How To Get to Sequoia & Kings Canyon
There are no roads into Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks from the east side. Highway 180 leads to Kings Canyon National Park from Fresno, California. Highway 198 leads to Sequoia from the town of Visalia. The Generals Highway connects the two, making loop trips possible.
In Sequoia Park, the 16-mile stretch of road from Ash Mountain to Giant Forest contains 130 curves and 12 switchbacks. For this reason, there is a vehicle-length advisory for the twelve steepest miles within that stretch. From Potwisha Campground to the Giant Forest Museum, the advised maximum vehicle length is 22 feet (6.7 m). An alternative is to take Highway 180 from Fresno to Grant Grove and then proceed south on the Generals Highway.
Maximum legal length limits on the Generals Highway are 40 feet (12 m) for single vehicles or 50 feet (15 m) for vehicles plus a towed unit. If you are towing a smaller vehicle, consider camping in the foothills and using the smaller car to explore.
Cedar Grove is located in the canyon of
the South Fork of the Kings River. To reach Cedar Grove, continue
east on Highway 180 from Grant Grove. Allow 1 hour to drive the
30 miles from Grant to Cedar Grove. Highway 180 ends 7
miles east of Cedar Grove at Road's End. There are no roads
across the Sierra to Highway 395 through Sequoia and Kings Canyon
National Parks.
The road to Cedar Grove is closed from mid-to late November until mid- to late April every year..
Mineral King is accessible only by a long,
slow road which branches off of Highway 198 east of the town of
Three Rivers. This 25-mile long road contains 698 curves. Allow
2 hours to reach Mineral King from Highway 198. This road is
not recommended for trailers and RVs.
Mineral King is closed
from November 1 until Memorial Day weekend in late May every year.
Access to both parks is along steep mountain roads with sharp drop-offs on one side. For your safety, always use turn-outs to allow vehicles behind you to pass. Keep your speed down and always keep right of the center yellow lines. Downshift to prevent a burned-out transmission when going uphill and burned out brakes on the downgrade. In automatic cars, put the gear shift on 1 or 2. The engine will get louder as it works to slow you down, but it will save the brakes.
If you are planning on visiting the parks between November and May, please read the additional information about winter access to Sequoia and Kings Canyon.
