Mt. Whitney
Trip Guide & 3D Map
Sierra Nevada · Difficulty, season, and access — then explore the 3D terrain
Planning snapshot
Mt. Whitney is a 14,495 ft summit in the Sierra Nevada (USA). PeakAtlas rates it day hike (Class 1–2 hike); best season is Jul–Sep. Permit required. Typical staging is Lone Pine (13 mi). PeakAtlas lists 3 OpenStreetMap lodging pins near the summit — coverage is often thinner outside well-mapped regions. Use the 3D map and trip checklist before you go.
- Elevation
- 14,495 ft
- Prominence
- 10,078 ft
- Difficulty tier
- Day hike
- Best season
- Jul–Sep
- Permits
- Permit required
- Staging
- Lone Pine · 13 mi
- Mapped lodging
- 3 OSM places
- Listed trails
- 1
As of 2026-07-31 · Figures come from the PeakAtlas3D catalog: surveyed elevations and prominence, curated difficulty tiers, best-season windows, permit notes, staging-town distances, trail lists, and OpenStreetMap lodging near each summit. Not live weather, quotas, or prices.
Compare: Mt. Whitney vs Mt. Elbert · Half Dome vs Mt. Whitney · Mt. Fuji vs Mt. Whitney
How hard is Mt. Whitney, and what do you need before you go?
Mt. Whitney is listed as Class 1–2 hike with a best season of Jul–Sep. Use the difficulty, permit, and staging details below before you commit to a date.
- Difficulty
- Class 1–2 hike
- Best season
- Jul–Sep
- Access / staging
- Lone Pine, California
How tall is Mt. Whitney, and where is it?
- Location
- California, USA
- Elevation
- 14,495 ft
- Prominence
- 10,078 ft
- Mountain range
- Sierra Nevada
- Difficulty
- Class 1–2 hike
What makes Mt. Whitney notable?
Highest peak in the contiguous U.S. — a long Class 1–2 trail with a hard permit quota.
Mount Whitney is a very long day or short overnight on the Mount Whitney Trail from Whitney Portal. The hiking is non-technical in summer, but altitude, distance, and a competitive Inyo National Forest permit quota stop more people than the terrain. Stage in Lone Pine; start early and respect afternoon Sierra weather.
After you check trip readiness for Mt. Whitney, explore the summit on PeakAtlas3D’s interactive 3D topographic map in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA.
Closest places
- Lone Pine — California via Whitney Portal Rd
- Independence — USA
- Exeter — USA
Notable trails & routes
- Whitney Trail
- Mountaineer's Route