SEKI Wilderness Permit — Mineral King — Franklin Lakes

Franklin Lakes (Mineral King): what makes it different

Franklin Lakes is the Mineral King entry point for Franklin Pass, the way over the Great Western Divide into Rattlesnake Creek and Kern Canyon. Recreation.gov sells 30 people a day, more than the Sawtooth Pass or Timber Gap permits on the same loops, and the first legal camp is the junction at 4 miles.^1,2,6

Getting to the start

Permits for this trail come from the Mineral King Ranger Station. Recreation.gov says to park at the end of the road in the upper valley or at the Sawtooth trailhead. NPS adds that you can leave the car at the White Chief or Sawtooth lot and walk down Mineral King Corrals Road.^1,3,2

A hiking guide gives the walking route: from the Eagle and Mosquito lot at the end of the road, cross the river bridge, take the dirt road on the right a little over 0.1 mile along, and follow it past the Mineral King Pack Station to the bulletin board for Franklin Lakes and Farewell Gap.⁵

The 2013 trip report on Moments in Dirt and Ink ended with a walk down the road to the car near the ranger station. The writers shared the black road with caterpillars crossing in the sun.⁷

The first leg

The Franklin Lakes and Farewell Gap trails share the first miles. A trail sign about 0.6 mile out lists 5.4 miles to Franklin Lakes, 8.1 miles to Franklin Pass and 6.2 miles to Farewell Gap. NPS also gives 5.4 miles one way to the lakes.^5,3

The same guide logs Crystal Creek crossing the trail at about 1.1 miles, Franklin Creek and its waterfall at 1.9 miles, the end of the switchbacks at 2.8 miles, and the signed split where Farewell Gap goes right and Franklin Lakes goes left at 3.8 miles.⁵

Recreation.gov and NPS both set the first allowed camp at the Franklin and Farewell junction, 4 miles from the trailhead. The lower lake itself is about 6 miles out by the hiking guide's count, so a stop at the junction splits the climb.^1,2,5

Terrain and difficulty

The sources do not agree on difficulty. Recreation.gov calls this entry steep and strenuous, while NPS calls the Franklin Pass Trail a moderately strenuous climb with lake and alpine views. NPS also lists it as a popular stock trail.^1,2

NPS says the walk shows off rainbow-colored metamorphic rock that drew silver miners in the 1870s. A hiking guide walks under the Lady Franklin Mine and notes mineral-stained slopes in orange and brown above the creek.^3,5

Franklin Pass is about 1.9 miles southeast of the lakes. Guides print its height as 11,729 feet and 11,760 feet, so treat the exact number as approximate.^5,6

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Franklin Lakes (Mineral King), overnight: 30 people a day. This is the daily quota in the Franklin 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

No camping at Columbine Lake and a one-night limit at Hamilton 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.^1,4

This is the permit to pick if you want to sleep at Franklin Lakes. The Farewell Gap entry point bars camping there unless you leave the park and spend the night in the national forest.¹

Recreation.gov names Timber Gap, Sawtooth Pass and Farewell Gap as the trails to combine with this one for loops. Exploring Wild lists Franklin Pass as the permit for a counterclockwise start and Sawtooth Pass or Timber Gap for clockwise, so the permit you can get picks your direction.^1,6

Where it leads

Lower Franklin Lake sits at about 10,331 feet in a cirque under Florence Peak and the red slopes of Tulare Peak. A camping area lies below the old dam, and a hiking guide says ledges above the lake make a good turnaround for day hikers.^5,7

Over the pass, the trail drops toward Rattlesnake Creek and Forester Lake. The 2013 post started its last day at Forester Lake, dropped to the creek, joined the trail climbing from the Kern and passed the Shotgun Pass junction before the climb to the saddle. From the top the writers could see Soda Creek on one side and Rattlesnake Creek on the other.⁷

NPS notes that many backpackers use the lakes as a first stop on the way over Franklin Pass to Rattlesnake Canyon, Kern Canyon and Mount Whitney. Exploring Wild lists Franklin Lake, Forester or Little Claire Lake, and Soda Creek as popular camps on loops from here.^3,6

What trip reports say

A July 2013 post on Moments in Dirt and Ink covers the last day of a five-day trip. The writers climbed the long gentle grade from Rattlesnake Creek, reached a pass with its signs gone, and then found the trail down to Franklin Lakes so gentle that it felt endless.⁷

The same post saw bear boxes above and below the lake, an old dam leaking at the bottom, a rerouted trail section marked closed for restoration, and plenty of weekend day hikers on Farewell Canyon.⁷

Exploring Wild's route guide gives the Franklin Pass and Sawtooth Pass loop as 28.4 miles over about four days with 9,027 feet of climbing, starting from a trailhead at 7,846 feet. It calls counterclockwise the better direction, so the steep slide on the west side of Sawtooth is a descent.⁶

When to go from here

The 2013 post describes a July climb on sand and rock switchbacks under fair skies and puffy clouds, with a trail crew's tools stashed along the way and a reroute near the top that the writers found longer than the old line.⁷

Exploring Wild says Franklin Pass permits are generally easier to get than Sawtooth Pass or Timber Gap, and the Recreation.gov totals of 30, 20 and 25 people a day match that ranking.^6,1

Compare with nearby entry points

• Farewell Gap: Farewell Gap shares this trailhead and the 30 person quota, but it heads south into the Golden Trout Wilderness. Recreation.gov bars camping at Franklin Lakes on that permit, and calls the Forest Service side hard to follow because of brush and downed trees.¹
• Sawtooth Pass: Sawtooth Pass has the smallest quota of the three loop permits, 20 people a day with 15 reservable. NPS says the climb is steep and strenuous, rough and unmaintained beyond Monarch Lakes, with the first camp at Lower Monarch Lake, 4.2 miles in.^1,2
• Timber Gap: Timber Gap starts from the same Sawtooth parking lot, with 25 people a day and 20 reservable. NPS puts the first camp at Timber Gap, 2.2 miles in, with no water, and describes access to Black Rock Pass and Redwood Meadow.^1,2

Sources

1. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness Permits, Franklin division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Wilderness Trail Descriptions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Mineral King Day Hikes, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Minimum Impact Restrictions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. 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: Franklin Pass, Moments in Dirt and Ink. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Wilderness Permits & Reservations, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Franklin Lakes permit

• Best Backpacking in Sequoia & Kings CanyonNine backpacking trips in Sequoia and Kings Canyon, the wilderness permit each one needs, the daily quota that governs it, and the season it sells in.