Cottonwood Pass & Chicken Spring Lake
Horseshoe Meadows, Lone Pine · near Lone Pine · Eastern Sierra
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 9 miles
- Elevation gain
- 1,300 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- July–October
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No day-hike permit. Overnight needs an Inyo NF permit (Golden Trout / Cottonwood Pass) via recreation.gov. Trailhead at ~9,940 ft — the highest drive-to access around.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 1 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Starts at ~9,940 ft near treeline · 11,140-ft Cottonwood Pass · Chicken Spring Lake (11,242 ft) · PCT junction; gateway to Miter Basin
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- The trailhead is already near 10,000 ft, so even this 'moderate' hike is a high-altitude outing — the elevation, not the grade, is the challenge. A great acclimatization day. Bring layers for strong sun and wind.
The guide
Horseshoe Meadows is the high, sandy plateau above Lone Pine where the road delivers you almost to treeline, and Cottonwood Pas…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Cottonwood Pass & Chicken Spring Lake — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.4497, -118.1706