John Muir Wilderness

John Muir Wilderness is a vast protected expanse along California’s Sierra Nevada crest, established in 1964 and named for naturalist John Muir. Covering 652,793 acres in the Inyo and Sierra National Forests, it contains some of the range’s highest and most dramatic terrain, including Mount Whitney and 57 summits above 13,000 feet. Glaciers shaped its steep eastern escarpment, carved canyons, and left hundreds of alpine lakes, including the Palisade Glacier, the southernmost glacier in the United States. It also holds the largest contiguous area above 10,000 feet in the continental United States and is a major backcountry destination crossed by the John Muir and Pacific Crest Trails.

California · United States