Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park - Current Advisories (U.S. National Park Service)

Crystal Cave is now closed. It is scheduled to reopen May 8, 2010.

Road construction on Generals Highway in Sequoia Park on sections between Wolverton Road and Little Baldy Summit (north of Wuksachi): Delays during fall of 2009 will vary significantly, sometimes up to an hour. Surfaces in the construction zone may be rough. For updates on the schedule of delays, check park visitor centers, news releases, or call 1-559-565-3341 then press 9-4-1.

PARK ROAD or STRETCH OF ROAD	TYPICAL SCHEDULE, ADVISORIES, & VEHICLE LENGTH
GENERALS HIGHWAY between the foothills & Lodgepole in Sequoia Park	Fall 2009 expect delays (see details above). Possible delays for plowing in winter, otherwise open year-round. Carry chains that fit your tires! Vehicle-length advisory: 22 feet (6.7m) on 12 miles between Potwisha Campground and Giant Forest in Sequoia Park. Vehicle-length limit: single vehicle 40 feet (12m); vehicle + towed unit 50 feet (15m) .
GENERALS HIGHWAY between Lodgepole (near Giant Forest in Sequoia NP) & Grant Grove (in Kings Canyon NP)	Fall 2009 expect delays (see details above). Usually open year-round, but delays possible for plowing in winter. Significant snowstorms close this section of road for days or even weeks at a time. Vehicle-length limit: single 40 feet (12m); vehicle + towed unit 50 feet (15m).
HIGHWAY 180 Fresno to Grant Grove	Open year-round. Delays possible for plowing in winter.
HIGHWAY 180 down into the Kings Canyon (between Grant Grove & Cedar Grove where it ends)	Closes at noon just after Veterans Day in November (11/12 in 2009). Closed mid-November to mid-April. Dates established by CA State Dept. of Transportation.
MINERAL KING ROAD park boundary to Mineral King Valley	Open late May through October 31. Vehicle-length warning: Very narrow, very winding road.
CRYSTAL CAVE ROAD	The road opening follows the cave tour schedule: open late May to mid-October. Vehicle-length limit: 22 feet (6.7m).
MORO ROCK & CRESCENT MEADOW ROAD	Closes with first significant snowfall. No drinking water on this road; carry water with you. Vehicle-length limit: During shuttle operation season (late May through Labor Day weekend), 22 feet (6.7m); towed units prohibited.
WOLVERTON ROAD Picnic & Snowplay Area Road to main trail & parking for Sherman Tree (off Wolverton Road)	Open year-round. Delays possible for plowing in winter. Closes with snowfall, opens with snow melt. Winter parking along the Generals Hwy.
HUME LAKE ROAD (in Sequoia National Forest between Hwy 180 & Hume Lake)	Open year-round. Note: Sequoia National Forest is not the same as Sequoia National Park. See Park, Monument, or Forest.
TENMILE ROAD (in National Forest between Quail Flat & Hume Lake)	Open spring snowmelt to winter snowfall.
BIG MEADOWS ROAD (in National Forest between Lodgepole & Grant Grove)	Open spring snowmelt to winter snowfall.

Up-to-date, day-to-day park road information: Please use our automated phone system at (559) 565-3341, extension 941, 24-hours/day.
Tire chains may be required at any time when there is snow. Usually the foothills are snow-free, but often there is snow where the sequoia trees grow.
Always use lower gears when coming downhill to keep from overheating and losing your brakes. Put the gearshift on 1, 2, or L. Your engine gets louder as it works to slow the car, but that is OK. It saves the brakes.
No gas stations lie within park boundaries; be sure to fill up on the way in. Once up in the parks, the closest gas available year-round is at Hume Lake (15 miles north Grant Grove in the national forest). From late spring into fall gas is available at Stony Creek (between Lodgepole and Grant Grove), and at Kings Canyon Lodge (on private land between Grant Grove and Cedar Grove).
Road conditions outside the parks: Contact CalTrans (California State Dept. of Transportation) 1-800-427-7623.
Cell phones: Cell phones generally don't work in the parks because of the rugged terrain. Don't count on them! Note location of pay phones or ask a ranger.

GENERALS HIGHWAY RECONSTRUCTION

Over a number of years, the Federal Highways Administration is overseeing reconstruction of this historic road. One stretch between Hospital Rock Picnic Area and the Giant Forest Museum was completed in November, 2007. Work on the next section won't begin until 2009. Until then, only occasional work will be needed, and no delays are anticipated.

Road History: In 1926, the first 16 miles of the Generals Highway opened, linking a foothills wagon road to the Giant Forest. It saw its first pavement in 1929. The 30 miles to Grant Grove opened in 1935, while the Civilian Conservation Corps of the Great Depression days were building the rock guardwalls, drains, and watering stations that add so much history and character to the earlier stretch.

What should be done when a historic road like this, a road at home within a landscape, wears out? When the numbers and sizes of modern vehicles, undreamed of by its builders, can no longer safely travel it? Engineers from the Federal Highway Administration, experts in road building, worked out a plan with the National Park Service, experts in conservation.

The basic objectives of the project are straightforward: The road will be resurfaced, with the old paving recycled into the new road base. The road will be made a more consistent width, rather than varying as it does from 18' to 24'. Archeological features will be preserved; historic structures will be preserved or rebuilt. Stone walls, not metal, will line the road cuts. Power and telephone poles will be removed and the lines placed underground.

The changes will make the road safer, but the character of the road will be maintained. Alignment and grade will stay essentially the same. The curves and scenery will remain.