The Ultimate Road Trip Guide to Sardine Peak in California
Sardine Peak is a high mountain peak at an elevation of 2.482m (8,143ft) above the sea level, located in Sierra County, in the U.S. state of California.
Set high within the Tahoe National Forest, in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, the unimproved Forest Service Road to the summit is totally unpaved. Stay away if you're scared of heights. Expect a trail pretty steep. It’s a wide and rutted four-wheel drive road. It’s a bit rough at places. You do not need a 4WD, high clearance vehicle, although it’s preferential. Passenger cars are not recommended. The peak was named after Sardine Canyon, which sits below and west.
Starting at the paved CA-89, the road to the summit is 16.41km (10.2 miles) long. It’s impassable in winters, from November through May. Tucked away on the eastern slopes of the Northern Wasatch Mountains, at the summit there’s a forest fire lookout tower that was constructed in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The summit offers spectacular views of Stampede Reservoir, Boca Reservoir, Sardine Valley, Independence Lake, the top of the Sierra Buttes and western Nevada.
Pic: doug smith