This is the fourteenth in a series of articles that offer suggestions for your 1999 camping/ vacation destinations. The articles share our personal experiences at these great places and provide links to more in depth information on attractions, parks and campgrounds. (Photos by Tom Stephens Sr.)
Maybe it's the feeling of permanence-of immortality-that a 2,000 year old sequoia tree exudes which draws me and the wife back each year. The sequoia is the largest living thing on earth-magnificently beautiful, rich in colors and so sweet to the nostrils! Maybe it's the snow-capped and soaring saw-toothed peaks or the deep rugged canyons and roaring Kings River that inspires our annual return. Pam tells me that our camping trips here, refresh her soul-and so it is with me. We have been camping in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks now for 17 years. For us, there is no other place like it on earth--this place of grandeur, of life and awe-inspiring beauty!
About the Parks
With Kings Canyon to the north, and Sequoia National Park on the south, they are two separate parks, administered as one. Located in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of central California, the parks are embraced by three National Forests: the Sequoia, the Sierra and the Inyo National Forests. Sequoia/Kings Canyon encompasses over 863,700 acres, ranging in elevation from 1,500 feet (Ash Mountain) to 14,494 feet (Mt. Whitney). Despite the 140 miles of connecting roads, 85 percent of the land is wilderness-accessible only by foot. The parks are open all year.
Three entrances provide access to Sequoia/Kings Canyon's four developed areas. The Big Stump Entrance (Highway 180 from Fresno, Ca.) is the only portal to Grant Grove and Cedar Grove Villages in Kings Canyon National Park. It is also the best park access road for larger RVs and trailers. The Ash Mountain Entrance (Highway 198 from Visalia, Ca.) leads to Giant Forest and Lodgepole Villages in Sequoia National Park. This road is very narrow, steep and winding and not recommended for vehicles over 22 feet in length. The spectacular Generals Highway connects the two parks. It is about a 30-mile drive between Grant Grove and Giant Forest at elevations sometimes over 7,000 feet. The Kings Canyon Scenic Byway runs from Grant Grove and along the south fork of the Kings River to Cedar Grove Village and Roads End-a 30-mile drive.
About three miles south of the Ash Mountain Entrance, Mineral King Road runs some 25-miles east to the Lookout Point Park Entrance and the isolated Mineral King area. Open in summer only, this is another very difficult road. No trailers or RVs are advised on this road-period.
The copyright of the article Camping 99 Destination Series: Sequoia/Kings Canyon Nat. Parks in Camping is owned by . Permission to republish Camping 99 Destination Series: Sequoia/Kings Canyon Nat. Parks in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
2.
Sep 18, 1999 6:09 PM
Thank you Renie for reading my article. Glad you liked it. You write a mean article yourself! (We can slap each other on the back can't we?)
Thanks, ...
-- posted by Tom_Stephens
1.
Sep 18, 1999 6:36 AM
Wow, wonderful article, beautiful pictures, and I'm ready to pack up and go there, Tom. Most enjoyable. Thank you very much. ...
-- posted by Renie_Burghardt
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