This region is extensively glaciated and has features such as hanging valleys, cirques and U-shaped valleys, but few lakes. Just outside the wilderness boundary there are two large recreation reservoirs, Hell Hole Reservoir to the south and French Meadows Reservoir to the west.
The Sierra Club had maintained the Bradley Hut, which was a ski hut located at the Five Lakes Basin, but in 1994 the Sierra Club was asked to remove the hut by the Forest Service as it was now inside the newly created wilderness. The hut was dismantled and relocated four miles (6 km) away. Because no mechanical equipment can be used in a wilderness, the dismantling of the Bradley Hut took until the fall of 1996 to finish.[3]
Lakes and waterways
Picayune Valley, Granite Chief Wilderness California USA
The principal drainages are the Middle Fork of the American River and Five Lakes Creek. The small lakes within the wilderness boundary are the Five Lakes, Mildred Lake and Little Needle Lake.
Fish such as rainbow, brook and brown trout can be seen in Whiskey, Picayune, and Bear Pen creeks as well as the largest lake of the Five Lakes group.
Flora and fauna
Rich, volcanic soils support a range of plant life, from fields of mule ears to conifer forests including whitebark pine at the highest elevations. Along the creeks grow black cottonwood, alder and aspen.
Rare plants
The three bracted onion (Allium tribracteatum) is a native perennial bulb endemic to California. The California Native Plant Society lists the three bracted onion as " rare, threatened, or endangered ... " and there are only 10 counties with either specimens obtained or a verified observation made. Near the North Forth American River is Whitney's milk vetch (Astragalus whitneyi var. lenophyllus).
The Granite Chief Wilderness provides important fawning areas for mule deer, so visitors are prohibited from bringing dogs into certain areas of the wilderness from May 15 to July 15.
There are 37 miles (60 km) of trails with eight trailheads. The most used is the Granite Chief trailhead located at Squaw Valley Ski Area parking lot. Talbot campground is located near the Talbot trailhead, four miles (6 km) north of French Meadows Reservoir and is the only trailhead with a no-fee campground.
