Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion 2016: Whitney Portal parking & Road Construction: Completed

See the first post in this thread. Scroll down a little for the parking and shuttle info.

I have a hiking permit for the MWT June 28-29.
I have a campground reserved June 26-29 (checking out June 30).
OK to leave my car in my campsite the whole time?

Yes.

I'm coming from out of state to hike Mount Whitney. The road construction/parking situation is making it hard to plan. I have an overnight permit to be on the mountain Friday 8/26 - Sunday 8/28. It's my understanding that IF the road is open I can park my car at the Portal for that length of time. I reserved a campsite at Whitney Portal Campground on Thursday 8/25, the day before I start. I want to do some acclimation hikes nearby in the days preceding my Whitney attempt, but once again the road work/parking situation is making it hard to plan.

Is parking at Lone Pine Campground and tacking an additional 4 miles onto the hike (each way) a viable option? Will my overnight hiking permit be valid to walk the trail from the Lone Pine Campground on Thursday 8/25 up to my reserved spot at Whitney Portal Campground on that same date OR is it only good on the Mount Whitney Trail from 8/26 - 8-29? Will I have to pay per day to park my car there? How likely is vehicle damage from bears (or vandals) at Lone Pine campground?

The Whitney hike is so arduous that I don't think it is reasonable to add those 4 miles and 2300' elevation gain. The road will be open, but there may be delays up to 30 minutes.

I think you will find parking in the hiker parking lot if you drive up early in the morning on 8/26. Since you are spending several nights on the trail, you don't need to start hiking early, but you should park the car as early as you can.

Your parking permit will then enable you to do the hike from Whitney Portal. I wouldn't consider parking at the lower campground.

I was up there a week ago and didn't find the traffic situation all that bad. I had to wait a few times but the longest was 20 minutes. There's no traffic controls after 6:30PM and the traffic controls are Monday thru Thursday. If you have to wait, sit back and enjoy the scenery for a few minutes. Again, it's really not as bad as it seems!

Our group was at Whitney this Wed, Thurs and Fri. No issues with construction delays. There were 3 areas under construction with directed one way traffic. Minimal delays and little wait time. Parking was fine as long as you have parking permit for the hike. Construction is only Mon - Thurs

I would not worry about the road work . You may at most have a 30 min delay going up the road or down! You will be issued a parking permit for the nights you are on the trail when you pick up your Mt Whitney permits that the lone pine Ranger station. There is a temporary parking area at the trail head. Get there early on the day of your hike to guarantee a spot!

I will be up there for my hike up Whitney on the 23rd and will post more info around the 25th.

Have a great trip and safe one to!

Robert

Is there a place to park still for day visitors who don't have permits because we are only going up to Lone Pine Lake? If so, does it fill up early on a Sunday? Thanks.

Barbara, this post (earlier in this thread) shows the Inyo N.F. map with 8AM-8PM day parking (no permit required) at Whitney Portal.

Thanks Steve

Current status on road closures and delays:

http://inyocounty.us/PortalConstruction/

Hello,

We are a group of 9 people planning to hike Mt. Whitney on July 2nd. We have an overnight pass for the same. I was told that only one permit is issued per group for parking at Mt. Whitney portal parking but we have 2 cars.

I have been trying to call the Eastern Sierra Shuttle Service, LLC (760-876-1915) but no one seems to be picking up.

What are the options we have? Is there hope to park both cars at the parking lot at Mt Whitney or at the campground?

Check the first post on page 1 of this thread...

"Overflow parking along the road is ok now until Monday, July 11"

All you need to do is drop everyone off at the trail head, then park one cars along the road just past the entrance to the overflow (lower) parking lot, and park the other in the permit-parking lot.

You can find the map showing those areas on page 1, also.

I have an overnight permit starting on the 3rd of July and exiting the 5th.

I realize this is going to be a very busy time at the Whitney Portal and am somewhat worried about parking. If the overnight parking lot is full, is it ok to park along the road overnight with a parking permit? How early is it necessary to get there to guarantee a spot with the permit (or will I have to wait around to snag a spot when someone is leaving)?. Since I'm doing the hike in three days I don't necessarily want to start at 6 am on Sunday. Any advice would be appreciated!

As written above: "Overflow parking along the road is ok now until Monday, July 11"
...and NO permit is required to park along the road.

All I have seen up to this point is that parking in the lots has been easily available. Please report back how full you find it and the time of day you get there.

Thanks Steve

Thanks for the reply Steve. I saw that it was ok until the 11th, was just wondering about overnight but hopefully we will not have to worry about that (and it seems like it is ok anyways)!

Parking along the road has always been long-term parking.

Steve, or anyone with knowledge,

Quick question on parking logistics. I have a group of 5 starting Sun 7/10 and leaving Mon 7/11. It is our plan to get our permit Sun 7/10 in the morning and then head up to the Portal to start our trip. I know we will have 1 parking permit but that does not guarantee a parking spot, correct? The dilemma is to chance finding a spot around 12-1:00ish or schedule a shuttle. Since we are leaving Monday evening 7/11, road parking will not work due to construction.

So, any idea if the overnight hiking lots are filling up right now and chances of securing a spot when we arrive mid-day or is it better to just get a shuttle? Probably a coin toss but thought I'd ask. The information on these forums is extremely helpful.

Thx - David