Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
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copyright © Darren Smith and his licensors. All rights reserved. |
Contact Information:
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
47050 Generals Highway
Three Rivers, CA 93271
559-565-3341
http://www.nps.gov/seki/
Size: 461,901 acres (Kings Canyon NP) and 404,051 acres (Sequoia NP).
Location: Sequoia & Kings Canyon national parks are located east-central California. CA 180 leads to Kings Canyon National Park from Fresno; CA 198 leads to Sequoia National Park from the town of Visalia. The Generals Hwy. connects the two, making loop trips possible. There are no roads into Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks from the east side.
Description: Ranging from 1500' to 14,494' in elevation, these adjoining parks protect immense mountains, deep canyons, huge trees, and diverse habitats. Great groves of giant sequoias, (including the General Sherman Tree, the world's largest living thing), Mineral King Valley, and Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the U.S. outside of Alaska, are spectacular attractions in Sequoia National Park. Two enormous canyons of the Kings River and the summit peaks of the High Sierra dominate the mountain wilderness of Kings Canyon National Park. General Grant Grove, which includes the Nation's Christmas Tree, is a detached section of the park.
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Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks |
Lodging and Camping: Lodging in Kings Canyon National Park includes the Cedar Grove Lodge (open late April - mid-October) and Grant Grove Cabins & John Muir Lodge (open year round). Reservations can be made online or by calling 1-866-KCANYON. Lodging in Sequoia National Park includes the Wuksachi Village (open year round), which includes 100+ guest rooms in several lodge buildings. Reservation can be made online or by calling 1-888-252-5757.
Park campgrounds at Sequoia and Kings Canyon are located in the oak woodlands of the dry foothills as well as in the higher conifer forests. They range in elevation from 2100' to 7500'. In general, higher elevation campgrounds are cooler and closer to the giant sequoias. Lodgepole, Dorst, Sunset, Azalea, Crystal Springs, and Atwell campgrounds are near giant sequoia groves.
Four campgrounds are open year-round. All but two campgrounds are first-come, first-served. Lodgepole and Dorst take reservations during the summer. Reservations can be made online through the National Park Service Reservation Service or by calling 1-800-365-CAMP. Only three campgrounds are open year-round: Lodgepole, Azalea, and Potwisha. Some campgrounds do not permit trailers and RVs, while in other campgrounds, sites are not suitable for very long RVs.
Operating
Hours: The two main park entrances (on highways 180 and 198) are open daily
on a year-round basis. The Mineral King area in Sequoia Park & the Cedar Grove area in Kings Canyon
Park are both closed during the winter. Mineral King is open from late May through
the end of October. Cedar Grove is open from mid-April to mid-November. Crystal Cave, some campgrounds, and several side roads
are also closed for the winter.
History: Although they were created by separate acts of Congress, Sequoia and Kings Canyon share miles of boundary and are managed as one park. Sequoia was the second national park designated in the United States. Sequoia NP: established on September 25, 1890; wilderness designated on September 28, 1984; designated a Biosphere Reserve in 1976. Kings Canyon NP: established as General Grant National Park on October 1, 1890; name changed and combined with additional land on March 4, 1940; wilderness designated on September 28, 1984; designated a Biosphere Reserve in 1976.
Other useful
information resources:
Park Newspaper - some back issues are also available
Sequoia Natural History Association - a non-profit organization that
supports the parks
Sequoia Fund - fund projects and programs that
protect and preserve Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Devils Postpile National Monument.
The Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project (SNEP) - provides a scientific review of late-successional forests, key watersheds, and significant natural areas on federal lands of the Sierra
Nevadas.
The Information Center for the Environment, hosted by UC Davis, contains large amounts of environmental data on California ecosystems and natural resources.
California
Office of Tourism
See other National
Parks
See other California National Parks
