Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board How early should we arrive?

My son and I would like to car camp at Whitney Portal. How early should we arrive to get one of the non-prereserved spaces? Thanks

Based on what has been discussed on the board, it seems by noon on weekends and 2pm or so on weekdays gives you a reasonable chance to get a non reserved campsite at the portal.

i was there three weeks ago at 9 am...and there were no sites left. i'd get there by 7 or 8 in the morning.

I dropped into Whitney portal Sunday at 12:20 and was lucky to get the last open spot. Saturday night Horse shoe meadows campground was completely full...much different then when I was there a few months back.