Carson Spur & Kirkwood Backcountry
Hwy 88 / Carson Pass · near Kirkwood · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Nordic & Snowshoe
At a glance
- Best season
- Dec–Apr; snow-sure high terrain (~7,700–9,000 ft)
What is here
- Activities
- backcountry · snowshoe
- Setting
- summit
- Amenities
- Deep, snow-sure backcountry · Bowls, ridges & glades · Kirkwood-area access · Long touring season
- Best for
- Expert backcountry ski touring
- Features
- Snow-sure steep terrain · Classic Hwy 88 backcountry · Reliably deep snow · Long season
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Serious avalanche terrain — expertise required · Steep slopes & winter navigation · Storms & Hwy 88 closures · Full avalanche kit & training essential
- Good for a first timer
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Rentals
- No
Nordic & Snowshoe detail
- Venue
- backcountry
- Ability
- expert
- Snow
- 5
- Trail notes
- Steep, snow-sure backcountry along the Highway 88 corridor near Kirkwood and Carson Spur — bowls, ridges, and glades for experienced ski tourers, in reliably deep Sierra snow
- Terrain note
- ~7,700–9,000 ft; steep ungroomed backcountry; very deep reliable snow
- Intl tip
- The Hwy 88 corridor around Carson Spur and Kirkwood holds some of the Sierra's deepest, most reliable snow — and some of its best, most serious backcountry touring. Steeper than the nearby Meiss meadows: bowls, ridges, chutes, and glades for experienced tourers and splitboarders, often skiing into spring. Emphatically expert terrain: real avalanche hazard (go only with training, a beacon-shovel-probe kit, and the Sierra Avalanche Center forecast), solid navigation and partners, and frequent storms that close Hwy 88. Not for beginners. Make conservative choices.
The guide
The Highway 88 corridor around Carson Spur and Kirkwood holds some of the deepest, most reliable snow in the Sierra — and corre…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Carson Spur & Kirkwood Backcountry — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.68, -120.1