Click on photos for more information.

Sequoia National Park’s Incomparable High Sierra Trail

by Laurie Schwaller

Sequoia National Park’s fabulously scenic High Sierra Trail, “the most ambitious trail ever built by the National Park Service in the southern Sierra,” leads you in 62 rugged, up and down miles from lush, giant-sequoia-ringed Crescent Meadow, elevation 6700′, to the all-rock top of Mt. Whitney at 14,505′, the highest point in the lower 48 states. (It’s about 75 miles if you hike on down the east side to road’s end at Whitney Portal.) Built in 1928-1932, this classic, incomparable trail challenges and rewards its travelers with sights and experiences they never forget.

November, 2025

NOTE: The Project Team will be conducting research for a full article as volunteer time allows. Contact us if you’d like to help research, write about, and/or illustrate this Treasure!

High Sierra Trail from Giant Forest to Mount Whitney Summit

Maps & Directions:

From Visalia, go east on Hwy 198 through Three Rivers to the Sequoia National Park entrance station (fee), where Hwy 198 becomes the Generals Highway. About a mile up the road, stop at the Wilderness Office near the Foothills Visitor Center to pick up your required Wilderness Permit for the High Sierra Trail (see Links in the Site Details section below). Continue up the mountain on the Generals Highway to just before the Giant Forest Museum and turn right onto the Moro Rock/Crescent Meadow Road. Follow it to its end at the Crescent Meadow parking lot. Find the HST trailhead sign near the restroom.

HST hikers typically make this a shuttle trip. Most travel the HST from west to east, culminating in summiting Mt. Whitney, then descending the 11-mile trail to Whitney Portal on the east side to meet a vehicle that will take them home (or back to the car they left at the start of their trek).

NOTE: You must obtain a Wilderness permit for the High Sierra Trail before you hike it. If you wish to complete your trip by hiking out down the east side to Whitney Portal, the Inyo National Forest will accept your Wilderness permit issued by Sequoia National Park as long as you meet the requirements for continuous wilderness travel.

(See our Smithsonian Shelter on Mt. Whitney page for a sketch map of the trail down to Whitney Portal.)

Site Details & Activities:

Environment: Mountains, forests, rivers, streams, lakes, high passes, huge canyons, major elevation gains and losses, summit of Mt. Whitney (elevation 14,505′); carry good High Sierra Trail maps

Activities: backpacking, birding, botanizing, camping, hiking, history, photography, stargazing, wilderness, wildflower and wildlife viewing; this is a very strenuous adventure: plan it far ahead and prepare and pack carefully

Open: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are always open, weather permitting, unless closed due to emergency conditions; park entrance fee; High Sierra Trail Wilderness Permit required

Site Steward: National Park Service, Sequoia National Park, 559-565-3341

Opportunities for Involvement: donate , volunteer, Sequoia Parks Conservancy

Links:

https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/high-sierra-trail.htm

Plan Your Visit, Permits, Current Conditions;

Sequoia Kings Canyon Lodging;

Sequoia Park Shuttle;

Plan YourVisit/Wilderness Permits

Current Trail Conditions

https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/backpacking.htm

https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/parktransit.htm for information about summer shuttle service from main parking areas to the HST trailhead at Crescent Meadow.

high_sierra_trail_gentle_ribbon_of_rock Excellent film on the planning and construction of the High Sierra Trail, narrated by WilliamTweed; see it on You Tube

Books: 1) Granite Pathways: A History of the Wilderness Trail System of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, by William C. Tweed (Sequoia Parks Conservancy, August, 2021)

2) A number of books about hiking the HST are advertised online. (There are also many blogs and videos about hiking the HST.) Be informed and prepared; a successful hike on the HST takes careful planning and conditioning well in advance of your journey.

See also: high_sierra_trail_gentle_ribbon_of_rock Excellent film on the planning and construction of the High Sierra Trail, narrated by WilliamTweed; on You Tube