SEKI Wilderness Permit — Foothills — Farewell Gap

Farewell Gap (Mineral King): what makes it different

Farewell Gap is the Mineral King entry point that leaves Sequoia National Park over the south rim and drops into the Golden Trout Wilderness. Recreation.gov sells 30 people a day, you cannot camp at Franklin Lakes on it, and the Forest Service side has trails that two trip reports found badly washed out or overgrown.^1,2,7

Getting to the start

Recreation.gov lists the Mineral King Ranger Station as the issuing office. It says to park at the end of the road in the upper Mineral King Valley or at the Sawtooth trailhead. Both Recreation.gov and NPS place this entry in Mineral King, not in the Foothills.^1,2

NPS says the Farewell Gap Trail begins at the Franklin Pass trailhead, so it shares a bulletin board with the Franklin Lakes trail. A hiking guide reaches that board by walking back down from the Eagle and Mosquito lot, over the river bridge and along a dirt road past the pack station.^2,5

The first leg

NPS rates the trail a moderately strenuous climb with access to Sequoia National Forest trails. The first allowed camp is the Franklin and Farewell junction, 4 miles from the trailhead. A hiking guide logs that signed split at 3.8 miles.^2,5

The sign near the start of the climb reads 6.2 miles to Farewell Gap. The gap sits at 10,640 feet on the southern boundary of the park, where it meets the northern edge of the Golden Trout Wilderness.^5,4

Recreation.gov calls this entry steep and strenuous, which disagrees with the NPS wording. The 2017 trip report found the trail out of Bullion Flat nicely graded and the long switchbacks down the Mineral King side gentle, but said the miles add up.^1,2,7

Terrain and difficulty

Recreation.gov warns that trails in the Golden Trout Wilderness may be hard to follow because of brush and downed trees. The Franklin permit text carries no such warning.¹

Farewell Gap is the true source of the East Fork Kaweah River, which flows north into the Mineral King valley. Wikipedia says the Franklin Lakes and Farewell Gap trail is the usual route for backpackers heading south to the Forest Service wilderness or north into the park.⁴

On the south side the trail drops toward Bullion Flat and Broder's Cabin in the Little Kern canyon. A 2015 report found the first mile eroded by a July storm, with gullies up to 3 feet deep and over 100 feet long.⁸

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Farewell Gap (Mineral King), overnight: 30 people a day. This is the daily quota in the Farewell Gap division text on Recreation.gov, read October 15, 2026, with 20 of the 30 reservable. The availability calendar would not load that day, so the number comes from the division's own published description.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

You cannot camp at Franklin Lakes on this permit unless you leave the park and spend the night in Sequoia National Forest. To sleep at the lakes, choose the Franklin entry point instead.¹

No camping at Columbine Lake. No campfires above 9,000 feet in the Kaweah drainage, at Pinto Lake or Hamilton Lakes, or in Mineral King Valley above the ranger station, and none above 10,000 feet in the Kern River drainage.^1,3

Where it leads

South of the gap lie the Little Kern River and Kern Canyon, which Recreation.gov names as the access this permit buys. A 2015 report on the Silver Lake loop reached Shotgun Creek about a mile past the gap, where a three mile climb leads to Silver Lake.^1,8

Silver Lake has plenty of fish according to that 2015 report. The writers followed cairns after the first mile of the climb, then came back by Shotgun Pass, Rattlesnake Creek and Franklin Pass to Mineral King.⁸

Exploring Wild builds its Franklin Pass and Sawtooth Pass loop on this trailhead and the same first miles of Farewell Gap trail, turning left before the gap toward Franklin Pass.⁶

What trip reports say

A July 2017 Backpacking Light report came up the Little Kern from Bullion Flat to Farewell Gap in early season. The writers lost the trail near Broder's Cabin, bushwhacked up the canyon, and found Bullion Flat littered with old camp gear.⁷

In that report the gap itself was still snowy. The couple climbed the left side over scree, a flat snowfield and a rocky ridge about 100 feet above the pass, rated at most class 3, then dropped down long gentle switchbacks to Mineral King.⁷

A July 2015 post on the Golden Trout Wilderness site found a steady grade up to the gap after heavy storms over the Fourth of July, then much worse trail beyond. The writers saw no one else until they reached the Rattlesnake Creek trail.⁸

When to go from here

Both reports are July trips. In 2017 the gap was still snowy, and in 2015 a Fourth of July storm had broken the trail near it. Ask the Mineral King rangers about the gap and the Little Kern trail before you pick a date.^7,8

Compare with nearby entry points

• Franklin Lakes: Franklin Lakes uses the same trailhead and the same 30 person quota, but it is the permit that lets you sleep at the lakes and cross Franklin Pass to Rattlesnake Creek. Farewell Gap leads out of the park instead.^1,2
• Hockett: Atwell-Hockett has a 25 person quota with 20 reservable, starts at Atwell Mill Campground and reaches the Hockett Plateau. The 2017 Backpacking Light couple walked from Hockett Meadow to the Little Kern by way of South Fork Meadow and Wet Meadow before climbing to Farewell Gap.^1,7
• Mosquito Lakes: Mosquito Lakes also leaves from the end of Mineral King Road, with 25 people a day. NPS says the trail ends at the first Mosquito Lake, with the first allowed camp at Mosquito Lake #2, 4 miles out.^1,2

Sources

1. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness Permits, Farewell Gap division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Wilderness Trail Descriptions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Minimum Impact Restrictions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Farewell Gap, Wikipedia. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Franklin Lakes hiking detail, Mineral King, HikingWalking.com. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Mineral King Loop: Four Gorgeous Backpacking Routes, Exploring Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Mineral King 5 Day Loop TR, Backpacking Light forums. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Trail/Trip Report: The Silver Lake Loop, Golden Trout Wilderness. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Wilderness Permits & Reservations, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Farewell Gap permit