Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Hi & WP parking

Hi from a Newbie & long-time lurker.

On the handful of occasions I've been through the Portal in the past, the parking has looked very full. Is it realistic to expect that I can find a long-term parking space on a Weds late morning/lunchtime, in mid August? (yup, advance planning for this summer's trip!)

I'm trying to figure out whether I should plan to leave my car there for an 8-day trip exiting at WP (makes finishing easier), or whether I should leave it down in Lone Pine.

Anybody ever completely failed to get a place, or is there always somewhere you can squeeze a car in?
Cheers
Dave

A parking spot should not be a problem. I've never had that problem. It is just a question where you end up parking vis a vis the trailhead.

I would not leave the car in Lone Pine.

Thanks - when you say "where you end up parking" does this sometimes mean roadside/some way down the road or always somewhere in the lot?

I've used LP before when I've had food/smellables in the car, and with rentals I'm always slightly nervous that the last guy might have spent 3 hrs eating big macs in the car...

When the long-term parking lots are full, people park along the road, a little farther from the trailhead. If your car is clean -- and rental cars are cleaner than most, you shouldn't have any bear trouble.

Great, thanks.

I did leave my rental car in the open parking spots opposite the hostel for a week when I did the onion valley - WP , few years back. Actually left the keys at the front desk in the hostel with my name on it. Dave Sheldon at that time told me that the WP parking was quite full and people were parking on the side of the road which may not be wise. Hence left in LP. After return got a ride from WP to LP, retrieved my keys from hostel and got back into my car. So q. is, is there a fresh issue for parked cars in LP?