Gardiner Basin (Kings Canyon)
Kings Canyon National Park · near Independence / Bishop · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- expert
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 38 miles
- Elevation gain
- 9,000 ft
- Time needed
- multi-day · long-haul
- Best season
- Late July–September
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- Inyo National Forest permit (Kearsarge Pass / Onion Valley entry) via Recreation.gov, 6 months ahead, then cross-country into the trail-less Gardiner Basin. This is off-trail wilderness for experienced navigators only. Bear canister mandatory.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 4 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Trail-less high-alpine solitude · Sixty Lakes & Gardiner Basin · Cross-country route-finding · Some of the range's deepest quiet
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Nights
- 4–6
- Resupply
- None needed. Bear canister required the entire route.
- Intl tip
- This is off-trail wilderness travel — bring a detailed topo, real navigation skills, and ideally prior cross-country Sierra experience before attempting Gardiner. The standard approach combines it with the on-trail Kearsarge/Sixty Lakes country, so you can bail to established trails if conditions or confidence dictate. Don't underestimate the talus and route-finding.
The guide
Gardiner Basin is the trip for the experienced Sierra backpacker ready to leave the trail behind. Reached by entering over Kear…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Gardiner Basin (Kings Canyon) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.83, -118.43