Sequoia and Kings Canyon are large parks, managed jointly. This file addresses only trailheads on the western side of the parks. Generally, the northern approach to the trailheads below is faster road, but those coming from Southern California generally use the shorter southern approach.
| This file describes trailheads in Sequoia/Kings Canyon. | ||||||||
| Driving Directions | > | Central Valley | > | Fresno to The Wye | > | Sequoia & Kings Canyon | ||
| Visalia to Three Rivers | > | Sequoia & Kings Canyon | ||||||
| Visalia to Three Rivers | > | South Fork Kaweah River | ||||||
| Waypoints between Three Rivers and The Wye are plotted to clarify the text below. | ||||||||
Click here for GPS waypoints in Waypoint+ format (NAD83, decimal degrees) with descriptive comments, in a popup window.
TRAILHEADS:
Waypoints for both northern and southern approaches are plotted below - scroll down below the map for explanatory text. Click on the trailhead links above for additional information and further waypoints.
For waypoints along the southern approach, from Hwy 99 through Visalia, see the Three Rivers page. As you travel northeast from Visalia on Hwy 198, now entirely freeway through town, you come to the Mountain Home turnoff (waypoint YOKOHL), go around Lake Kaweah (a reservoir that's often empty in the fall), and past the South Fork turnoff (waypoint SFORKD) which is about 0.4 miles before Three Rivers (waypoint 3RIVER). About 4 miles beyond Three Rivers you reach waypoint 198MIN, the turnoff for Mineral King. Both Hwy 198 and the Mineral King road have seasonal snow closures.
For waypoints along the northern approach, from Hwy 99 through Fresno,
see The Wye page.
As you travel east from Fresno on Hwy 180, you
encounter a named intersection where Hwy 198 tees off Hwy 180
(waypoint THEWYE). The Wye
is where you can turn north for Cedar Grove
or south for Lodgepole.
| North of The Wye, Hwy 180 climbs to about 6800' and crosses Hoist Ridge at Cherry Gap (waypoint CHERRY) near the McGee Vista Point. Here you are in National Forest, no longer in the National Park, so you can camp anywhere legally. There are three forest service roads leaving Hwy 180 near McGee/Cherry which some climbers use to get away from the highway for the night without paying a ridiculous campground fee. The first road is unmarked (waypoint HUCKLE) and somewhat rough but still OK for passenger cars - it leads east to Huckleberry Meadow eventually. Shortly after that you pass the McGee Vista Point and then cross Cherry Gap (waypoint CHERRY) where two marked (and much better) roads lead east and west. The western road leads to a flat area about two thirds of a mile from the highway. If you're not sure where this is, load the waypoints into your GPS and follow the arrow! |
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The rest of this file describes the map below from south to north.
Hwy 198 begins to climb steeply when it leaves the Middle Fork
of the Kaweah River at waypoint MIDFRK. The first climber's trailhead
you come to when approaching from the south is Crescent Meadow
(waypoint CRSCNT is where you turn off Hwy 198, the trailhead is at waypoint CRSCNP).
Crescent Meadow is a good entry point for the High Sierra Trail through Bearpaw
Meadow and Hamilton Lakes to Kaweah Gap.
Continuing north on Hwy 198 about 3 miles, you reach the
Wolverton turnoff. There is a small
ski lift here, but I've never seen it in operation. This trailhead
(waypoint WOLVET is the turnoff, WOLVEP is the parking lot) leads
you to popular year-round destinations like the ski hut at Pear Lake
and Alta Peak. Hwy 198 is plowed to Wolverton from the north all year,
but is closed to the south some months of the winter.
Less than 2 miles north of Wolverton is Lodgepole,
the main destination for tourists. Turn east from Hwy 198 at waypoint LODGET and
park at waypoint LODGEP. Parking is free all year, and the lot is plowed in the
winter. There are public access bear boxes at the trailhead, and cars not using
them are broken into as early as March. There are many facilities near Lodgepole,
but they are not all open at all times of the year. In the summer, you can find
a gas station, restaurant, public showers, convenience store, visitor center,
and all the things that attract busses and motor homes. The ranger station at
Lodgepole (waypoint LODGER) has self-issue permits in the winter and is where
you pick up reserved permits in the summer.
There used to be a restaraunt and laundromat at Stoney Creek (waypoint STONEY),
but I haven't been there in a while and I'm not sure the laundry is still
functioning. Further north is the turnoff for
Marvin Pass and Rowell Meadow
(waypoint ROWL01), two little-known trailheads providing very efficient access to
Roaring River and Cloud Canyon. Permits are usually available without reservations
at the Grant Grove ranger station (waypoint GRANTG).
About 7 miles north of the Rowell Meadow turnoff, Hwy 198 ends at Hwy 180
(waypoint THEWYE). The Wye is a named
intersection where people coming from Fresno turn north for Cedar Grove and
south for Lodgepole. Points south (on Hwy 198) are described above.
Leaving The Wye (waypoint THEWYE) toward Cedar Grove (on Hwy 180), it's
only about 1.5 miles to the ranger station at Grant Grove (waypoint GRANTG).
Here you can find a filling station, a good restaurant, a gift shop, and
a small visitor center. Permits can be picked up here, but call ahead to
make sure they'll issue one for your choice of trailheads.
Free unimproved camping is available nearby because the park boundary
has many twists and turns, leaving you in National Forest where the
rules are different. One spot is just about 5 miles north of The Wye,
beyond Grant Grove as described below (waypoint CHERRY). Another spot
is about 8 miles south from The Wye (near waypoint ROWL01), as described
on the Rowell Meadow and Marvin Pass trailhead page.
These two trailheads, for which you leave Hwy 198 at waypoint ROWL01, are described separately
on the Rowell Meadow and Marvin Pass trailhead page.
Either of these trailheads will get you to Roaring River in less than a day, with thousands
of feet less elevation gain than starting at Cedar Grove and going over Avalanche Pass.
North of Grant Grove and The Wye, Hwy 180 climbs to
about 6800' and crosses Hoist Ridge at Cherry Gap (see map and description of forest
roads where you can camp for free, at the top of this file).
Continue down Hwy 180, past the Hume Lake turnoff (waypoint HUMELK)
and eventually you reach the Kings River at about 3000'. This road
is closed in the winter, but often bare once you get over Cherry Gap
and lose elevation. (Some people have pushed mountain bikes over the
snow so they could ride along the Kings in early spring.)
Go past trailheads at Deer Cove Creek (waypoint
DEERCK) and Lewis Creek (waypoint LEWISC)
and you reach Cedar Grove Village (turn northeast at waypoint CEDARG)
where you can buy dinner or ice cream and fill up on overpriced gas.
The bargain at the Village is showers: $2.50 for 10 minutes in a
private room as of 2004, buy tokens at the general store during their
regular hours (8am to 7pm ??). It seems that the shower building sinks
are available free and 24 hours a day, but don't count on that. The
showers are just north of the general store but before you get to
the Cedar Grove pack station (CGPACK).
Go all the way to the trailhead parking at Roads End
(waypoint ROADND) to pick up permits from the cranky rangers who sometimes
insist every person in your group must be present to hear the bear box lecture.
Once for each group. (Expensive permits - $15/group even
if you're alone. It's not a reservation fee. Even walk-ups pay.)
There are actually two parking areas at Roads End,
one for Copper Creek (north) and one for the Kings River and Bubbs Creek (east),
but they are both served by the permit kiosk at waypoint ROADND. There are
bear boxes for overnight food storage in both the
day use lot and the
backpacker lot.
In 2004 I was
told that the southern lot is for day use only even though there is no sign,
and cars parked in the northern lot should have parking passes issued by the
ranger kiosk. The Kings River trail leads to places like Kearsarge Pass,
Paradise Valley, and The Sphinx, with the first two miles wide and sandy
like a beach. The Copper Creek trail is the switchback hell on the map below.
Useful Links:
