GENERAL NOTES:
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Waypoints between Three Rivers and Mineral King are plotted to clarify the text below. Follow the MINERAL KING route waypoints, as described below.
Take Hwy 198 northwest through the town of Three Rivers (waypoint 3RIVER),
following signs for Sequoia / Kings Canyon national park. At the waypoint
you will find a post office, Holiday Inn, liquor store, etc. A mile north
on Hwy 198 are more restaurants (including the Noisywater Cafe) and more
filling stations. Tourist shops abound as you wind along the Kaweah River.
(Three Rivers is actually the confluence of the main Kaweah River and
the North Fork.)
Leave Hwy 198 on the Mineral King Road (waypoint 198MIN). This turn is
marked by a small green sign reading 'Mineral King 25 miles', but just
after you make the turn there is a much larger brown sign next to a
fire station. The road now becomes amazingly winding and slow. There
are often cows on it and a steep dropoff, so race car drivers beware.
From 198, it is only 25 miles to the Mineral King ranger station and
most people take an hour to drive it. Follow the main road, which is dirt
at times but does not require high clearance. Take the left fork at
Hammond Road (waypoint HAMOND), following the sign to Mineral King.
Note that the road bears southeast as it enters the East Fork Kaweah River
canyon beyond Red Hill (waypoint REDHIL). Cross the East Fork on a 1920's
bridge near Oak Grove (waypoint OAKGRV), take the right fork at waypoint
GRUNIG (near Grunigen Creek, where the left fork is a dirt road that
leads to the Milk Ranch Peak lookout tower) again following a Mineral King
sign.
Continue to the entrance fee booth at the Lookout Point Ranger Station
(waypoint LOOKPT). From there the road actually straightens just a bit,
but soon you are at the gate (presumably closed in winter) where the
pavement ends (waypoint MKGATE). From here to the trailhead is dirt
road except where they've paved it to keep dust down near campgrounds
and houses.
Just before the low-altitude campground at Atwell Mill (waypoint ATWELL)
the Paradise trailhead leads north to Paradise Peak, a possible jumping
off point to Castle Rocks. From here you can also get to Bearpaw Meadow
and the High Sierra Trail the hard way by crossing the Middle Fork of
the Kaweah River. The upper (unmarked) entrance to Atwell Mill campground
is the trailhead for Hockett Meadow (leading south to Mountain Home
State Forest if you go far enough) and has a steel bear box for general
use (not in a campsite).
There may be cabins for rent at Cabin Cove or Silver City, there is
supposed to be a post office at Silver City (which I've never seen)
and there is a general store and/or restaurant at Silver City
(waypoint SILVER) which seems never to be open when I'm there, and
eventually you reach the higher campground at Cold Springs
(waypoint CLDSPR). A trail leads south from waypoint HORSEC to
Horse Creek and the Hockett Plateau, but climbers seldom go that way.
Permits can be picked up after listening to a long lecture at the Mineral
King Ranger Station (waypoint MINKNG). Across from the ranger station is
a wooden shack where you can leave trailhead food, but there are no bear
lockers at the trailheads themselves. Strangely, both trailheads have
pay phones! Parking at the high trailheads is dangerous in spring but
seems to be OK in the fall. Marmots can't get enough salt from native
plants until July, so June trips often end with chewed wiring and
radiator hoses. Take chicken netting to protect the underside of your
car or wait until the fall when there don't seem to be any problems.
There are two main climber trailheads near Mineral King. The first is
waypoint STOOTH, with an outhouse and parking for Timber Gap and
Sawtooth Pass. For Eagle Creek, Mosquito Lakes, Franklin Pass, or
Farewell Gap, continue past the Sawtooth parking lot, follow the road
as it bends south, and take the right fork at waypoint PACKST. The left
fork is where most climbers want to go, but is private parking only.
The public parking lot (waypoint EAGLEC) is at the end of the right fork
and is the trailhead for Eagle Creek (where few climbers go) on the west
side of the East Fork of the Kaweah River. To get to the Franklin/Farewell
trail on the east side of the East Fork (waypoint FARWEL), you can either
jump the stream via a use trail halfway between the parking and the
Eagle Creek trailhead sign, or go back down the road and cross the
stream on the bridge (then walk past the pack station).
John Clark remarks:
The gate is indeed closed in winter. Check w/National
Park Service at Ash Mtn 559 565 3341 for precise dates
of closure.
Rental cabins are only available at Silver City. As
are hot showers and meals most of the year.
http://www.rescentre.com/SilverCityResort.htm
There is no formal post office at Silver City,
but you can mail and receive letters at the Silver
City Store.
My dog and I live at Silver City in summer. Good climbing to you.
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