03-07-2023 ALERTS IN EFFECT (NPS): Generals Highway Closed at Hospital Rock -- Due to snowy conditions, the Generals Highway is open for six miles from the entrance of Sequoia National Park to Hospital Rock. Highway 180 in Grant Grove is open. All vehicles must carry tire chains. Call (559) 565-3341 (press 1, then 1). Azalea Campground Closed Due to Snow Accumulation -- Due to snow from recent winter storms, there's currently no access to Azalea Campground. Road crews are working to clear roads. Azalea Campground will be re-opened when conditions allow. Heavy Rainfall Predicted March 9 Through March 12 -- Heavy rainfall and rapid snow melt with potential for severe flooding is forecasted for Thursday, March 9 through Saturday, March 12. Consider visiting another time. If visiting, please avoid rivers and streams and keep to higher ground.
While Sequoia National Park is known for its gargantuan trees, it's also the site of a thriving population of glowing millipedes that exist nowhere else in the world.
Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California, in the United States. It was established on September 25, 1890. The park spans 404,063 acres (631.35 sq mi; 1,635.18 km2).
Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly 13,000 feet (4,000 m), the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the contiguous 48 United States, Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4,421 m) above sea level. The park is south of and contiguous with Kings Canyon National Park; the two are administered by the National Park Service together.
The 16 steep, narrow road miles from Ash Mountain to Giant Forest include 130 curves and 12 switchbacks. A vehicle-length advisory of 22 feet (6.7 m) is suggested for the 12 steepest miles within that stretch.
Giant Forest, one of the largest sequoia groves, was saved from logging by the establishment of Sequoia National Park in 1890. However, national park status did not fully protect the big trees. The road that brought visitors to Giant Forest also brought camping, cabins, commercial development, and congestion. The impacts of this development, both to the giant sequoia ecosystem and to the quality of visitor experience, conflicted with the National Park Service mandate to conserve park resources and values and leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of present and future generations.
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