Parking
Start at the Sawtooth Trailhead parking area, one mile beyond Mineral King Ranger Station. Lot size and facilities were not confirmed.
Overview
About Sawtooth Pass Trail
Why go
- Monarch Lakes, Chihuahua Bowl, and a high pass in one outing
- The lakes give you a clear turnaround before the roughest climb
Heads up
- Long, steep day at high elevation
- Very loose, unmaintained footing beyond the lakes
Sawtooth Pass Trail is an 11-mile out-and-back from Sawtooth Trailhead to a 11,700-foot saddle, with roughly 3,900 feet of climbing. Give it eight to ten hours. This is a long, strenuous day even before you reach the rough upper trail: the route starts around 7,800 feet, then climbs into thin air. The payoff is a high pass with a wide southern Sierra view. The goal is the Sawtooth Pass saddle beneath Sawtooth Peak; the summit scramble is a separate outing.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the pass hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Sequoia map
Full mapElevation7,815–11,677 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
8 active Sequoia alerts
- CautionStage 1 fire restrictionsStage 1 fire restrictions are in effect due to high fire danger and catastrophic-wildfire risk; the restrictions reduce the possibility of accidental human-caused fires that could threaten visitors…Official details
- ClosureGrant Grove trails and areas closed for prescribed burnSome trails and areas around Grant Grove and the General Grant Tree are closed for safety during a prescribed burn and until they are cleared of hazards.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Sequoia Tour Guide
Your drive to Sawtooth Pass Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Sequoia National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Sequoia audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Sawtooth Trailhead and Monarch Lakes0:00 / 0:26
“You're nearing Sawtooth Trailhead, the starting point for a hard hike to Lower Monarch Lake beneath Sawtooth Peak.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Sequoia Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Mineral King Trailheads and Honeymoon Cabin
- Mineral King Ranger Station
- Cold Springs Campground and Nature Trail
- The Tree in a Pencil
- 71 audio storiesacross Sequoia’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Mountain Lion, Bobcat, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 99 trails, 68 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“…The kids and my husband and I all agree that the narration really added to our experience driving through the parks. We learned so much about the history and the flora & fauna.”
Trail guide
Hiking Sawtooth Pass Trail
From the parking area to Chihuahua BowlStart at the Sawtooth Trailhead parking area, one mile beyond Mineral King Ranger Station.
Start at the Sawtooth Trailhead parking area, one mile beyond Mineral King Ranger Station. The path uses a short stretch of Timber Gap Trail to reach the Monarch Lakes Trail, then climbs steadily across meadows and red fir forest. The west-facing slope gets exposed to the sun; an early start is useful, especially when early-summer mosquitoes are out.
As the trees thin, you reach Chihuahua Bowl, a broad basin scoured by avalanches. Round the shoulder above it and the view opens north and east across Monarch Creek canyon toward Timber Gap, the Great Western Divide, and Sawtooth Pass. It is a good place to stop and look before committing to the last climb.
Monarch Lakes and the last climbUpper and Lower Monarch Lakes sit beneath Sawtooth Peak, about 4.2 miles from the trailhead.
Upper and Lower Monarch Lakes sit beneath Sawtooth Peak, about 4.2 miles from the trailhead. They make a natural turnaround if you want a shorter day. Beyond the lakes, the route climbs another 1,200 feet in about 1.3 miles to the pass. That section is rough, very loose underfoot, and unmaintained. The steep scree and boulders are the real test; if that surface is beyond your comfort, the lakes are a worthwhile endpoint.
What the pass gives youSawtooth Pass is a saddle, not the summit of the sharp peak beside it.
Sawtooth Pass is a saddle, not the summit of the sharp peak beside it. The climb ends on a broad, exposed high point with far-reaching views across the southern Sierra. From the shoulder below, frame Monarch Creek canyon with Timber Gap and the Great Western Divide; from the pass, the pale granite and layered ridges make the scale of the country clear.
A name from Mineral King's mining yearsThe name Chihuahua Bowl came from hopeful miners who compared the basin to Mexico's rich mining…
The name Chihuahua Bowl came from hopeful miners who compared the basin to Mexico's rich mining country. Chihuahua Mine remnants sit on the Crystal Lake branch near the basin's south rim. Stay on the Monarch Lakes route for Sawtooth Pass.
A shorter versionTurn around at Monarch Lakes for about 8.4 miles round trip.
Turn around at Monarch Lakes for about 8.4 miles round trip. You still get the meadows, forest, Chihuahua Bowl, and the shoulder view, but skip the steep, loose 1.3-mile climb to the pass each way. It is shorter, not easy: the approach is already high and steadily uphill.
Is this the pass hike for you?Published totals differ, so use 11 miles as a planning figure for the mapped parking-to-pass…
Published totals differ, so use 11 miles as a planning figure for the mapped parking-to-pass route and back. This entry follows the out-and-back to the Sawtooth Pass saddle.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Sequoia
691 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
17 sightingsMountain LionMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
18 sightingsBobcatMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
24 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
15 sightingsGolden EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
20 sightingsSpotted OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Sequoia. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
