Kearsarge Pass & Sixty Lakes Basin
Kings Canyon NP / John Muir Wilderness · near Independence / Bishop · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 26 miles
- Elevation gain
- 6,000 ft
- Time needed
- multi-day
- Best season
- July–September
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- Inyo National Forest permit via Recreation.gov, Kearsarge Pass (Onion Valley) trailhead, 6 months ahead. This is the main JMT resupply-exit corridor, so it's a popular but attainable entry into the Rae Lakes / Sixty Lakes high country. Bear canister mandatory.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 3 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Onion Valley to the Sierra crest · Kearsarge Lakes & Pinnacles · Sixty Lakes Basin · JMT/PCT access
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Nights
- 3–4
- Resupply
- None needed. Bear canister required the entire route.
- Intl tip
- Sixty Lakes Basin rewards the extra effort to reach it with solitude and scenery that rivals anywhere in the range — build a layover day to explore it. The Onion Valley trailhead campground is a perfect acclimatization spot at 9,200 feet the night before. Afternoon thunderstorms build fast over the crest; be over the pass early.
The guide
The Kearsarge Pass trail from Onion Valley is the fastest way for a mortal to reach the high heart of the Sierra — it's the cor…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Kearsarge Pass & Sixty Lakes Basin — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.772, -118.356