Haiwee Trail

Dogs No Dogs

Features River/Creek · Views · Wildflowers

The trail was heavily impacted by the 2008 Clover Fire and has not seen any maintenance since. The first half mile is very overgrown and the trail is faintly visible at best requiring lots of bushwhacking. On top of the plateau, the trail becomes easier to follow but intermittently disappears through the meadows. At mile 1.7, you enter the burn area again as you descend from the plateau to Dutch John Flat. The trail is hard to find in some places, good route finding skills and an offline map are highly recommended. Along Dutch John Flat, the willow thicket is now across some of the trail and you'll have to hike around it.

This trail follows an ancient American Indian path through Haiwee Pass and Owens Valley. From the junction with the Pacific Crest Trail, head up the hillside to the east to the top of the plateau at the base of Deer Mountain to the north. A beautiful wildflower meadow awaits with some historic remnants of human activity. Shortly after leaving the meadow, you reach the edge of the plateau. Views across the 2008 Clover Fire burn area abound. You can see the edge to the south where the fire climbed the hillside. To the north is Dutch John Flat that was mostly spared.

Descend east, then north to reach the flat, then head along the north side of a seasonal stream until you reach the South Fork Kern River. You ford the river (dangerous during high snow melt) and reach the junction with Wildrose Trail.

The wildflower meadows along the trail feature an abundance of Sierra Lupine and Bigelow's Sneezeweed with Mountain Carpenter Bees on their pollination quest.