White Mountain Peak is located northwest of the town of Bishop in the White Mountain range, home of the ancient bristlecone pine forest. The White Mountains parallel the eastern Sierra Nevada, separated by the Owens Valley. The view of the Sierra from the summit of White Mountain Peak is unparalleled. The trailhead is at 12,000' at a locked gate. The 7-mile trail follows a road to the summit. Two miles up is the Barcroft Facility, a high-altitude research center. The summit is home to the normally unoccupied Summit Laboratory in a small stone structure.