SEKI Wilderness Permit — Mineral King — Timber Gap

Timber Gap (Mineral King): what makes it different

Timber Gap is the Mineral King permit for the climb north over Timber Gap and down to Cliff Creek, the usual start of the clockwise Mineral King loop. It starts at the Sawtooth lot, the first legal camp is 2.3 miles up at a dry gap, and the permit does not let you walk east to Monarch or Crystal Lakes.^1,10

Getting to the start

Recreation.gov sends you to the Sawtooth trailhead and says permits for this entry come from the Mineral King Ranger Station. NPS puts the Sawtooth parking area 1 mile past the ranger station, and the station posts 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. during the quota season with self-issue permits when no ranger is present.^1,3,4

Mineral King Road is narrow and curving and partly unpaved near the top. NPS says it generally opens the Wednesday before Memorial Day and closes after the last Wednesday of October, and it does not allow RVs or trailers in the Mineral King campgrounds. On October 13, 2026 NPS warned of delays and closures on the road for the rest of the season.^6,7

A 2010 blogger needed about an hour and a half for the 25 mile drive from Three Rivers and warned the road brings on motion sickness. A 2021 pair of hikers called it a 25 mile, one lane mining road.^11,12

Marmots chew on vehicles at the Mineral King trailheads. A 2023 report on Bearfoot Theory suggests tarping the underside of the car and says free tarps were kept in a shed near the ranger station.¹⁰

The first leg

Recreation.gov puts the first allowed camping at Timber Gap, 2.3 miles from the Sawtooth trailhead, and says there is no water there. NPS lists the same camp at 2.2 miles, and its day-hike page gives 2 miles one way to the gap.^1,2,3

NPS says the trail follows an old mining route along Monarch Creek before it splits off the Monarch and Crystal Lakes trail, and that the gap is covered in red fir. The 2010 blogger counted about 1,500 feet of climbing in a little under 2.5 miles and reached the shaded gap fairly quickly.^3,11

The longest dry stretch of the Mineral King loop sits right here. Bearfoot Theory measured 4.8 miles from the trailhead to Cliff Creek, and Recreation.gov agrees that the gap itself has no water.^10,1

Terrain and difficulty

Recreation.gov calls the route moderately strenuous through forest and subalpine country, and NPS describes a moderately steep climb through forest and past lakes. The valley floor is already about 7,500 feet, which NPS notes makes any hiking strenuous.^1,2,3

The 2023 Bearfoot Theory report found the ascent exposed with steep switchbacks and lots of wildflowers. Its first day gained 2,020 feet and lost 3,406 over 6.42 miles. The 2010 blogger lost nearly 2,300 feet down to Cliff Creek and then faced about 4,500 feet of climbing toward Black Rock Pass.^10,11

Wikipedia gives the gap an elevation of 9,512 feet on the divide between Cliff Creek and the East Fork Kaweah on one side and the Middle Fork Kaweah on the other. Timber Gap Creek, a small spring-fed tributary of Cliff Creek, starts on the north side.⁹

Parts of Mineral King burned in the 2021 KNP Complex Fire, and NPS links burn-area safety advice from the trail page. The 2021 pair of hikers changed their itinerary the morning they started because the fire was active, and saw smoke from the trail.^3,12

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Timber Gap (Mineral King), overnight: 25 people a day. This is the daily quota in the Timber Gap division text on Recreation.gov, read October 15, 2026, which says 20 of the 25 are reservable. It is the published description, not a live calendar read.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

This permit does not allow travel straight east to Monarch Lake or Crystal Lake. Recreation.gov says to choose the Sawtooth Pass entry point for that.¹

Camping is banned at Columbine Lake and Little Claire Lake, and Hamilton Lake is limited to one night. NPS confirms the Columbine and Hamilton Lakes rules and prohibits fires in the Hamilton Lakes Basin.^1,5

Recreation.gov bans campfires above 9,000 feet in the Kaweah River drainage, at Pinto Lake, at Hamilton Lakes, and in Mineral King Valley above the ranger station, and above 10,000 feet in the Kern River drainage.¹

Where it leads

Cliff Creek is the first real water. Bearfoot Theory describes a sandy streamside camp that is easy to miss and the last water for the next 3 miles, and a junction there offers the shorter Pinto Lake and Black Rock Pass line.¹⁰

Pinto Lake sits about 1,700 feet into the Black Rock Pass climb. The 2010 blogger found it marshy and buggy but with a bear box and several campsites, and the 2021 pair slept near it on their first night.^11,12

Recreation.gov says to combine Timber Gap with the Sawtooth Pass or Franklin Pass trails for loops through the Little and Big Five Lakes basins. NPS adds that the trail connects to Black Rock Pass and Redwood Meadow and is a popular stock route.^1,2

What trip reports say

Rebecca of Calipidder hiked the loop in mid-August 2010 and found day one hot with unacclimated legs. She covered about 8 miles with over 3,000 feet of climbing and saw more people than a ranger had warned her about. She also found no Friday permits left for the trip.¹¹

Kristen Bor of Bearfoot Theory ran the loop clockwise and advised starting at Timber Gap and leaving by Sawtooth Pass, and warned about the marmots at the lot and the long dry climb to Cliff Creek.¹⁰

A pair writing as dearantler hiked Timber Gap clockwise over three days and 32 miles in late August 2021. They slept near Pinto Lake the first night, then near Lost Canyon, and logged 9,708 feet of total gain and loss.¹²

When to go from here

NPS recorded Timber Gap snow free on June 23, 2026. The 2010 and 2021 trips both ran in August, and the 2010 author found the creek below the gap running through wildflowers.^8,11,12

Because the road does not open until Memorial Day week and may shut after October, this entry only works inside that window, and the drive is long enough that a missed permit means a lost day.^6,11

Compare with nearby entry points

• Sawtooth Pass: Sawtooth Pass starts at the same lot but sells 20 people a day, 15 reservable, and is the permit you need to walk east to Monarch and Crystal Lakes. Timber Gap sells 25 with 20 reservable and heads north.¹
• Franklin Lakes: Franklin Lakes is the larger Mineral King permit, with 30 people a day and 20 reservable, for loops by way of Franklin Pass. Timber Gap gives 25 and is a short first climb to Cliff Creek.¹

Sources

1. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness Permits, Timber 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. Mineral King Trails, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Wilderness Permits & Reservations, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Minimum Impact Restrictions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Road Information, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Current Conditions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Trail Conditions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Timber Gap (California), Wikipedia. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Backpacking the Mineral King Loop in Sequoia National Park, Bearfoot Theory. Read 2026-10-15.
11. Mineral King Loop: Timber Gap, Five Lakes Basin, Sawtooth Pass, Calipidder. Read 2026-10-15.
12. Hooves on the Ground: Mineral King Loop via Timber Gap and Lost Canyon, dearantler. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Timber Gap permit