Mount Whitney

At 14,505 feet, Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the contiguous United States and one of the most sought-after summit hikes in America. Rising dramatically from the Owens Valley floor near Lone Pine — just 1.5 hours north of Ridgecrest — Whitney's summit offers a 360-degree panorama that stretches from the Great Basin to the Sierra crest, encompassing a landscape so vast and wild that it defies comprehension.

The most popular route to the summit is the Mount Whitney Trail, an approximately 22-mile round trip starting from Whitney Portal at 8,360 feet. The trail gains over 6,100 feet of elevation as it switchbacks through alpine forests, crosses granite basins dotted with mountain lakes, traverses the famous 97 switchbacks, and follows an exposed ridge to the stone summit shelter built by the Smithsonian Institution in 1909. Most hikers attempt the summit as a very long day hike (14-18 hours) or as an overnight backpacking trip with a camp at one of the alpine lakes along the route.

Due to its immense popularity, overnight permits for the Whitney Trail are distributed through a lottery system that opens each February for the following summer season. Day-use permits are also required and available through a separate lottery. The hiking season typically runs from mid-July through mid-October, when the trail is mostly snow-free. The summit hike is physically demanding and should not be underestimated — altitude sickness is common above 12,000 feet, and weather can change rapidly with thunderstorms developing on summer afternoons.