Granite Chief Wilderness


The Granite Chief Wilderness is a 19,048 acre federally designated wilderness area of the Tahoe National Forest. Created by the California Wilderness Act of 1984, it is located in the Sierra Nevada mountains west of Lake Tahoe in California, USA.
It is managed by the US Forest Service Tahoe National Forest. Elevations range from to at the summit of Granite Chief.
Events such as the Western States Endurance Run and the equestrian Western States Trail Ride, cross portions of the wilderness. The Pacific Crest Trail also passes through along the east edge of the wilderness.
This region is extensively glaciated and has features such as hanging valleys, cirques and U-shaped valleys, but few lakes. Just outside the wilderness boundary there are two large recreation reservoirs, Hell Hole Reservoir to the south and French Meadows Reservoir to the west.
The Sierra Club had maintained the Bradley Hut, which was a ski hut located at the Five Lakes Basin, but in 1994 the Sierra Club was asked to remove the hut by the U. S. Forest Service as it was now inside the newly created wilderness. The hut was dismantled and relocated four miles away. Because no mechanical equipment can be used in a wilderness, the dismantling of the Bradley Hut took until the fall of 1996 to finish.

Lakes and waterways

The principal drainages are the Middle Fork of the American River and Five Lakes Creek. The small lakes within the wilderness boundary are the Five Lakes, Mildred Lake and Little Needle Lake.
Fish such as rainbow, brook and brown trout can be seen in Whiskey, Picayune, and Bear Pen creeks as well as the largest lake of the Five Lakes group.

Flora and fauna

Rich, volcanic soils support a range of plant life, from fields of mule ears to conifer forests including whitebark pine at the highest elevations. Along the creeks grow black cottonwood, alder and aspen.

Rare plants

The three bracted onion is a native perennial bulb endemic to California. The California Native Plant Society lists the three bracted onion as " rare, threatened, or endangered... " and there are only 10 counties with either specimens obtained or a verified observation made. Near the North Forth American River is Whitney's milk vetch.


Typical of the high Sierra Nevada Mountains, the wildlife include mountain lion, black bear, and mule deer.
Granite Chief wilderness provides important fawning areas for mule deer, so visitors are prohibited from bringing dogs into certain areas of the wilderness from May 15 to July 15.

Recreation

Activities include day-hiking, backpacking, fishing, cross-country skiing, mountain climbing and horsepacking. The Five Lakes basin is the most heavily used area in the wilderness due to the close proximity to both Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski areas. Two commercial outfitters offer horsepacking trips into the wilderness.

Trails

There are of trails with eight trailheads. The most used is the Granite Chief trailhead located at Squaw Valley Ski Area parking lot. Talbot campground is located near the Talbot trailhead, four miles north of French Meadows Reservoir and is the only trailhead with a no-fee campground.

Notable peaks

NameElevationLatitudeLongitude
Granite Chief39.198° N120.285° W
Needle Peak39.200° N120.299° W
Lyon Peak39.207° N120.315° W
Squaw Peak39.181° N120.270° W
Twin Peaks39.112° N120.232° W
Ward Peak39.148° N120.245° W
Mount Mildred39.146° N120.330° W

Footnotes