SEKI Wilderness Permit — Mineral King — Tar Gap

Mineral King, Tar Gap: what makes it different

Tar Gap is the Mineral King permit that starts from Cold Springs Campground, beside the ranger station, and runs west then south along mountainsides to the Hockett Plateau. It skips the end-of-the-road crowds, and the agencies disagree on where the first legal camp at Deer Creek sits: 4 miles by the Park Service, 6 miles by Recreation.gov.^1,2,9

Getting to the start

Rangers at the Mineral King Ranger Station issue the permit, and the Park Service calls that station the only facility in the valley. Recreation.gov says to park 0.3 mile east of the station and not in Cold Springs Campground. The trail itself leaves from the campground.^1,5,2

One 2017 hiker was told by a ranger to leave the car across the road from the campground entrance, because marmots had already disabled four cars in the main lot that season. The Park Service says marmots chew radiator hoses and wiring from spring through mid-summer and keeps a few tarps at the ranger station.^9,5

The road is the long part. Mineral King Road is narrow, steep and winding, with unpaved stretches, and the nearest gas is in Three Rivers, about 30 miles and an hour and a half away. Weekday construction delays and closures run through 2027. A 2013 blog says the walk-in sites at the end of Cold Springs Campground need a carry of about a mile down a steep forested trail, which suits a late arrival the night before.^5,8

The first leg

The trail starts at the west end of the campground. A 2017 hiker gained about 700 feet in the first stretch to contour around Hengst Peak, and called that the only real climb of the first day. After it the walking is gentle, and Hiking Project says the same: mellow terrain once you are out of Cold Springs.^9,6

That hiker saw only glimpses of Hengst Peak, the Mineral King Road far below and the Kaweah Divide, so do not expect big views. Creeks came so often in July 2017 that he lost track of which was which. He rock-hopped all of them until Horse Creek, which came right after the junction with the Atwell Mill trail and needed a wade.⁹

Terrain and difficulty

The Park Service rates it a moderate climb and lists 12 miles to Hockett Meadow. Other numbers do not agree. A map the 2017 hiker carried said 9.9 miles to the meadow, and he found the mismatch repeated all trip. Hiking Project lists 8.0 miles, a high point of 8,895 feet, a low of 7,463 feet and 1,047 feet of climbing, yet its own text says 9 miles to the ranger station. A guide site gives 12 miles with 1,100 feet of elevation change.^2,9,6,7

Treat the climbing as modest and the distance as the real cost. One 2019 Hiking Project check-in logged 8 miles in 9 hours 30 minutes.⁶

Trail condition is the thing to check. Hiking Project noted the trail fully cleared of trees on July 29, 2024. The Park Service trail conditions page, dated May 26, 2026, reports many trees down on the Tar Gap trail. A 2017 hiker also climbed over a lot of deadfall on the plateau.^6,3,9

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Mineral King, Tar Gap, overnight: 25 people a day. Recreation.gov division text lists 25 people a day for Tar Gap, 20 of them reservable. The live daily calendar returned no dates when checked on October 15, 2026, so this is the division text and not a daily count. The 2027 booking window opens November 28, 2026.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

Recreation.gov puts the first allowed camp at Deer Creek, 6 miles from Cold Springs Campground. The Park Service trail list puts the same camp at 4 miles. Both pages print their figure today, so plan your first night with that gap in mind and ask the ranger when you pick up the permit.^1,2

No campfires are allowed above 9,000 feet in the Kaweah and Tule River drainages, none in Mineral King Valley above the ranger station, and none at Summit Lake. At Hockett Meadow the Park Service bans camping between the trail and Whitman Creek.^1,4

The Park Service calls Tar Gap a popular stock trail and Recreation.gov calls the area good for stock, so you may share the path with riders. Dogs are not allowed.^2,1,6

Where it leads

Hockett Meadow is the point of the trip. A 2017 hiker found no ranger at the Hockett ranger station on his visit. He camped on a ridge above Horse Creek on night one to avoid the meadow's mosquitoes, and on day two he found them as bad as he feared, both in the meadow and along the trail past Whitman Creek.^9,2

Day trips leave from the plateau. Hiking Project names Evelyn Lake and Cahoon Rock as the usual ones. The 2017 hiker left his pack at the junction and walked to Cahoon Rock, found the view pleasant but dulled by regrown trees, then climbed a ridge to Evelyn Lake, where high water drowned much of the shoreline and he caught four brook trout about a foot long.^6,9

The same hiker made Tar Gap the first leg of a 45 mile loop: Hockett Meadow, Evelyn Lake, Blossom Lakes, Little Kern Canyon and Farewell Gap back to Mineral King. Rangers had steered him off the higher passes with crampons advice, and Farewell Gap was still snowy on his July 2017 trip.⁹

What trip reports say

A July 2017 five-day loop starting at Tar Gap met two other hikers on day one. The writer camped at Cold Springs the night before, found plenty of room on a Wednesday in mid-July, and walked to Black Wolf Falls to loosen up. He fished Horse Creek and caught small rainbows up to about 10 inches.⁹

He saw only two other hikers on day one. On day two, at Evelyn Lake, he met a young man who was walking day trips from a base camp in Hockett Meadow. On day three he crossed paths again with the first hiker he had met, who had camped at the meadow and loved Blossom Lake.⁹

When to go from here

Mineral King opens in late May and closes with winter snow. Hiking Project lists wildflowers and berries along the trail, and the 2017 July trip had high creeks and strong flowers. Mosquitoes at Hockett Meadow in July are the cost of that timing.^5,6,9

Compare with nearby entry points

• Hockett: Atwell-Hockett reaches the same meadow from Atwell Mill Campground. Recreation.gov gives it 9.8 miles to the meadow and a first camp at Clover Creek, 6 miles up. Tar Gap starts higher, at Cold Springs, and its first camp sits at Deer Creek.^1,2
• Garfield Grove: Garfield Grove also reaches the Hockett Plateau, but from the South Fork Trailhead, on a steep climb with its first camp 4 miles up at Snowslide Canyon. It carries a smaller quota, 15 people with 10 reservable, against 25 and 20 here.¹
• Eagle Lake: Eagle Lake leaves from the end of the road in the upper valley and reaches its first camp at the lake, 3.4 miles out. It allows stock only for walking parties with burros or llamas, while Tar Gap is a stock route.^1,2

Sources

1. Sequoia and Kings Canyon Wilderness Permit, Tar 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. Trail Conditions, 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. Mineral King, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Tar Gap Hiking Trail, Three Rivers, California, Hiking Project. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Hiking in Sequoia National Park, California, American Southwest. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Cold Springs Campground, Total Escape. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Five day loop in SEKI out of Mineral King, Backcountry Post. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Wilderness Permits & Reservations, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Tar Gap permit