Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks by car · Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks by car
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Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks by car
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks by car
The parks are on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, and can only be entered by car from the west. The two main entrances are:
Route 180 east from Fresno. This enters the parks at Grant Grove and divides there to go either northeast to the main part of Kings Canyon or southeast to Sequoia. This is the recommended route from Northern California, and from Southern California if one intends to go directly to Kings Canyon.
Route 198 northeast from Visalia. This enters Sequoia from the south, and is the recommended route from Southern California. This route is not recommended by the park for long vehicles such as RVs. On 12 a mile stretch from Potwisha Campground to Giant Forest Museum in Sequoia Park, advised maximum is 22 feet (6.7m). Maximum length limit on the Generals Highway is 40 feet (12 m) for single vehicles, 50 feet (15 m) for vehicles plus a towed unit.
Both of these routes are winding mountain roads; driving speeds will be slower than usual and special conditions will apply in winter.
The Northern park entrance is somewhat more than an hour east of Fresno, with the park centers being another 45-60 minutes, and the total driving time from San Francisco should be close to five hours, and a little less from Los Angeles, using the Southern entrance. Those coming from the South may still prefer to enter the parks via the Northern entrance, since that route is less winding once you enter the parks . Larger vehicles such as RVs are not allowed from just inside the Southern entrance to Giant forest.
The Mineral Kings area is accessed via a separate road off Highway 198. Turn right in Three Rivers, before reaching the Ash Mountain park entrance. The road is single lane, and paved only part of the way.
Gasoline is not sold in the park, except the Grant Grove market which sells cans of emergency gas, so one should be careful to fill up at one of the towns on the way to the park or in the National Forest between Grant Grove and the rest of Kings Canyon.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
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Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.