Eagle Lake Gear Checklist
The Eagle Lake trail starts where the Mineral King road ends and climbs 3.4 miles to the only legal camp, the lake itself. The Park Service rules are short: camp at the lake but never between the trail and the shore, pick up your permit in person, and keep food out of the car. The hikers we read add a tarp or open hood for the marmots, a backup lighter, a filter for lake water, and slow pacing for altitude on the boulder finish.
What shapes your gear on Eagle Lake
- Distance, as three sources print it
- The Park Service lists the first allowed camp as Eagle Lake at 3.4 miles. The Trailmaster guide lists a 7.2 mile round trip with a 2,200 foot gain. One family's GPS log from a July day trip recorded 8.0 miles and 2,170 feet, with a start at 7,835 feet and a high point of 10,037 feet.
From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Trail Descriptions, The Trailmaster and Kevin's Hiking Page
- The boulder finish
- The last stretch is a talus field to one hiker and a boulder field to another. One family took about 40 minutes from a rest stop below it, scrambling in places. A first-time backpacker on a 2020 overnight found the final mile the hardest part and nearly wanted to quit, then felt it was worth it at the water.
From Kevin's Hiking Page and Mineral King Preservation Society
- Odd water on the way up
- The trail crosses Spring Creek on a footbridge 0.3 mile from the trailhead. Higher up, Eagle Creek vanishes into a sinkhole, and Trailmaster says it may reappear as Spring Creek through underground channels in the marble.
From The Trailmaster
- At the lake
- A dam closes the north end. One day visitor walked into the water over submerged rocks at the south end and found it cold at first, with plenty of fish and marmots on the shore. A September 2015 camper said the lake held much less water than on a 2009 visit and that nights stayed above 50 degrees F.
From Kevin's Hiking Page and Your Own Hike
- Where to sleep
- The Park Service bans camping between the trail and the lake. A camper who looked around for a legal tent site said the attractive spots right by the shore are all in that banned strip. Their legal pick was level and shaded, a short walk from the water.
From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Minimum Impact Restrictions and Your Own Hike
- Bear canisters, as two Park Service pages state it
- The food storage page lists the areas where a container is required, and none of them is Mineral King. It calls containers highly recommended across both parks. The wilderness permit page says containers are required in most of the park. A 2020 Eagle Lake overnighter carried one and cooked from it at camp.
From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Food Storage, National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Permits and Mineral King Preservation Society
- Permit pickup and cost
- The Mineral King Ranger Station issues the permits for this trail. Reserved permits can be picked up from 1:00 pm the day before entry until 10:00 am on the entry day, with no night drops. During the quota season the fee is $15 per trip plus $5 per person. A 2016 Weekend Sherpa article called Mineral King wilderness permits free, so rely on the Park Service page for the fee.
From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Permits, National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Trail Descriptions and Weekend Sherpa
What the agency requires on Eagle Lake
A permit picked up in person at the Mineral King Ranger Station
Permits for the Eagle Lake trail are issued only at that station. A reservation is not a permit until it is picked up and validated, by 10:00 am on the entry date unless you call ahead.
From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Trail Descriptions and National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Permits
A tent site at the lake, never between the trail and the shore
The first allowed campsite is Eagle Lake, 3.4 miles in. Camping is not allowed between the trail and Eagle Lake.
From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Trail Descriptions and National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Minimum Impact Restrictions
A California fishing license if you fish
The park requires one. Native fish below 9,000 feet go back in the water, and the only gear allowed there is a barbless fly or lure. State regulations apply above 9,000 feet.
From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Minimum Impact Restrictions
Food kept out of the car
Do not leave food, coolers or bags in a car at the trailhead. Use the trailhead food storage boxes where they exist, because bears can break into vehicles that show or smell of food.
From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Food Storage
What hikers carry on Eagle Lake
A big tarp for the car, or at least an open hood
A 2020 pair wrapped their small car in a sixteen by twenty foot tarp at the trailhead. A 2014 family was the only tarped car in the lot while others propped their hoods open, and a 2015 camper reported no marmot under the hood after leaving it up. A ranger left the 2014 family a courtesy notice because the tarp hid their park entry receipt.
The three accounts disagree on method, so ask the ranger when you pick up the permit.
From Mineral King Preservation Society, Kevin's Hiking Page and Your Own Hike
A lighter or matches, even if the stove is new
The 2020 pair had a camp stove and left the lighter at home. Two neighbors at the lake lent one, which saved the hot dinner.
A filter for lake water
The same pair walked to the shore to filter water as their first chore after arriving, and the trip taught the first-timer how the filter works.
Ibuprofen and slack in the schedule for altitude
The first-time backpacker felt altitude sickness about a mile and a half up. They took a break, stayed slow for the rest of the climb, took ibuprofen at the lake and napped before the evening.
From Mineral King Preservation Society and Kevin's Hiking Page
Fishing tackle and a license
A September 2015 camper fished from the shore and cooked trout at the tent site. A day visitor in 2014 saw fish clearly from the shore.
From Your Own Hike, Kevin's Hiking Page and National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Minimum Impact Restrictions
A jacket for the evening walk
The 2020 overnighters grabbed jackets before a sunset stroll around the lake, though a September 2015 camper logged nights above 50 degrees F.
A long lens and a small tripod
One camper hauled both up for a lunar eclipse and found a ledge northwest of camp with a clear view east.
From Your Own Hike
15 people can go on one permit. Split this list between them so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on Eagle Lake
The lighter that stayed in the car
The 2020 pair realized it as they pulled out the stove at dinner time. Neighbors rescued the meal, but the trip leaned on strangers for a basic item.
A heavy pack on the first visit
A couple returning in 2015 said the climb went much faster with far less weight than on their first trip. They reached the lake before 3:30 pm after picking up the permit and leaving the car almost at 1 pm.
From Your Own Hike
A tarp that hides the park receipt
The ranger left a courtesy notice because the receipt could not be seen through the covered windshield. The next day the family moved the receipt to the top edge of the glass.
From Kevin's Hiking Page
Gear questions for Eagle Lake
Can you camp on the shore at Eagle Lake?
Only away from the strip between the trail and the water. The Park Service bans camping there, and the first allowed campsite is the lake itself, 3.4 miles from the trailhead. A 2015 camper found that the nicest spots by the water sit in the banned strip, and settled on a level shaded site farther back.
From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Trail Descriptions, National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Minimum Impact Restrictions and Your Own Hike
Do you need to protect your car at the Eagle Lake trailhead?
Hikers who wrote about it did something. One pair used a sixteen by twenty foot tarp, one family tarped while others raised their hoods, and a third party left the hood open. Ask the ranger what is current when you pick up the permit, and keep the park receipt visible if you cover the windshield.
From Mineral King Preservation Society, Kevin's Hiking Page and Your Own Hike
How long is the hike to Eagle Lake?
The Park Service puts the lake at 3.4 miles from the trailhead. A guidebook author lists a 7.2 mile round trip and a 2,200 foot gain, and a family's day-trip log read 8.0 miles with 2,170 feet. Their total time was 6 hours 34 minutes including a long lunch at the lake.
From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Trail Descriptions, The Trailmaster and Kevin's Hiking Page
Where do you pick up an Eagle Lake permit?
At the Mineral King Ranger Station, the only place that issues permits for this trail. The Park Service lets you collect a reserved permit from 1:00 pm the day before until 10:00 am on the entry date, and it says there are no night drops.
From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Trail Descriptions and National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Permits
Sources
- Wilderness Trail Descriptions · National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon · Agency
- Wilderness Permits · National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon · Agency
- Minimum Impact Restrictions · National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon · Agency
- Wilderness Food Storage · National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon · Agency
- Eagle Lake (Mineral King) · Kevin's Hiking Page, Kevin Gong · Trip report
- Sequoia NP - Mineral King · Your Own Hike · Trip report
- A Walk Together · Mineral King Preservation Society, Tyson Baker · Blog
- Sequoia and Kings Canyon: Eagle Lake, Mineral King · The Trailmaster, John McKinney · Blog
- Hiking and Camping in Mineral King in Sequoia National Park · Weekend Sherpa · Blog