Travel to Whitney Portal from Denver -- what is the best flying option?

My partner and I are planning a trip to the Whitney zone in July. We have the necessary wilderness permit and climbing experience. Our current plan is to fly from Denver, rent a car, and drive the rest of the way. After some searching, I have narrowed it down to flying in to Reno or Ontario. According to google, Ontario is a little less of a drive to Lone Pine, but I'd rather avoid the LA area, so Reno seems like a good option. However, I recall that driving the 395 through Carson Valley is also quite a slog. All the other nearby airports appear to be a longer ensuing drive or require a layover. 

If you have done this trip before in a similar fashion, how did the travel go for you? What are some other pros and cons of the various flying options? Am I missing anything (I am assuming covid-19 will be eradicated by then, so no need to debate that aspect please)? Thanks in advance!    

Fly into Lost Wages, not only a shorter drive to Whitney, but I'll bet air fare and car rental is cheaper. Plus--you can drive thru Barstow, if you want, and still experience that wonderful 395 drive.

"While the poor people sleepin'
With the shade on the light
While the poor people sleepin'
All the stars come out at night"

Thanks Dave, Vegas slipped my mind. Will definitely look into that.  

Carson Valley is a busy small town, when compared to LA traffic. Sure if you hit reno at rush hour it will be interesting but Ontario and Vegas traffic will be far more gnarly.

I think the drive down from Reno is the prettiest, by far. Bridgeport, Lee Vining, Mammoth, Bishop, Big Pine, Independence, Lone Pine; a parade of cool east side towns and a parade of Sierra eastern front peaks to view and admire. What's not to love, couple of hundred miles down the spine of the great Sierra Nevada. I vote for Reno.

Dave K wrote:

Ontario Airport is small and not crowded. It's on the edge of the urban area and the drive to 395 should not be bad at any time of day.

BTW, How did you get a permit? My understanding is that you have to get them same year, and the lottery hasn't opened yet.

Dave,

The North Fork of Lone Pine Peak (the trail for climbers to Whitney) is not in the lottery. Reservations for a wilderness permit for that trail can be made six months in advance.

If you fly into Las Vegas , visit the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest Visitor Center on your return for a grand view of the Sierra .

Reno, easy drive down the 395

The drive from Reno to Whitney is definitely the most scenic of the options mentioned. If you take US 95 out of Vegas and cross the Whites on CA 168, Westgard Pass is a fun narrow, winding mountain road and the Bristlecone Pine Forest is a worthwhile detour.

FrankPS wrote:

Dave,

The North Fork of Lone Pine Peak (the trail for climbers to Whitney) is not in the lottery. Reservations for a wilderness permit for that trail can be made six months in advance.

I will add that this trail, and I believe most other trails in the area, hold a small number of permits for walk-ins on a first come-first serve basis. I do not know what this looks like right now due to covid, but that may be an option. 

Reno and Ontario are both nice smallish airports, but the drive from Reno is much easier and prettier. Las Vegas is also feasible, probably has the cheapest flights, and the route from the airport out 160 is not bad as far as urban driving goes, but you’d be driving through Death Valley in mid-summer.  Make sure the rental car is reliable if you go via Vegas. 

Dave K wrote:

Ontario Airport is small and not crowded. It's on the edge of the urban area and the drive to 395 should not be bad at any time of day.

I disagree. Ontario is in the middle of the LA to Palm Springs corridor.  The 15/215 and 395 from ONT can be a cluster fest except late at night or very early in the AM. I grew to hate the 395. Scenic  though once you get past Ridgecrest. The 395 opens up once you get to the 14/395 junction.

Reno is the best option, with Vegas second. Don't know what the total cost (airfare & car rental) between the two is. ONT would be my 3rd choice.

I did it LV. Vegas is the way to go. Lots of cheap accommodations there, and you get drive thru Death Valley and Panamint Valley. Drops you into the Owens Valley, near Lone Pine. That was the best drive. We ended up spending some time exploring in the Panamint. I had no idea. What a place.

At one time, you could catch United Express, Denver to Inyokern, non stop and cheap.  A quick check now turns up nothing, though.

The drive from Vegas is pretty interesting if you've never driven through a desert landscape before. My friends from the UK loved it.

Thanks for all the good input all. This is very helpful to me. I'm thinking Reno or Vegas now. Too bad Inyokern is no longer an option. I have done the drive from Las Vegas to Lone Pine back in the day, albeit not during summer. I'm thinking it would be cool to tag Death Valley and Mount Whitney on the same trip, although the prospect of 130 degree weather in a sketchy rental car is a bit spooky. I'll definitely take no shortcuts and bring at least 20 extra gallons of water. I used to live in Southern California and have flown into Ontario numerous times to go to J-Tree, so I am familiar with that area. The car rental process is usually annoying at Ontario, although that's probably the case anywhere. The main drawback for Reno seems to be the that the last nonstop back to Denver is around 3:30 pm, so we'd probably have to break camp at Iceberg Lake well before dawn to make the flight. Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes.    

You could drive and avoid transmitting or contracting covid.

Doug Haller wrote:

You could drive and avoid transmitting or contracting covid.

Understand that you completely unsolicited interjecting your opinion telling strangers to not fly for whatever reason is absolutely no different than you driving to the local airport, which I’m positive is full as usual, and yelling at random people all day that they also “should not be flying right now!”  You look equally fucking stupid and like a tool in both scenarios. If you wouldn’t go set up camp at Denver international and chastise all 5000 people that come through an hour, then stop doing it from behind the safety of your keyboard. It’s exhausting and you’re a coward 

Tanner James wrote:

Understand that you completely unsolicited interjecting your opinion telling strangers to not fly for whatever reason is absolutely no different than you driving to the local airport, which I’m positive is full as usual, and yelling at random people all day that they also “should not be flying right now!”  You look equally fucking stupid and like a tool in both scenarios. If you wouldn’t go set up camp at Denver international and chastise all 5000 people that come through an hour, then stop doing it from behind the safety of your keyboard. It’s exhausting and you’re a coward 

Talk about interjecting an unsolicited opinion, not even about how to get to a location. Not only does driving keep you away from airports but once there you  have a car. Seems like a reasonable alternative to flying. Hate to get sick and not be able to climb.

Google Maps calls Brighton to Lone Pine a 14 1/2 hour drive, which is doable in one long day by two people. Depending on the OP's financial situation and time constraints, driving might be an option. Staying out of airports and off of commercial planes had a certain appeal for me pre-COVID, but that's just me.

Bakersfield or LA are considerably shorter drives, that's where I would go.  Death Valley is no BFD in a modern car - you're not going to get some VW air cooled microbus from the rental car company.

Tanner James wrote:

Understand that you completely unsolicited interjecting your opinion telling strangers to not fly for whatever reason is absolutely no different than you driving to the local airport, which I’m positive is full as usual, and yelling at random people all day that they also “should not be flying right now!”  You look equally fucking stupid and like a tool in both scenarios. If you wouldn’t go set up camp at Denver international and chastise all 5000 people that come through an hour, then stop doing it from behind the safety of your keyboard. It’s exhausting and you’re a coward 

You sir, are a douche. His post had no pontification or yelling.