SEKI Wilderness Permit — Mineral King — Sawtooth Pass Road

Mineral King, Sawtooth Pass: what makes it different

Sawtooth Pass is the Mineral King entry point on the Monarch Lakes trail. It starts at the Sawtooth lot, one mile past the ranger station, camps at the Monarch Lakes 4.2 miles in, and turns rough and hard to follow beyond them.^2,3,1

Getting to the start

The Sawtooth Trailhead is a separate lot from the Eagle and Mosquito one. The Park Service puts it 1 mile past the Mineral King Ranger Station, and Recreation.gov names it as parking for this permit. A 2019 hiker found it large, with vault toilets, a short drive from the resort. A 2020 hiker described pit toilets and garbage bins.^3,1,5,6

Marmots go after hoses and wiring in the lot early in the season. A June 2020 hiker wrapped a car in a 15 by 30 foot tarp and said the risk fades after mid-July. A 2019 September party did not need to.^6,5

The first leg

The Sawtooth Pass and Timber Gap trails share the first 0.6 mile, then split. Timber Gap goes left. The Monarch Lakes and Sawtooth Pass trail goes right.⁵

The trail runs through meadows and red fir, crosses the avalanche-scoured Chihuahua Bowl and rounds a shoulder with views north and east to Timber Gap and the Great Western Divide. Lower Monarch Lake comes at 4.2 miles. The branch to Crystal Lake leaves at Chihuahua Bowl and runs 4.9 miles.^3,2

The Park Service says the whole route is about 10 miles round trip to the lakes with 2,867 feet of gain, on a west-facing slope, so an early start helps.^4,3

Terrain and difficulty

Past the lakes the trail climbs about 1,200 feet in 1.3 miles to the pass. The Park Service calls this stretch strenuous with very loose footing, and Recreation.gov says the way between Monarch Lakes and Columbine Lake is rough and hard to follow. One guide gives the pass at 11,750 feet.^3,1,6

Hikers on the west side describe a gravel slope with no real trail. Two separate reports advise keeping right, away from the lake, until you can switch back toward it, and one says a ranger pointed to a cluster of 6 or 7 trees as the aim point. The slope drops about 1,300 feet in a mile.^5,6

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Mineral King, Sawtooth Pass, overnight: 20 people a day. Recreation.gov lists 20 people a day for Sawtooth Pass, 15 of them reservable. The live daily calendar is closed until the 2027 window opens on November 28, 2026, so this is the division text, not a daily count.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

The first allowed camps are Lower Monarch Lake, 4.2 miles from the trailhead, or Crystal Lake, 4.9 miles. Camping at Columbine Lake and Little Claire Lake is banned, and Hamilton Lake allows one night.^1,2

This permit does not allow travel straight north to Cliff Creek. For that you book the Timber Gap entry point. No stock is allowed on this route.^1,4

Fires are banned above 9,000 feet in the Kaweah drainage, at Pinto and Hamilton lakes, and in Mineral King Valley above the ranger station. Above 10,000 feet in the Kern drainage there are no fires either.¹

Both Monarch Lakes have bear lockers and a wilderness toilet, and the Park Service recommends camping there if you backpack this route.⁴

Where it leads

Upper and Lower Monarch lakes sit at the foot of Sawtooth Peak. Beyond the pass the trail drops to Columbine Lake, with access to Glacier Pass and the Big and Little Five Lakes. Recreation.gov adds access to Kern Canyon and says you can combine the Timber Gap or Franklin Pass exit points for loops.^4,2,1

What trip reports say

A September 2019 loop party ended by coming down the pass and found scores of campers at Monarch Lakes after days of near solitude. They covered the last 4.2 miles on a well kept trail.⁵

That writer says going the other way would mean climbing the loose west side first with a full pack, and she would not. The Sawtooth side, in her words, is closer to gravel skiing than hiking.⁵

A Labor Day weekend 2011 pair reached Monarch Lakes on day one. Because of the holiday, many sites at the lower lake were taken, so they dropped packs and scrambled up to the upper lake, which was quieter. The next day they found the pass brutal because each step in the loose sand slid back.⁷

A June 2020 party on a low-snow year says the pass is harder than Black Rock Pass because the tread breaks up into scramble and scree. They advise camping at Monarch Lakes before the climb if you go the other way.⁶

When to go from here

Two reports on the Columbine Lake side show how the rules moved. The 2011 pair camped at Columbine for two nights. A 2019 ranger discouraged camping there as fragile, and the 2025 guide says camping is no longer allowed. Recreation.gov's division text now bans it.^7,5,6,1

Compare with nearby entry points

• Timber Gap: Timber Gap starts from the same Sawtooth lot and splits left at 0.6 mile. Its quota is 25 people, against 20 here, and its first camp is only about 2 miles out, with no water.^1,2,5
• Eagle Lake: Eagle Lake is a different lot at the end of the road, with a 25-person quota and a first camp at 3.4 miles on a trail that stays maintained to the lake.^1,2
• Franklin Lakes: Franklin Lakes starts down Mineral King Corrals Road from either lot and carries a 30-person quota. It is the usual first stop toward Franklin Pass, while this entry point heads for Sawtooth Pass.^3,1

Sources

1. Sequoia and Kings Canyon Wilderness Permit, Sawtooth 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. Mineral King Day Hikes, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Monarch Lake, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Sequoia National Park: Mineral King Loop, Trek with Judy. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Backpacking the Five Lakes Loop in Mineral King, Backcountry Emily. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Sawtooth Pass, Mineral King, California, Hike Now, Work Later. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Wilderness Permits & Reservations, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Minimum Impact Restrictions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Sawtooth Pass permit