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Horseshoe Meadow Campgrounds in the Golden Trout Wilderness
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Cottonwood Pass Campground
The Cottonwood Pass and Cottonwood Lakes trails provide great portals into Inyo National Forest and Sequoia National Park. Hikers start at an elevation of 10,000 feet, giving them a launch pad into the high sierras.
Because you start so high up, acclimating is a key to avoiding altitude sickness. For this reason, a pair of first-come first-serve campgrounds offer a valuable resource for hikers. If you have time to spend the night in one of these sites, you will go a long way toward avoiding the headaches and nausea that altitude sickness can bestow on hikers as they climb to higher passes and peaks.
There are eighteen sites set just off the road near the Cottonwood Pass trailhead and twelve at the adjacent Cottonwood Lakes trailhead. Both are $6 per night with fire rings, picnic tables, potable water, and vault toilets. These sites are classified as “walk-ins” because campers do not actually set up their tents right by their vehicles. Instead, campers must walk in a couple hundred feet from the road. Additionally, there are ten equestrian sites designed for man and horse that go for $12 a night. The campgrounds (and the road) close during the winter. When in doubt, call 877-444-6777 to see which Inyo National Forest campgrounds are open. Bear lockers are provided to help keep your food out of those dangerous paws, so make sure your vehicle is bear-safe before leaving the parking lot.
Seen from Lone Pine: Mounts Whitney and Langley rising above the Sierra Nevadas
To get to Horseshoe Meadow: The city of Lone Pine is a three-hour drive from Los Angeles, and then it takes another half hour to ascend to the trailhead campgrounds. From Lone Pine on Route 395, turn west at the traffic light on to Whitney Portal Road. After three miles, turn left on Horseshoe Meadow Road. Twenty miles of road switch up the mountain and terminate at Horseshoe Meadow. The Cottonwood Pass trailhead is straight ahead and the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead is at the end of the paved road to the right.
View Hiking the Sierra Nevadas in a larger map
| Hikes from Horseshoe Meadow: | |
 | This lake sits just beyond Cottonwood Pass, 4.1 miles from Horseshoe Meadow. The lake makes for a nice day hike, or a first stop on a backpacking trip into the Sierras. |
 | This trail visits several lakes before rising to the 12,300-foot New Army Pass, 7.5 miles from Horseshoe Meadow. Day hikers can turn around a mile sooner at High Lake and omit the climb up to the pass. |
 | This nine-mile round-trip hike along the Old Cottonwood Creek Trail offers a secluded trek into the Cottonwood Lakes Basin. |
 | This 12,900-foot summit can be reached with a two mile off-trail ascent from either New Army Pass, Chicken Spring Lake, or Cirque Lake. The views from the top are majestic. |
 | This 14,042-foot summit boasts towering views of Mt. Whitney and several other high peaks. Hikers must travel about 22-miles round trip, off-trail and on, to reach summit of California's 9th tallest mountain. |
 | This scenic lake is an ideal backpackers' campsite for a trek to Mt. Pickering or deeper into Eastern Sierras. Alternatively, the 19-mile loop to Lower Soldier Lake from Horseshoe Meadow provides a long but picturesque day hike. |
 | This 13,485-foot summit sports sweeping views of the Sierras which can be reached via a two-mile ascent from Sky Blue Lake (after a 13-mile hike from Horseshoe Meadow). |
 | Sky Blue Lake graces the top of Miter Basin about 13 miles from the trailheads at Horseshoe Meadow. |
 | This lake sits just off Miter Basin beneath Mt. Pickering and makes an enjoyable side trip on a hike to Sky Blue Lake. |
A photo of the map at the trailheads
| You might also like these other camping destinations: | |
 | Buckeye Flats Campground provides great spring camping in the western foothills of Sequoia National Park. Nearby Paradise Creek is the perfect place to relax after a day of hiking or vising Giant Sequoias. |
 | Giant Sequoia National Monument South of Sequoia proper, Quaking Aspen Campground provides great access to the Sequoia trees and trails of this national monument. |
 | Just a short drive from the city of Ojai, Wheeler Gorge Campground lies at the base of the beautiful Los Padres Range. Backpackers may prefer to camp at nearby Sespe Creek. |
 | This national Park has several great campground and even more great trails. |
 | Less developed that Joshua Tree to the south, Mojave National Preserve offers both traditional campgrounds and rustic roadside camping where one can enjoy desert seclusion with all the comforts of car camping. |
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