• Giant Sequoia Trees

    Sequoia & Kings Canyon

    National Parks California

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  • Changes to Some Opening/Closing Dates for Services and Facilities – Check Back for Updates

    Some of the opening/closing dates for facilities and visitor services in the parks have changed due to weather and/or other circumstances. See link for details and match to locations on the park map (under "Park Tools," bottom left, this page). More »

  • Road Conditions (Entire Park) and Road Construction Delays (if Entering/Exiting Hwy. 198)

    Expect 20-minute to 1-hour construction delays on main road through parks (Generals Hwy) until Memorial Day weekend (7 a.m.-6 p.m.). See link for schedule. Call for 24-hour road conditions info: 559-565-3341 (press 1, 1, 1). More »

  • Vehicle Length Limits Have Changed in Sequoia NP (if Entering/Exiting Hwy 198)

    Planning to see the "Big Trees" in Sequoia National Park? If you enter/exit via Hwy. 198, please pay close attention to new vehicle length advisories for your safety and the safety of others. More »

  • You May Have Trouble Calling Us. Use the "Contact Us" Link (Bottom Left) to Send an E-mail.

    We are experiencing technical problems receiving some incoming phone calls at the parks. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please keep trying to reach us or check this website for frequently-asked questions. The search box (top, right) may be helpful.

  • Prescribed Fires Planned at Ash Mountain/Sequoia National Park (Parks' South Entrance)

    Fire crews will be working on hazard fuel reduction project at Ash Mountain (south entrance) starting May 23. There are nine small burn segments near the south entrance. The fire may be visible from the road and will produce smoke for very short periods.

Volunteer

Volunteering is a great American tradition especially valued by the National Park Service. Volunteers play an important role in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. You can help the parks in a variety of areas from enhancing visitor services to sharing your specialized expertise to make the parks a better place.

“When a VIP agrees to share his talents, skills and interests with the National Park Service, he is paying us one of the highest compliments possible by offering a most valued possession – his time.”
-George B. Hartzog, Jr.

 
Courage to Change logo

Courage to Change Receives Award For Outstanding Volunteer Service
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks extend their congratulations to Courage to Change, recipients of the Pacific West Region Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service by a group. The Hartzog award was created by George and Helen Hartzog to honor volunteers’ hard work, draw attention to their vast skills and contributions, and to stimulate development of innovative projects and volunteer involvement.

Courage to Change is a private high school in Exeter, CA focused on providing gang entrenched youth with the opportunity for change. Courage to Change joined the Volunteer-In-Parks program at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in 2009. Within a single year, cadets donated more than 1,800 volunteer hours and contributed to numerous park projects. Some of the group’s accomplishments include:

  • Eliminated all of the graffiti from the Foothills area of the park using biodegradable, citrus-based solvent
  • Refurbished the Potwisha amphitheater and repaired, sanded and repainted the every picnic table in the campground
  • Placed 200 erosion-control wattles with 1000 wood stakes to repair storm damage during the restoration of Halstead Meadow.
  • Constructed 16 large propagation frames, installed shade netting and transplanted thousands of seedlings in the foothills native plant greenhouse.
  • Streamlined the logistics and traffic management at the Krebs Wilderness dedication.

Thank you, Courage to Change, for your continuing contribution to your local National Parks.

Watch a slideshow on Courage To Change (MS Powerpoint, 5.5MB)

 
Courage to Change images
Courage to Change cadets performing a variety of volunteer activities

Did You Know?

Walter Fry in NPS uniform

After spending five days with five men cutting down a single sequoia, Walter Fry counted the growth rings on the fallen giant. The answer shocked him into changing careers. In just a few days they had ended 3266 years of growth. Fry later became a park ranger and, in 1912, the parks' superintendent.