White Mountain Peak

Cat. 3: Mile 11, 16, and 31

Cat. 4: Mile 0, 3, 7, and 9

At 14,252 feet, White Mountain Peak is the third highest peak in California and the 14th highest in the lower 48 states. It is also the most accessible of the fourteeners, including by bike.

Starting in Big Pine (3,989 feet), Highway 168 and White Mountain Road lead up to Schulman Grove (10,050 feet), where the paved road ends. White Mountain Road continues on as a gravel road for 23 miles, leading all the way up to White Mountain Peak.

At mile 16 the road is closed by a locked gate (this is the trailhead). At mile 18 the road visits Barcroft Station, a high-altitude research facility of the University of California. After a short but very rough section the road passes by Barcroft Observatory. From here it is less than five miles to the summit, the last two of which are very rough.

White Mountain is the home of an ancient bristlecone pine forest. Schulman Grove is home to the "Methuselah" tree, at 4,767 years the oldest living being in the world. Patriarch Grove is home to the "Patriarch" tree, the largest of the ancient bristlecone pines.