Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Day hike parking lot questions

I have a day pass to hike in early July. I don't want to start super early and was planning to begin around 5am or so.

1) Given the construction issues, do I need to worry about finding a parking spot in the day lot this late? If for some reason there was no spot in the day lot, what would my options be?

2) I understand that the day lot parking pass is good starting at 12:01am. Would I have any issues parking up there the night before (like at 9pm and sleeping in my car)?

Thanks

BFR, those are exactly the questions I am wondering about, too.

I am hoping we will get people going on days before you to post and tell us what the situation is like.

Unfortunately, I don't think there are any workable options if there is no parking spot. As for sleeping in the car, that wouldn't work if there are midnight patrols.


We just don't know at this time how bad the situation is going to be.

Anyone know how many spaces are in the day lot?

Why would there be no workable options? Why couldn't I park down Whitney Portal Road? I spoke to someone at Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor Center on the phone last week and they said it would be possible to park on portions of the road.

What would be the consequences of parking in the overnight lot without a parking pass?

I have asked several times about parking along the road -- during weekends, since construction is only Monday-Thursday, and so on. But I keep getting the same answer: NO parking along the road period. The no-parking rule will extend for several miles, so walking part of the road effectively wipes out your chances of a successful day hike.

Consequences of parking along without a pass can be that your car will be towed, along with an expensive fine.

Another option would be to get a spot in the Whitney Portal campground the night before and night after, just to use the parking spot.

Ha ha, good luck getting a spot at the campground. That place is super popular with RVs, tent campers, etc.

I think the way this is gonna shake out is classic service meets need. LP is a tourist town - it exists because of Whitney (well, also the hills if counting Hollywood).

So, I figure there will emerge different kinds of shuttle opportunities - coming and going.

Also, I think we can assume people will be doing more than the usual amount of overnight 'bandit' camping in order to get an early start without fighting (or worrying) about parking.

It would be a unnecessarily cruel for the FS to get an enforcement hard-on during this construction/parking period. I mean, those guys, their families, friends, etc also live there, and the idea is to facilitate people spending some money while doing Whitney. Hassling people and/or making it hard just defeats the purpose.

I would also like to know for the day hikers, how the parking lot situation was when getting to the portal. I will be doing the day hike in September and just curious what the availability of spaces will be like around 3-4am at the portal.

From my previous experiences, there was always a spot available somewhere at the trailhead when we arrived around 3am. Wondering how the construction is affecting this.

Thanks everyone

The parking lot should have more spaces available this year compared to others, since long-term hikers will NOT be able to get a permit at all this year.

We will have to see how this plays out.

If this is the case, then shouldn't it be a non-issue getting a parking space?