Cardinal Mountain
About
Cardinal Mountain is a summit of about 13,389 feet in Inyo County, California, inside the John Muir Wilderness. The peak lies within the White Mountain Ranger District of Inyo National Forest, which the Forest Service manages, and the nearest town is Big Pine, about 13 miles away. Red Lake and Muro Blanco are both hikes about 2.6 miles away. Goodale Creek Campground sits about 7.5 miles off, and the Palisades & Surrounding Peaks climbing area is about 7.8 miles away.
Summit Facts
Summit elevation
13,389 ft
Land manager
Forest Service
Elevation from USGS 3D Elevation Program terrain data (about 10 m resolution).
Location
Cardinal Mountain
California
Name and location: U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program. View the GNIS record.
Facts about this place
Where it is
- John Muir Wilderness · Wilderness
- White Mountain Ranger District · Ranger district
- Inyo National Forest · National forest
- Nearest town
- Big Pine, California · 13 mi
- Managed by
- Forest Service
Source: Wilderness.net boundaries; USFS EDW boundaries; USGS PAD-US 4.1; USGS GNIS populated places
Conditions
Active alerts for White Mountain Ranger District as of Oct 9, 2026:
information · posted Aug 24, 2026
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Area Closure
information · posted Aug 24, 2026
Source: USFS forest alerts
Nearby
- Red LakeHiking2.6 mi
- Muro BlancoHiking2.6 mi
- Owens RiverCanoeing7.1 mi
- Goodale Creek CampgroundCamping7.5 mi
- Palisades & Surrounding PeaksRock climbing7.8 mi
- Woods CreekCanoeing8.4 mi
- Temple CragRock climbing8.7 mi
- Big Pine Creek CampgroundCamping8.8 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
