Big Whitney Meadow | Tunnel Meadow

Big Whitney Meadow is one of the largest meadows within the Golden Trout Wilderness. It’s big. At more than a mile and-a-half wide it is one of the largest unimproved meadows in the Sierra Nevada. To get there, the intrepid hiker will need to cross Cottonwood pass before a breathtaking descent into the meadow.

Getting there: The trailhead is at Horseshoe Meadows, up the Cottonwood Pass road outside of Lone Pine. Permits for this trip can be obtained at the Sierra Inter-Agency visitor center in Lone Pine. This trip(s) can be accomplished in either direction. Cottonwood pass has a trailhead quota, Trail Pass has unlimited entry. One could also utilize Trail pass, regardless, and just use the PCT to hike 4 miles from Trail pass to Cottonwood pass before going to Big Whitney Meadow (I prefer to go DOWN the trail from Cottonwood pass to Big Whitney, it’s a doosey!). Horseshoe meadow sits at about 10,000’ and is a great jumping off point due to the high-elevation trailhead. The downside is that you’re likely not going to be acclimated; so take your time.

Route option 1: 25 miles. ~3,700 feet elevation change. Scenic views, trees - lots of them, open meadows, and good trails.

Route option 2: 30 miles. ~5,00'0 feet elevation change. Scenic views. Same as option 1, but includes Little Whitney meadow and a skirt along an old lava bed (sunny).

My preference is to hike these counter-clockwise. The trail from Cottonwood pass into Big Whitney meadow is steep. Trail pass gets equestrian use and is well defined. There is a bit of sand walking on this, but it’s not too bad.

Permits - we can talk about how to get one…

This is a good early-season trip. Water crossings are pretty straightforward. There are plenty of camping options once you cross the trail crest.

Here are photos of the trip (first option) that I took with Taylor and Tim in June of 2017. The meadow was saturated, and I ended up keeping my water shoes on for the entire crossing. The creeks were not too bad crossing. And, as a plus, you can take you time and not worry about getting in miles. It’s ~8 miles from parking lot over Cottonwood pass to the tree-island in the middle of Big Whitney Meadow (good stop for day 1), the elevation will get to you.