SEKI Wilderness Permit — Lodgepole — JO Pass

Lodgepole, JO Pass: what makes it different

JO Pass is the smallest Lodgepole-area quota, 15 people a day. You start in the Jennie Lakes Wilderness of Sequoia National Forest, walk up from Rowell Meadow or Big Meadows, and only need this permit for the nights you spend inside the national park.^1,6

Getting to the start

There are two trailheads. The Park Service lists Big Meadows and Rowell Meadow, both in the Jennie Lakes Wilderness. Recreation.gov adds Stony Creek and says access is from the Big Meadows Road.^2,1

The Forest Service brochure puts the Rowell Meadows trailhead 12 miles off Generals Highway: take Big Meadows Road, turn right onto Forest Road 13S14, and go 2.5 miles more. It calls the Rowell trail easy to moderate. A 2012 hiker says the first 8 miles of the approach are paved and the last 2 are good dirt, and that the trailhead has no bear boxes.^6,7

The permit is issued at the Kings Canyon Visitor Center in Grant Grove, per Recreation.gov. The Park Service trail list also names Lodgepole and the Ash Mountain Wilderness Office. In the quota season the Kings Canyon desk is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Lodgepole 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.^1,2,3

The first leg

The Park Service gives the first allowed campsite as Rowell Meadow, 2.2 miles in, and says the first two miles are the hardest. The Forest Service brochure puts the first junction of the Rowell Meadow trail and the JO Pass and Weaver Lake trail at 2.1 miles.^2,6

Recreation.gov states no first-camp distance for this division. It says travelers may camp in the Jennie Lakes Wilderness before reaching the park boundary, so the Rowell Meadow figure is the Park Service's and not the booking page's.^1,2

Terrain and difficulty

Recreation.gov calls it moderately strenuous: forests, creeks, meadows and glaciated canyons. It also warns that this entry reaches an area burned in 2021 that may hold fire hazards.¹

The pass itself is not a big climb from the Jennie Lake side. A June 2016 report on Big Meadows says the pass is about 500 feet up to about 9,500 feet, followed by a roughly 1,300-foot, five-mile descent toward Weaver Lake.⁸

The same report found the trail clear and well marked, with some sections overgrown with manzanita and exposed to sun, and some junction signs missing.⁸

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Lodgepole, JO Pass, overnight: 15 people a day. Recreation.gov lists 15 people a day for JO Pass, 10 of them reservable. The live daily calendar is closed outside the quota season, so this is the division text, not a daily count.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

No national park permit is needed if you camp only inside the Jennie Lakes Wilderness. The Forest Service has no overnight permit fee, asks you to self-register at the trailhead, and caps a party at 15 people or 25 head of stock. A California campfire permit is required for any flame, stoves included.^1,5,6

Once you cross into the park, no campfires above 10,000 feet in Kings Canyon and none above 9,000 feet in the Kaweah River drainage of Sequoia National Park.¹

Camp at least 100 feet from trails, lakes and streams in the wilderness, and keep fires 100 feet from water.⁵

Where it leads

Recreation.gov says to combine JO Pass with the Belle Canyon or Sugarloaf trails for a loop through the Jennie Lakes Wilderness. To spend the first night at Seville, Lost or Ranger Lake you pick Belle Canyon instead.¹

A 2012 four-day trip from Rowell Meadow went by JO Pass to Jennie Lake, then to Twin Lakes, Silliman Pass, Ranger Lake, Lost Lake and Seville Lake. The Forest Service lists Jennie Lake and Weaver Lake as overnight stops.^7,6

A reader asking why the name is spelled with a J. O. in places gets this from a 2002 report: a commenter citing Place Names of the Sierra Nevada says the pass was named for initials cut in a tree by John Wesley Warren.⁹

What trip reports say

A mid-September 2012 party left Rowell Meadow, reached JO Pass by lunchtime and had Jennie Lake to themselves that night. They counted about 25 people over four days and expected summer to be busier. They saw no trout at Jennie Lake and caught brook trout at Lost and Seville Lakes.⁷

A late June 2016 loop from Big Meadows camped at Jennie Lake and Weaver Lake. The Jennie Lake camp sat about 100 yards from shore. A young black bear came within about 100 feet of the tents at Weaver Lake. The writer highlights that the Forest Service side needs no permit and no fee.⁸

A June 2002 trip from Rowell Meadow found a trail crew had cut 102 fallen trees that winter and reported mosquitoes heavy at Twin Lakes. It also reports bear boxes at the lakes.⁹

When to go from here

The Forest Service says winter access to the Jennie Lakes Wilderness is limited by road closures and steep, snow-covered ground.⁶

Fallen trees are the current issue. The Park Service conditions page, updated September 24, 2026, listed many downed trees on JO Pass as of June 26, 2026, and said the trail was not passable for stock. It reported the East Clover Creek crossing at the JO Pass junction dry on September 21.⁴

Compare with nearby entry points

• Belle Canyon: Belle Canyon is the entry for a first night at Seville, Lost or Ranger Lake, with a 25-person quota, 15 reservable. JO Pass has the lower quota and does not offer that first night.¹
• Sugarloaf: Sugarloaf comes in through the Kanawyer Gap or Sugarloaf and Pond Meadow entrances, also with 25 people and 15 reservable. It cannot start a first night at the Seville lakes either.¹
• Twin Lakes: Twin Lakes starts inside the park at Lodgepole or Wuksachi, with a 30-person quota and a first camp at Cahoon Meadow 3 miles out. JO Pass is a forest approach, and the Park Service conditions page names a JO Pass junction on the Twin Lakes trail.^1,4

Sources

1. Sequoia and Kings Canyon Wilderness Permit, JO Pass division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Wilderness Trail Descriptions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Wilderness Permits & Reservations, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Trail Conditions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Jennie Lakes Wilderness, Sequoia National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Jennie Lakes Wilderness, Hume Lake Ranger District (2025 brochure), Sequoia National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
7. SEKI and Jennie Lakes trip report (Paul Wagner, September 2012), Backpacking Light forum. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Sequoia National Forest, Sierra Nevada, CA (Jennie Lakes loop), Backcountry Post. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Silliman Crest Walkabout, Climber.org (Steve Eckert). Read 2026-10-15.
10. Minimum Impact Restrictions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a JO Pass permit