Tag Archives: courtright

Kaiser Wilderness

China Peak Hiking
Hiking near China Peak – summer 2002

22,700 acres
Kaiser Pass Road
Sierra National Forest

2020 wildfire: CREEK FIRE
has burnt the majority of this wilderness, roads, trails, lake shores and most campgrounds

Central Sierra Nevada Mountains/ Kaiser Pass & Kaiser Peak / Highway 168

One of the best cell phone coverage areas for any California Wilderness location, this central Sierra region is located south of Yosemite National Park and known primarily for Shaver Lake.

California Hwy 168, along with Dinkey Creek Road (southward) and Kaiser Pass Road (northward) leads off in all splintered directions to secluded campsites, rivers, creeks, lakes, developed campgrounds and amazing forest scenery. Off road trails and hiking trails, everywhere back here! But it is best to have several good maps for cross reference.

This Sierra National Forest region includes all hydroelectric dams and lakes surrounding Shaver and Huntington Lake, including Florence Lake, Ward Lake, Edison Lake, Mammoth Pool, Courtright Reservoir and Wishon Reservoir.

Dusy Ershim Trail 4×4 travels past Kaiser Peak and the cell phone towers. Several primitive camp sites with views on ridge. Numerous developed NFS Campgrounds out this way along Kaiser Pass Road.

Trailheads for horseback, hiking, backpackers, mountaineers, rock climbers. Snowmobiles love this amazing route when the snow is deep; some west coast winters can be better than others. Know before you go!

Kaiser Wilderness are granite mountain peaks, near Huntington Lake & the China Peak ski resort, formerly called Sierra Summit Ski;  One lane narrow backcountry paved roads: Kaiser Pass Road 80 (east of Huntington Lake) and Stump Springs Road 5 is West Kaiser (west of Huntington Lake)

Views in 2002
Sierra Views in 2002
WhiteFir Camp
White Fir Campsite
China Peak Hike Map
China Peak Hike w/ Map

hiker

Sierra National Forest

Kaiser Pass Road, elevation 9184′

25 mph – pothole paved, barely maintained one lane road, 20+ miles. Kaiser Pass is closed in winter months, but accessible by snow-mobile.

snowmo

recreation –
sierra National Forest map

  • backpacking
  • camping
  • creeks
  • cross country ski
  • fishing
  • hiking
  • lakes
  • mountain biking
  • mountaineering
  • picnicking
  • rock climbing
  • rivers
  • snow mobiling
  • snow skiing

Sierra Topo Maps

Sierra Map Tom Harrison
Sierra NF Map USDA
Kaiser Wilderness Map
Ansel Adams Wilderness USDA
Ansel Adams Trail Map
Dinkey Lakes Wilderness USDA
Dinkey Lakes Trail Map
John Muir Trail Maps
Mono Divide High Country
NatGeo Mono / Mammoth Map

surrounding wilderness and forest lands –

Ansel Adams Wilderness
Dinkey Lakes Wilderness
Inyo National Forest
John Muir Wilderness
Kings Canyon NP
Sierra National Forest
Yosemite National Park

National Forest & Wilderness Permits –

USDA Sierra NF

More Kaiser Wilderness Info & Links –

sierrawild.gov/wilderness/kaiser
summitpost.org/kaiser-peak
Kaiser Wilderness Wiki
San Joaquin River
Don’t Tell Anyone Campsites
Mono Hot Springs

kaiserpass
View from Kaiser Pass Trail – Huntington Lake in far back left

 

Dinkey Lakes Wilderness

Central Sierra Nevada

Wilderness lakes
Courtright Reservoir w/ CLIFF LAKE trailhead

Dinkey Lakes California

Dinkey Creek Road
Tom Harrison Dinkey Map East of Shaver Lake, Hwy 168

30,000 acres

Sierra National Forest

Located in the high elevations between Shaver Lake and Courtright Reservoir is the Dinkey Lakes region. Granite domes and alpine lakes are the key feature of this mid-Sierra forest. John Muir Wilderness is located on the east (right) side of Courtright, while Dinkey Lakes Wilderness is on the opposite west (left) side.

  • alpine lakes
  • backpacking
  • camping
  • creeks & streams
  • cross country ski
  • fishing
  • granite domes
  • horseback trails
  • hiking trails
  • off-roading
  • rock climbing
  • snowmobiling
  • snowshoe
  • stargazing
  • wildflowers
  • wildlife viewing

4 wheel drive trails serve some of the Wilderness boundaries. Dusy Ershim OHV Trail (pronounced ‘doosey’) crosses the boulder strewn terrain for 30 rugged miles, from Courtright to Kaiser Pass. Road #8S10 is known as ‘Red Lake Road’ and pretty popular among 4x4s and fishermen. This high clearance 4×4 trail accesses both scenic lakes – Red Lake and Coyote Lake, as well as Dinkey Wilderness trailheads.

Trailhead Access:

Access the trailheads on the north side of Dinkey Creek Road, a paved route which connects Shaver Lake to the Sequoia McKinley Grove and then on to Wishon and Courtright. Rock Creek Road #9S10 becomes dirt and leads up to the Dinkey Lakes hiking trails.

Paved Dinkey Creek Road leads out to the Trails End trailhead. Dinkey Creek and main Campground is located at 5840' elevation and tucked deep in the forest, about 10 miles east of Shaver Lake. Beyond the Sequoia grove is Wishon & Courtright Reservoirs w/ Cliff Lake trailhead. All the other trailheads located at these large lakes lead over to John Muir Wilderness.

Paved Dinkey Creek Road leads out to the Trails End trailhead. Dinkey Creek and main Campground is located at 5840′ elevation and tucked deep in the forest, about 10 miles east of Shaver Lake. Beyond the Sequoia grove is Wishon & Courtright Reservoirs w/ Cliff Lake trailhead. All the other trailheads located at these large lakes lead over to John Muir Wilderness.

The Dinky Creek locale (on most maps) is located at the main Dinky Creek Campground, along Dinky Creek near the historic Dinky bridge on a small, paved, side route north of the main road. Although this summer vacation area is well signed, people can often miss this turn, especially at night.

DSCN0005

USDA map Two main hiking trail systems can be accessed from the west, via Tamarack Ridge (parking at Hwy 168). Both dirt routes from highway, Road #9S09 and Road #8S10 lead out to Dinkey trails, although one is rugged 4×4 trail, Red Mountain OHV, and the other is a long, graded dirt road.

Kaiser Pass Road to the north side has even more trails leading into Dinkey. Badger Flat and White Bark trailheads are closest points to Huntington Lake, CA. Bolsillo trailhead is way back near Florence Lake, which also has a major trailhead and paved parking.

NFS

 

local rangers:

Sierra National Forest
High Sierra Ranger District
29688 Auberry Rd
Prather, CA 93651
559-855-5355

Secluded Camping
4×4 Camping at Coyote Lake