Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Camping at Chicken Spring Lake

Hi,

I plan to camp at Chicken Spring Lake area and fishing there in July. Do I need the permit for entering the Cottonwood Pass? Where could I get the fishing permit?

Thanks in advance!

Mt_hiker

You need a backpacking permit any time you go in the Inyo National Forest on an overnight trip.

I've never seen fish in or heard of anyone catching a fish in Chicken Spring Lake.

What kind of permit should I apply? The permit to enter Cottonwood Pass?

Thanks

Fished it hard once, for a couple of hours one evening...
right after ice-off too.
...Never saw a damn thing rise.

Don't apply for any permit walk-in and get one for the Cottonwood Pass Trailhead and save yourself $5/person. The quota for that area are huge. See the Inyo National website for all trailhead quotas.

Dude just get the walk-in permit. Just make sure you're in shape cuz the last time I did Chicken Spring Lake my bud & I were engorged mammals & we suffered.

Two of us fished it last July and didn't see a single fish in there. You need a freshwater fishing license of course and a wilderness permit for camping.
--GaryM