Tuttle Creek & Whitney Portal (Lone Pine)
Below Mount Whitney · near Lone Pine · Eastern Sierra
Camping
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Elevation
- 8000
- Campsites
- Various (BLM + USFS)
- Season
- Whitney Portal summer; Tuttle Creek longer
- Fee
- ~$0–26/night
Permits and booking
- Reservation required
- No
- How to reserve
- Whitney Portal (USFS, ~8,000 ft): reservable (Recreation.gov) — the staging camp for climbing Mount Whitney. Tuttle Creek (BLM, lower/free-ish): first-come, cheaper, open longer. Bear canisters/lockers; the Whitney trail needs a separate permit (lottery).
What is here
- Setting
- mountain
- Amenities
- Base for climbing Mt. Whitney · Alabama Hills views · Creekside sites · First-come (Tuttle Creek)
- Best for
- Mount Whitney staging + Eastern Sierra base
- Features
- Staging camp for Mount Whitney · Below the highest peak in the lower 48 · Alabama Hills nearby · First-come lower option
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Camping detail
- Camp type
- developed · dispersed
- Intl tip
- Whitney Portal (8,000 ft): reserve on Recreation.gov — the staging camp for climbing Mt. Whitney (the trail needs a SEPARATE lottery permit — hiking guide; acclimatize!). Tuttle Creek (BLM): first-come, cheaper, longer season, great valley/Alabama Hills views. Bear lockers. Combine with the Alabama Hills and Lone Pine. Gateway to the lower-48's high point.
The guide
The campgrounds below Mount Whitney at Lone Pine serve as the classic staging grounds for climbing the highest peak in the cont…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Tuttle Creek & Whitney Portal (Lone Pine) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.586, -118.167