National Park Service

source · source-nps-seki-whitney

Original source: National Park Service

Claims and evidence

East side approach summary

Mid july early october
technical climbing equipment usually not necessary
One way miles
10.7
Route
Classic Mount Whitney Trail
Spring early summer
ice axe and crampons needed
Starts at
Whitney Portal
Trailhead elevation ft
8360
Evidence and sources (1)

No claim effective interval recorded.

Spatial scope IDs: scope-peak-mount-whitney

  1. Evidence stance: supports · Evidence details

    NPS identifies Mount Whitney as the tallest peak in the lower 48, on the Sequoia National Park–Inyo National Forest boundary. It publishes a 14,505-foot NAVD88 summit elevation, the 10.7-mile Whitney Portal approach, seasonal equipment qualification, and a roughly 60-mile west-side High Sierra Trail approach.

    Publisher
    National Park Service
    Observer / attribution
    Not recorded
    Observed at
    Unknown
    Retrieved at
    2026-09-23T01:00:00+00:00

    Retrieval time does not establish when an event occurred.

    Observation details · Source details · Original source: National Park Service

Geographic identity

County boundary
  • Inyo County
  • Tulare County
Highest point of
  • California
  • Sierra Nevada
  • contiguous United States
Land boundary
  • Sequoia National Park
  • Inyo National Forest
Evidence and sources (2)

No claim effective interval recorded.

Spatial scope IDs: scope-peak-mount-whitney

  1. Evidence stance: supports · Evidence details

    NPS identifies Mount Whitney as the tallest peak in the lower 48, on the Sequoia National Park–Inyo National Forest boundary. It publishes a 14,505-foot NAVD88 summit elevation, the 10.7-mile Whitney Portal approach, seasonal equipment qualification, and a roughly 60-mile west-side High Sierra Trail approach.

    Publisher
    National Park Service
    Observer / attribution
    Not recorded
    Observed at
    Unknown
    Retrieved at
    2026-09-23T01:00:00+00:00

    Retrieval time does not establish when an event occurred.

    Observation details · Source details · Original source: National Park Service

  2. Evidence stance: supports · Evidence details

    The USGS state high-point table identifies Mount Whitney in Inyo–Tulare as California's highest point and publishes an elevation of 14,494 feet.

    Publisher
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Observer / attribution
    Not recorded
    Observed at
    Unknown
    Retrieved at
    2026-09-23T01:00:00+00:00

    Retrieval time does not establish when an event occurred.

    Observation details · Source details · Original source: U.S. Geological Survey

Published summit elevation

Feet
14505
Meters
4421
Publisher
National Park Service
Vertical datum
NAVD88
Evidence and sources (1)

No claim effective interval recorded.

Spatial scope IDs: scope-peak-mount-whitney

  1. Evidence stance: supports · Evidence details

    NPS identifies Mount Whitney as the tallest peak in the lower 48, on the Sequoia National Park–Inyo National Forest boundary. It publishes a 14,505-foot NAVD88 summit elevation, the 10.7-mile Whitney Portal approach, seasonal equipment qualification, and a roughly 60-mile west-side High Sierra Trail approach.

    Publisher
    National Park Service
    Observer / attribution
    Not recorded
    Observed at
    Unknown
    Retrieved at
    2026-09-23T01:00:00+00:00

    Retrieval time does not establish when an event occurred.

    Observation details · Source details · Original source: National Park Service

West side approach summary

Approximate one way miles
60
Minimum days one way
6
Permit
Sequoia and Kings Canyon wilderness permit
Route
High Sierra Trail
Starts at
Crescent Meadow
Evidence and sources (2)

No claim effective interval recorded.

Spatial scope IDs: scope-peak-mount-whitney

  1. Evidence stance: supports · Evidence details

    NPS identifies Mount Whitney as the tallest peak in the lower 48, on the Sequoia National Park–Inyo National Forest boundary. It publishes a 14,505-foot NAVD88 summit elevation, the 10.7-mile Whitney Portal approach, seasonal equipment qualification, and a roughly 60-mile west-side High Sierra Trail approach.

    Publisher
    National Park Service
    Observer / attribution
    Not recorded
    Observed at
    Unknown
    Retrieved at
    2026-09-23T01:00:00+00:00

    Retrieval time does not establish when an event occurred.

    Observation details · Source details · Original source: National Park Service

  2. Evidence stance: supports · Evidence details

    NPS publishes the High Sierra Trail as a west-side Mount Whitney approach: 49 miles to the JMT junction plus about 13 miles to the summit, with a High Sierra Trail wilderness permit required and a detailed sequence including Guitar Lake, the summit, Trail Camp, Outpost Camp, and Whitney Portal.

    Publisher
    National Park Service
    Observer / attribution
    Not recorded
    Observed at
    Unknown
    Retrieved at
    2026-09-23T01:00:00+00:00

    Retrieval time does not establish when an event occurred.

    Observation details · Source details · Original source: National Park Service

Recorded observations

Browse observations separately (1)

NPS identifies Mount Whitney as the tallest peak in the lower 48, on the Sequoia National Park–Inyo National Forest boundary. It publishes a 14,505-foot NAVD88 summit elevation, the 10.7-mile Whitney Portal approach, seasonal equipment qualification, and a roughly 60-mile west-side High Sierra Trail approach.

Publisher
National Park Service
Observer / attribution
Not recorded
Observed at
Unknown
Retrieved at
2026-09-23T01:00:00+00:00

Retrieval time does not establish when an event occurred.

Observation details · Source details · Original source: National Park Service

Published record history

History lists published operations; it does not reconstruct removed content or confirm that external media remains available.

JSON

Historical evidence is not a guarantee of current conditions.