Follow Along our Travels!

We finally checked off these national parks this summer! I have to say that I’m shocked it took us so long to get to these ones since they are right in our “backyard”. This trip was great too because we did the whole tent camping thing — which I love! But this itinerary would be good either with an RV at our same camp spot or even trying to get a spot in one of the lodges in the parks. It was also done over a long weekend so I would consider this one a “strike mission” option.

One thing about these parks is that they are crowded! That wasn’t surprising to me, but it may be surprising to some people. The way Chuck laid out this itinerary attempted to optimize the time away from crowds — which I think we mostly succeeded on. Another thing about these parks is they are dynamically open/closed depending on natural causes: the intensity of the previous winter, fires in the park or around them, flooding, etc. We had actually attempted to come to Sequoia over Memorial Day weekend 2023 but nearly everything was still closed due to an intense 2023 winter so we cancelled that trip. This year, we had a dry winter so nearly everything was open which is why this trip was a go!

OK, not to state the obvious, but WHOA the sequoias in the park are insanely cool. They are gigantic, they are majestic, they are beautiful and it turns out they are pretty rare which is why there is a national park in their honor (well, not exactly that but I don’t want to get into a history lesson here. For more info, there are some great museums in the Visitors Centers). In a less obvious statement, we loved the Kings Canyon part of this trip as much (maybe more?) than Sequoia. We had heard prior to coming that people compare Kings Canyon to a mini-Yosemite and having spent time now at both, I would say this is accurate. We did an awesome hike (Mist Falls trail) that took us towards one of the valleys and there were multiple moments that truly took my breath away. Highly recommend making the drive to Kings Canyon — even if it is windy and sketchy looking at parts. I am already excited to try to get some backpacking permits to explore this area more! Now onto some more specific highlights:

Highlights from Sequoia/Kings National Park:

• So this isn’t exactly in the park, but we stayed in Three Rivers the night before we entered the park and this is a very lovely area that could be used as a base if you didn’t want to stay in the park (or can’t get a spot). It is on a huge lake, has options for food in town and is quite beautiful.
• Bikes! One of my biggest pieces of advice for most national parks is to bring bikes to avoid shuttles or having to park multiple times. For this trip, most of day 1, we were on the bikes. Funny story though: we debated on bringing the ebikes or our regular beach cruisers. We checked google maps and the route said “mostly flat”. Well, now we know that google maps considers +/- 800ft on a bike “mostly flat”. Keep in mind this was at 6000ft on day one, so I was definitely cursing google maps and wishing for my ebike. So that is my advise: take ebikes! And note, you are sharing the road with cars on this one (no dedicated bike path) so bring a helmet and be safe!
• The Sequoia Groves: There are so many in the parks and obviously the main ones are the most crowded. I did enjoy the Congress Trail as it has a lot of Sequoia on it (and would be great for those that need an accessible trail option for strollers or wheelchairs). However, if you want to enjoy some Sequoias that are off the beaten path a bit, I would lean towards Tharp’s Log hike (day 1) or North Grove or Lost Grove (day 3).
• Mist Falls Hike: As I mentioned previously, this is a great day hike. It is long, but not super hard. What made it hard was that it was hot the day we went so we had to slog through the sand portion (around 1.5 miles to start/end the trail) in the heat. However, once you get through that section, you are hiking right by the river to the waterfalls. There are places to stop and cool down or you can just keep trekking. We made it to the top of the waterfall and took some time to have lunch and cool down. Needless to say, be careful on/near the falls. There are no guardrails or anything and the falls are raging! But it is beautiful.
• Hume Lake: It was quite warm while we were there and this was a great option to get on the water. This is a private camping area but they allow people to rent fishing boats, standup paddle boards, and canoes. I wouldn’t say the rentals are cheap, but it was fun to get on the water for a bit. Also, if you don’t to rent anything, you can post on along the shoreline (there really isn’t a beach) and hop in the water or just post up and chill (like I did).

Tips about Sequoia/Kings NP and Things We Will Do Next Time:

• My main tip is to start each day early (which is why camping in the park is helpful). The crowds really do get worse as the day goes on and you can get on more trails without lines the earlier you start.
• Check conditions. As with all national parks, the conditions are dynamic and change with weather, natural disasters and road work. Chuck has a link to conditions from the National Park website embedded in the itinerary.
• Bears! We did see a couple of bears, a lot of deer and other wildlife. We did not have bear spray on us, but if either of us were solo hiking I would recommend that. Also, if camping make sure to store all smelly things in the lockers.
• Now, we didn’t get to do all of the things on the itinerary (mostly because Saturday was too hot to hike after morning), so here is what we will do next time: Lake Trail, Watchman Tower trail, Mineral King area (not even on this itinerary but you could spend a whole weekend there), and as mentioned, backpacking in the Kings Canyon area.
• Fires: This part of California has had several years of bad fires. Generally Cal Fire does their best to keep the main park structures intact even as a fire comes through, but make sure to check to see what areas that we listed may be through a burn area now. Even from when we went in June to when I’m writing this there was the Coffee Pot fire that burned near Mineral King and Garfield Grove.