Franklin Lakes

Park at either the White Chief or Sawtooth Trailhead area, then walk down Mineral King Corrals Road to the Pack Station, where the trail begins. The first 2.8 miles are shared with the Farewell Gap route; at Farewell Junction, take the Franklin Lakes branch for another 2.6 miles. It starts as a broad dirt road toward the stables, narrows to single track beside the East Fork Kaweah, crosses Crystal Creek and Franklin Creek, then climbs switchbacks. Creek crossings can be wet in early summer, so allow time and take care.

The lower lake sits beneath Florence Peak, with the red slopes of Tulare Peak rising beyond the paler granite. A short spur leaves the main trail, passes campsites and a food-storage locker, and reaches a concrete dam at the lake outlet; more campsites and another locker lie farther along the trail. For a photo, frame the water with Florence Peak above it and Tulare Peak's red slopes for contrast. The trail continues toward Franklin Pass, but that adds a steep two-mile climb of about 1,350 feet beyond the lakes.

Smaller glaciers carved this upper basin and left it hanging above Mineral King Valley as the ice retreated. The abrupt drop from the high valley toward the main valley is part of what makes this route feel so open once it leaves the trees.

Rainbow-colored metamorphic rock along the route attracted miners looking for silver in the 1870s. Among the gray Sierra granite, the streaks of color are still easy to notice as the trail climbs into the basin.

The concrete dam at the outlet was built by Whitney Power Company to regulate the East Fork Kaweah's flow for power production. The river's flow varied, so the company used high-country lakes to release water more steadily. It is an unusual industrial remnant in a remote alpine setting.