The Needles are a series of massive granite rock formations rising up from the North Fork of the

Kern River The Kern River, previously Rio de San Felipe, later La Porciuncula, is an Endangered, Wild and Scenic river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfiel ...

near its junction with the Little Kern River. The Needles Lookout is located 2.5 miles off the

Western Divide Highway State Route 190 (SR 190) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that is split into two parts by the Sierra Nevada. The western portion begins at Tipton at a junction with State Route 99 and heads east towards Porterville before en ...

( State Route 190) 10 miles north of Mountain Road 50.

Johnsondale, California Johnsondale is an unincorporated community in Tulare County, California, United States. Johnsondale is northeast of California Hot Springs. A post office opened in Johnsondale in 1939. The Post Office was closed on September 19, 1980. The comm ...

is the nearest town, with the Camp Whitsett, BSA camp around 4 miles from Johnsondale. On July 28, 2011, the Needles lookout, constructed in 1937-1938 by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

, was destroyed in a structure fire. The lookout tower stood atop the rock formation at 8,245 feet.

Gallery

Image:Margeekelly.jpg, Margee Kelly has served as a Fire Lookout Ranger at The Needles for 20+ years. Image:Needleslookout.jpg, The Needles Lookout Image:Goldentroutwilderness.jpg, View NE over the Golden Trout Wilderness Area.

Mount Whitney Mount Whitney (Paiute: Tumanguya; ''Too-man-i-goo-yah'') is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of . It is in East–Central California, on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tu ...

is visible in the distance. Image:Whitneyfromneedles.jpg, Mount Whitney from The Needles Lookout Image:Sefromneedles.jpg, View SE from The Needles Lookout Image:Sfromneedles.jpg, View S towards the

Kern Canyon The Kern River Canyon is a canyon in Kern County, California. It is located in the Southern Sierra Nevada. The canyon was formed by the Kern River, and connects the Kern River Valley and southern San Joaquin Valley.Lee, Charles. ''An Intensive ...

from The Needles Lookout

References

Climbing areas of California Mountains of Tulare County, California Mountains of Northern California {{TulareCountyCA-geo-stub