I’m not familiar with the lodges & restaurants in SEKI but I am planning on camping there this summer. Are there any businesses that might be showing the World Cup games within the park boundaries?
Hi All. Thinking of taking the cave tour. I saw descriptions that said it is a half-mile hike from the parking area, descending approximately 320 feet on a steep, paved trail with stairs. The return hike is strenuous, equivalent to climbing a 20-story building. It the trail as hairy as this description says? We have a family member with some mobility issues, but can do a lot of stairs/ elevation with assistance. Also, is the 2 hour drive from Kings Canyon entrance to the parking lot accurate? Thanks.
Conditions couldn’t have been better was an absolutely gorgeous day! Mild breeze, blue skies, plenty of wildlife never gets old.
I’ve been dying to get up into the Miter Basin to explore and was finally able to head up, 6/29-7/2. 49.5 miles total. 20-30’s for lows, 50-60 for highs, perfect hiking weather.
Day 1 - Cottonwood Pass TH ->Lower Soldier Lake. Typical PCT traffic until the Rock Creek junction, once here, the people start to disappear. Watched building storm clouds before tucking in early.
Day 2 - Lower Solider -> Sky Blue Lake. Woke up to a dusting of snow in the meadow below Lower Solider. Headed up into the Miter Basin through the Lower and Upper Solider lakes. Such a fun route up and over, then traversing below the Major General down into the basin below. Found an awesome site below the Sky Blue Lake drainage. Set up camp and headed up to the inlet for Sky Blue below Crabtree Pass.
Day 3 - Sky Blue -> Iridescent Lake -> Rock Creek Lake. Iridescent Lake was first up in the morning, unbelievably gorgeous lake, flanked by The Miter, Le Conte and Mt. Corcoran. I cannot wait to return here. Decided to take the Rock Creek drainage down to Rock Creek Lake, one of my favorite places on earth, always happy to stay a night here.
Day 4 - Rock Creek Lake -> Solider Pass -> Mt.Langley -> Horseshoe Meadow. Woke up early to a perfectly calm Rock Creek Lake and set off to soggy bushwhack up to Upper Solider Lake. Took Solider Pass up to Langley trail, easy use trail to follow up. Summited at 10:40am, hung out for an hour with no else insight. Wanted to head back via Old Army Pass, but there is still a large snow field at the top, all options over and around felt sketchy still, so I opted to go over New Army, which was free of snow.
Yup. July 3 - saw plenty of dogs. Lots of folks were surprised when the shuttle parking lot attendant told them their dogs weren’t allowed on the shuttle or on the trails.
I heard one family talking about how their dog would be fine left alone in the car while they hike because their car has pet mode…
Also ran into a someone walking a dog on Congress Trail.
Happy birthday, America!! 🙃😮💨
Thanks!
Hiked the HST these past few days, great views and a lot of elevation gain. All water crossings are easily passable, no problematic snow on Whitney.
Day 1 - Giant Forest Museum -> Hamilton Lake
Day 2 - Hamilton Lake -> Kern Hot Springs
Day 3 - Kern Hot Springs -> Crab Tree Meadow
Day 4 - Crab Tree Meadow -> Whitney Portal
Driving up from LA to Three Rivers. Looking for recs on:
**anywhere worth stopping between LA and Three Rivers for lunch, coffee, pastries
**Immediate Three Rivers area — anything that is open before 8 am for coffee, pastries, bagels, breakfast — food before entering Sequoia
**favorite place to grab food in the park in 2026? Personally, I eat anything from Burgers to pizza so open to all suggestions
** Best takeout in Three Rivers for dinner. And any good pizza?
Thank you!!
Hi all, my wife and I are headed up (we're driving up from our place in LA) to Sequoia park for the weekend. We're getting there Friday afternoon and leaving Sunday afternoon. We're staying in Three Rivers.
We plan to hike and drive for the majority of Saturday, but how early do we have to get there for parking? We reckoned parking at about 7:30am~8:00am at the general parking lot but figured there'll be a ton of people for July 4. Any recommendations?
On a side note, what are some other parking places or shuttle access if we are too late?
TIA!
Just sharing some pics brief trip report/pics from this weekend. Did a loop over 2 nights, itinerary/route below
Day 1 - Mineral King up over Sawtooth pass, down lost canyon, north towards big five/little five lakes and dropping into Big Arroyo to camp along the HST (I really should have pushed to camp closer to Kaweah gap/heart lake but I was wiped!) Mosquitoes were very bad at big five/little five and in Big Arroyo, stay a bit off the river or further up the valley and they’re better.
Day 2 - HST over Kaweah Gap, precipice lake, Hamilton lakes, to bearpaw. The section from Kaweah Gap to Hamilton is one of my favorites still a tiny bit of snow at Precipice. From there, dropped down to Redwood Meadow - this section is fairly brushy/lots of downed trees, including a massive sequoia right near the ranger station. Saw nobody on this stretch from bearpaw. I continued on to the cliff creek trail junction with black rock pass trail, where I camped that night; there’s a bear box and a bunch of primitive sites on the creek, quite lovely!
Day 3 - Cliff creek trail over Timber Gap and back down. I loved this section, really good wildflowers and meadows. Climb was tough after the previous 2 days but I had good snacks waiting at the car!
Overall awesome trip! Hope this helps someone
Stats - 45 miles, 13k gain
Heading on the Jennie and Weaver Lake loop.
Just doing a quick 2 nighter. I have not been to that area in over 30 years.
Any suggestions?
I will be Backpacking with Tenkara rod for some fishing.
My son is a photographer so he is looking for cool photo opportunities.
Was looking to know from folks who have recently completed the Rae Lakes loop, how passable is the South Fork Kings River crossing right now? Will be doing this loop in a little over two weeks and was wondering if it is necessary to wait until morning when water levels are lower or if anytime in the day is fine. Thanks!
Friday afternoon was a bit hot but there were building clouds that provided some shade. Yesterday was noticably cooler and up above 10,000 feet my boots froze solid overnight. Today a nice breeze kept most of the bugs off me and the shady areas nice and cool. Doesn't get better than that.
The drive from Grant Grove to Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon is absolutely spectacular. Really awe inspiring; as of the course the sequoias are. The marmot was at the top of Big Baldy. Was fortunate enough to see a post from someone that the Crystal Cave Tours was open, and got tickets.
Day one: General Sherman Tree Area, Moro Rock, Crystal Cave, Crescent Meadow.
Day two: Big Baldy, Ranger Talk, drive through Canyon, General Grant Tree Area.
Hey all! My girlfriend and I have a three day weekend over the 4th and want to go backpacking. Anyone have recommendations that are off the beaten path? We are experienced backpackers and very fit. Would love to find something that’s next to a river and goes by some lakes! We also don’t yet have permits and saw that there are day of permits does anyone have experience getting those?? Thanks for the help all.
I've been to Sequoia before (non-holiday weekend) and did the main tourist attractions with my family, so I want to do some of the longer, moderate/difficult hikes in Sequoia or Kings Canyon.
I have no problem doing an early start for a hike to avoid crowds but I'm worried about parking later in the day if I want to sightsee or do multiple hikes. Or if I'll be pretty much stuck at our campsite in the afternoon.
Never been to Kings Canyon so I'd want to focus on hiking and sightseeing there rather than Sequoia. Have a campsite at Sunset.
Does anyone know how to report an injured bear cub to the park? We day tripped this weekend, saw the bear almost at the end of the road around 6:50, so we couldn’t make it to any of the visitor centers before they closed, and no phone service. I left a message with the visitor center the following day, but no one has called back to say they got the message or anything. It was heartbreaking to see. Mama bear crossed the road first, followed by two healthy cubs. Then, as I was almost ready to drive away, a third cub came through, dragging his rear leg. I was glad to see mama was waiting, but I imagine if the cub is injured she might not wait around forever?
Heading to SEKI in a week.
Is the dirt road to Buck Rock drivable in a Tahoe or pickup as of today, 6/26?
How is the dirt road to Redwood Mountain Grove (for driving to the trailhead) and how damaged is the forest once you get to the trailhead? And, what would be a good hike to see big trees? I really want to go, but I think if the grove and area is devastated, it would hurt too much to go and see it. I believe it is finally open this year after the KNP fire.
Are there any rookie dirt roads to explore around Hume/Big Meadows?
Hi!
I will be doing the Rae Lakes Loop trail in mid July (4 nights / 5 days) and would love if anybody has any advice on how much gear I need for the weather. I'm worried I might under pack for the elevation.
Right now, I have:
- sun hoodie
- fleece hoodie
- hat
- outer shell (rain jacket)
- sleep shirt and shorts
- hiking shirt and shorts
- extra pair of socks
- extra underwear
- beanie
Sorry it's not super specific; I just want a second look at if I need anything else major. Thank you!