Mount Whitney trails. You must obtain a hiking Wilderness permit for this hike & that requires waiting in a long line of outdoor enthusiasts that also seek this prime destination. The Lone Pine Ranger station holds an annual Whitney trail LOTTERY, where you must apply a year in advance & be granted a permit before you can set foot on this popular hiking route.

An alternate backpacking route is the southern ridge line from the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead, but you still must verify with local authorities for permits & Wilderness passes.

The Alabama Hills, between Hwy 395 @ Lone Pine CA & the Whitney Portal offers camping & mountain biking trails with excellent views of Mount Whitney from below. A short drive up to the portal & you can stand in the waterfall mist & do a day hike up to Lone Pine Lake.

Now that we have you salivating for this epic adventure, you can start your dreaming & real planning by ordering hiking topo maps of the region. Then after you have thoroughly reviewed the maps, the terrain (as well as your own physical condition), you can contact the Inyo National Forest / Lone Pine ranger office for more specifics on dates & details.

• MOUNT WHITNEY High Country TRAIL MAP
• MOUNT WHITNEY ZONE MAP
• Inyo National Forest Map

The Alabama Hills sit at the Eastern Sierra base of Mt Whitney, California

Here in California we are lucky to have so much public land available to us for enjoyment. Many of the USDA National Forest Service 7 minute topo (sheet) maps are now compiled into booklet form called an ATLAS, with sturdy covers & a spiral bound. Overall size is close to 9″x12″ & they are much easier to handle than the individual paper maps.

Below is a list of the topo maps available for California:

• All Tom Harrison Maps
• All California Wilderness Maps
• Angeles Forest Topo Atlas
• Cleveland Forest Topo Atlas
• Inyo Forest Topo Atlas
• Lake Tahoe Topo Atlas
• Lassen Topo Atlas
• Los Padres Forest Topo Atlas
• Mendocino Forest Topo Atlas
• Modoc Forest Topo Atlas
• Plumas Forest Topo Atlas
• San Bernardino Forest Atlas
• Six Rivers NF Topo Atlas
• Stanislaus NF Topo Atlas

High Sierra Nevada / Eastern Sierra

Rugged Sierra Nevada high country. The highest peaks in the Sierra Nevada mountains can be found inside this Wilderness. Many peaks are well above 13,000 feet. Granite, glaciated basins, big snow, alpine lakes, meadows, wildflowers, streams, creeks, cliffs, jagged peaks. Mount Whitney stands as the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states.

Eastern access via steep granite, off Hwy 395 (Bishop, Independence, Lone Pine)
Western access backpacking thru Kings Canyon National Park, Hwy 180
or Sequoia National Park, Hwy 198 (Mineral King, Three Rivers)
or Sierra National Forest, Hwy 168 (Lake Edison, Florence Lake, Courtright Reservoir)
North access via backcountry Yosemite National Park, Hwy 120
or Mammoth Area towns (Lee Vining, June Lake, Mammoth City)

Hundreds of miles of hiking trails. Trails open to equestrian and foot traffic only. Trailhead quotas limit the amount of day hikers and backpackers that an access the Wilderness daily. Wilderness permit required: Inyo National Forest Permits

lake, hike, mountain bike, off-road, ski, snowmobile

Tahoe Trail Maps / Tahoe National Forest

Wanna find every waterfall or every creek to fish? This is the place that will help you find them. Easily, with good old fashion printed maps. Hard copies, some waterproof & tear resistant, most with topographical data and all roads, trails, campgrounds and parks. Whether or not you water ski or cross country ski, these maps will save your ass – when you are way back there in the boonies. Tahoe Rubicon Trail connects the gold country to the lake via granite wilderness sky ways above 7000′ elevation, but a real 4×4 and overnights are required. The back roads and trails are endless in these parts of the Central Sierra Nevada mountains.

• Tahoe Rim Trail Map
• Lake Tahoe Basin Map
• Lake Tahoe Topo Atlas
• Tahoe National Forest Map

mountain biking
hiking trailhead
4×4 trailhead
equestrian trails

Rock climbing, backpacking, fly fishing creeks, snowmobiling, you name it. No matter what kind of trail you seek in California, we have the maps to get you out there, this weekend. If you seek a week long adventure in the Sierra high country, or a weekend getaway destination you’ve never heard of, or a quick after work hike near your home town, we just might have it listed. And we probably have the waterproof, topographical map too.

DOGS & BIKES on TRAILS:

Dog friendly trails include almost anything within the CA National Forests. Remember that most National Parks & State Parks literally forbid dogs on hiking trails. Mountain bikes can access only certain trails in parks, but in the National Forests nearly every trail or dirt road is up for grabs.

OHV ROUTES:

Motorized vehicles, such as quads, ATVs, dirt bikes, Jeeps & 4×4s must stick to designated routes signed specifically for OHV (off highway vehicle) & you won’t be finding many of those inside National Parks & State Parks, so it’s best to look for BLM or NF lands. Many regular, forest, back roads close in winter due to heavy snow pack & thus become cross country ski, snowshoe or even snowmobiling trails. The best ones can be found in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Explore a decent selection of random trail heads within Cali.

• OHV maps & trails
• California Wilderness Trail Maps
• Tom Harrison Hiking Maps

And if you ever get bored with “reading” text about trails, you can always search the visual database of amazing Cali scenery over at DanaMite’s flickr site