One of places to see in a lifetime is Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Parks, a year-round favorite for people in this country and around the world. It began as most places in America with a Native American population that included two tribes who actually lived in the area of the parks, the Monache and Yokuts, both separated by language and history.
The Yokuts spoke a Penutian language, like many other tribes of interior California, while the Monache language is similar to the Shoshone or Paiute from the Great Basin east of the Sierra. These days both parks protect nearly half the remaining sequoia groves in the world. It’s the land of giants with nature on displaying her finest in large mountains, foothills, canyons, and some of the world’s largest trees.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks consist of five regions: Foothills, Mineral King, Giant Forest and Lodgepole, Grant Grove and Cedar Grove. The unique distinction about these areas is that each has its own climate and features. The Mineral King and Cedar Grove regions are summer destinations only while Grant Grove, Giant Forest and Lodgepole are great for visits in the summer and winter.
Located next to one another in the southern Sierra Nevada’s east of the San Joaquin Valley, it is a great spot for visitors, but what you decide to do there will depend on the season you’re visiting. For example, in the summer from July to September, the snow has melted from the higher Sierra passes and most of the facilities are open, including a number of the ranger programs. The foothills are hot and dry and the sequoia groves offer comfortable temperatures.
Fall is a another good time to visit from mid-September to November, but the Sequoia groves get a bit cold at night with some light snow falling beginning in late October. The foothills also cool down and in November the rains begin just as the winter season is about to start from November to April. Crystal Cave closes in late October, and the facilities around the park also close or reduce hours getting ready for the winter season when just about everything closes.
Winter does offer a beautiful time to visit when the Sequoia groves are snowy, peaceful, and cold, but in January, the foothills are green and come to life with wildflowers. During the winter, the rangers offer free snowshoe walks.
In the spring from April to June, you will still find snow in the Sequoia groves and the rivers and creeks are particularly cold and dangerous. However, spring also means warmer weather and the wildflowers are everywhere with the foothills looking like a beautiful photograph of color and light.
The parks are both open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year unless the weather is just too bad to permit. The busiest times of the year are July and August, which means that the campsites are more in demand, but the parks also offer three great lodges. All are worth a stay and located right in the parks, Wuksachi Lodge in the Giant Forest area of Sequoia National Park, The John Muir Lodge in the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon National Park, and Cedar Grove Lodge Kings Canyon.
Regardless of whether you camp or stay in one of the lodges, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park are very unique places that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.