Find the Best Hikes and Backpacking Trips in California's Sierra Nevada
The rush of trekking through nature, the thrill of experiencing new places, the reward of discovering beautiful sights-all of this awaits in the Sierra Nevada. For more than 40 years, this definitive guidebook has led readers along the top trails between Tehachapi Pass and the southern border of Yosemite National Park. Now, with the revised and updated edition, let hiking experts Elizabeth Wenk and Mike White show you the way.
Sierra South features 84 meticulously selected trips, from new routes to old favorites. Traverse the stunning wilderness areas and national forests of the region, including Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, John Muir Wilderness, Ansel Adams Wilderness, and many more. The trips are organized around major highways and roads, so it's easy to choose your next adventure. Just pick an area, drive there, and go hiking.
Inside you'll find
84 trips that range from quick overnighters to 12-day excursions
Complete trip details, including day-by-day trail descriptions, GPS waypoints, and elevation data
41 trailhead maps that show the routes for every trip
Beginner tips and trusted advice on camping, fishing, and bear safety
Information on side trips, geology, natural history, and more
Planning your trip into the southern Sierra backcountry is easier than ever before. For additional hiking and backpacking opportunities, see the companion guide Sierra North.
Author Biography:
Since childhood, Elizabeth “Lizzy” Wenk has hiked and climbed in the Sierra Nevada and continues the tradition with her husband, Douglas Bock, and daughters, Eleanor and Sophia. As she obtained a PhD in Sierran alpine plant ecology from the University of California, Berkeley, her love of the mountain range morphed into a profession. But writing guidebooks has become her way to share her love and knowledge of the Sierra Nevada with others. Lizzy continues to obsessively explore every bit of the Sierra, spending summers hiking on- and off-trail throughout the range, but she currently lives in Sydney, Australia, during the “off-season.” Other Wilderness Press titles she has authored include John Muir Trail, One Best Hike: Mount Whitney, One Best Hike: Grand Canyon, 50 Best Short Hikes: Yosemite, and Wildflowers of the High Sierra and John Muir Trail, the latter a perfect companion book for all naturalists.
Mike White was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He learned to hike, backpack, and climb in the Cascade Mountains, and he honed his outdoor skills further while obtaining a bachelor’s degree from Seattle Pacific University. After college, Mike and his wife, Robin, relocated to the Nevada desert, where he was drawn to the majesty of the High Sierra. In the early 1990s, Mike began writing about the outdoors, expanding the third edition of Luther Linkhart’s The Trinity Alps for Wilderness Press. His first solo project was Nevada Wilderness Areas and Great Basin National Park. Many more titles for Wilderness followed, including the Snowshoe Trails series; books about Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Lassen National Parks; Backpacking Nevada; Top Trails: Northern California’s Redwood Coast; Best Backpacking Trips in California and Nevada; Best Backpacking Trips in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico; 50 of the Best Strolls, Walks, and Hikes Around Reno; and Afoot & Afield: Reno-Tahoe. Two of his books, Top Trails: Lake Tahoe and 50 Classic Hikes in Nevada, have won national awards. Mike has also contributed to the Wilderness Press classics Sierra South and Sierra North, as well as Backpacking California. In addition to his books, Mike has written for Sunset, Backpacker, and the Reno Gazette-Journal. A community college instructor, Mike is a featured speaker for outdoors groups. He and Robin live in Reno; his two sons, David and Stephen, live in the area as well.
