Introduction:
What? :
The 69 miles Sherman Pass Road (Forest Route 22S05 / County Route J41) is a paved route crossing the southern Sierra Nevada mountains, with steep switchbacks sections, high plateaus, pine forests and large breathtaking meadows.
At an elevation of 9,200 ft at the pass It’s one of California’s highest highway passes—the third-highest, after Tioga and Sonora passes.
Although “only” 69 miles long road plan for at least half day drive, you also need to drive to/from the far west end of the drive to your next destination.
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Where? :
This area is in the Sequoia National Forest near the southern tip of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
The official offroad leading to the mountain peak (33E48) starting point is located 7 miles west of the Sherman Pass Vista, this is about 9 miles east of highway 99 when climbing up.
If you enter from here it is an extremely challenging offroad climb and the ranger advises me not to do it.
I decided to try getting up from another entrance (road 33E35) and drive this road downward so it will be easier.
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The start of Sherman Pass / Kennedy Meadows drive on the west side is on highway 395 and on its east side is on highway 99.
When? :
The road typically opens in late May or early June after the winter snows melt and remains open until late fall or early winter when heavy snowfall forces its closure.
If you plan to visit early spring check if it is open before driving here.
I highly recommend not driving on forest road 33E48 up when it is raining or after conditions can be muddy or slippery.
Due note 1:
The road is paved for all its length, most in good conditions.
Expect tight turns, some sections with steep grades (up to 10%), and changing landscape.
Due note 2:
Don’t assume service or fuel availability along this drive even if sometimes you can fill up at Kennedy Meadows General Store.
The nearest fuel station on highway 395 is at Pearsonville just south of the start of the road.
The nearest fuel station on the east side is at Kernville (highway 99, 20 miles south of the road end/start)
Due note 3:
Some large sections of the forest were burned in the 2002 McNally Fire.
Due note 4:
A large network of OHV trails, 4x4 offroad drives, forest roads, and trailheads can be found all over the high elevation and the forest area.
Due note 5:
There are three main campgrounds in the forest area: Kennedy Meadows CG, Fish Creek, and Troy Meadows.
Due note 6:
The road climbing up to the fire watch tower is steep and ragged and requires high-clearance 4×4.
I will rate its difficulty as low, no major obstacle to overcome except some loose gravel.
Due note 7:
There is no cell reception at the mountain peak and the flat high area.
Make sure you have an offline map.
Due note 8:
As always with offroad drive: make sure your car is in good offroad conditions, you have enough fuel, good spare tire and exchange kit, first aid and basic towing and recovery tools.
Before climbing up, deflate your tires to a safe tire pressure for rocky off-roading terrain.
Due note 9:
Bring enough water and food for your stay here.
Due note 10:
This area is National Forest (Kern River Ranger District), it is public land, no fees or overnight permits for dispersed camping are needed.
Respect the rules and regulations of the National Forest.
Due note 11:
Dog friendly area.
My thoughts:
It was already starting to get late in the afternoon but I still had time for one more offroad drive.
I wanted to drive up to Sherman Peak, at an elevation of 9656 ft. It provides vast views to the west and south section of National Forest, Kern River Ranger District, and the lower canyon of Kern River.
For me when driving alone it was a challenging drive. The first climb section (33E35) was overgrown with brushes so I was afraid to see what the status of my paint on both sides was.
When descending (33E48) the trail was not in good condition with several sections of large boulder drop off and washed trail.
I was driving down so it was OK, climbing it up can be challenging.
Drive Description:
I will describe my drive as I did it: up on forest road 33E35 and from the top of it all the way to the mountain peak and down using 33E48.
From the road (7,710 ft) the trail immediately starts with a sharp steep climb straight up the cliff side.
No major challenges here except major overgrown brushes from both sides of the road. I'm driving a 4runner and it was very tight to pass here, hearing the scratches on the paint all the way up.
After about 1 mile the trail reaches a forested area with an old deserted mining cabin.
Shortly after you can drive to the cliff edge viewing to the west.
I highly recommend getting here, the view down is impressive.
From here you can see the huge area that was burned by McNally Fire 2002 damage all over the forest below you to the west.
From here the trail keeps climbing in easy trail and once it turns left the view gets open to the steep landscape to your left.
Here you start to drive in a burn forest area.
After a short flat drive you will reach a road junction, this will be 2.3 miles from my starting point and elevation gain of 1,890 ft.
Turn right in the direction of the mountain peak.
From the trail junction it is 0.8 mile with an additional 470 ft of elevation and you will reach Sherman Peak.
Here you can find a communication antenna tower and on the rocks a nice view point in all directions.
I did not stay here for a long time, I still need to drive down and go find a place for a night stay.
I drove down to the road junction and turned right, from here a 0.9 mile drive in the forest leading down will bring you to another road junction, this time with the official old path of Sherman Pass.
Now I turn left and start ascending 33E48 Sherman Pass road.
From here it is all downhill.
The trail enters into the burned exposed area in the creek and you will need to cross it. After about a 1 mile drive, start the more challenging section of the drive.
There are rocky sections with very tight switchbacks and loose gravel roads.
It is very steep and narrow in spots with possible muddy sections.
Always look ahead and see if there is any incoming traffic. The road is extremely narrow with vegetation on both sides so passing is limited to only a few spots.
The trail descends steeply and after a few large switchbacks you start to see the lower section and the road below you. Keep driving down and the trail now having better conditions without any significant something to report on.
A few more switchbacks and you will reach the road.
From the upper trail junction this will be 3.2 miles with a losing elevation of 2,430 ft.
Here you can find the official entry sign.
Overall my offroad trail was 8 miles long with 2325 elevation gain and 3284 elevation lost.
I must admit that doing this drive alone and not seeing no one else doing this trail was not so fun. I did not want to get stuck in the middle of the trail. I must admit for me driving up the official pass can be too challenging, especially driving alone.
From here I drove down to Kern River gorge.
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