Meadow Grazing-Opening and Closing Updates

Situation At the Start of the 2026 Season

Snowpack measurements in the parks show that there is approximately 47% of the average April 1 snowpack in the San Joaquin and Kings River drainages, 14% in the Kaweah River drainage, and 36% in the Kern River drainage. Snowpack data is available at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/snow/. At this time, the parks anticipate that 2026 will be categorized as a dry year for setting opening dates throughout the parks.

Some areas of the parks are currently closed to vehicles due to road damage. For current park condition information please visit the Current Conditions page.

Find details about these regulations by contacting the Wilderness Office at 559-565-3766 or via email requesting a copy of the annual Stock User's Guide, or visiting our Stock Use page and our WIlderness page.

 

Tentative 2026 Opening Dates

The following list shows the tentative dry year opening dates for all drainages. The list is arranged by drainage and travel zone.

These dates are only guidelines. Depending on actual conditions, changes in opening dates may be made as the season progresses. Changes to opening dates are also posted at www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/stockuse.htm, along with other information important to planning a stock-supported wilderness trip. Additional information about wilderness travel can be found at www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/wilderness.htm. If you are planning a trip, it is your responsibility to contact the parks' Wilderness Office for the latest condition updates by email or by calling them on the phone at 559-565-3766.

Note that the opening dates only restrict grazing. The parks permit pack trips prior to opening dates as long as all feed is packed in and stock remain tied to either an existing hitch rail or a “high line” between two trees or rocks on a flat, hard, non-vegetated site away from the trail, water, and camp.

We appreciate your cooperation in managing stock use in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Together we can continue to protect the natural diversity and beauty of the Sierra wilderness.

All dates listed below are subject to change at any time due to current conditions.

 

 

These tables only list tentative opening dates.
Always check for area-specific regulations related to stock use.

San Joaquin River Drainage

Travel Zone	Forage Numbers	Named Areas	2026 Opening Date	Notes
28	1-6	Goddard Canyon	7/1
33	1	Evolution	6/15
33	2-3, 4.1, 4.2	McCluee, Colby, Darwin	7/7
34	all	Evolution Basin	7/15

 

Kings River Drainage

Travel Zone	Forage Numbers	Named Areas	2026 Opening Date	Notes
38	2-3	Blue Canyon	7/1
39	2-8	LeConte	7/1
45	all	Upper Palisade Creek	7/1
46	1, 3-6	Upper S. Fork Kings River/Above JMT Jct	7/15
46	2	Upper S. Fork Kings River/Below JMT Jct	7/1
51	all	Simpson and Tehipite	7/1
52	1-6,9	Kennedy Canyon	7/1
53	1-6, 8	Dougherty Creek	7/15
53	7	Shorty's Meadow	8/1
54	1-5	Granite Basin	6/20
56	all	Twin Lakes	7/1
57	all	Woods Lake Basin	7/15
58	1	Castle Domes	6/30
58	2-3	Woods Creek Crossing, Baxter Creek Drift Fence	7/7
63	1	Charlotte Creek	7/1
65	3-4	Bubbs Creek	7/1
66	all	Lower Bubbs Creek	6/15
67	all	East Lake, Ouzel	7/1
68	all	Sphinx Creek	6/15
69	all	Roaring River	6/10
70	all	Cloud Canyon	6/10	.
71	all	Deadman Canyon	6/15
72	1-13.1	Sugarloaf	6/15
72	13.2-14.3, 16.1-22	Ferguson	6/15
73	1-3,5	Ball Dome Area	6/15

 

Kern River Drainage

Travel Zone	Forage Areas	Named Areas	2026 Opening Date	Notes
79	1, 3-6	Kern-Kaweah	7/1
80	2-6	Tyndall Creek	6/20
81	1-2.2, 2.4	Wright and Wallace Creeks	6/20
81	2.3	Wallace Creek Waterfall	7/1
82	all	Upper Kern Canyon (Junction Mdw to Hot Springs)	6/25
83	6-8	Lower Whitney, Sandy, Crabtree Lakes Meadows	6/20
83	4	Upper Crabtree Meadow	7/5
84	2-4, 6	Lower Rock Creek	6/20
85	4, 6-8, 10	Upper Rock Creek	7/1
86	1-5	Lower Kern Canyon (Hot Springs to Kern Ranger Station)	6/1
87	1-6, 8-10	Chagoopa Plateau and Big Arroyo	6/20
88	1-2	Little Five Lakes	7/1
88	3-5	Big Five Lakes	7/15
89	2-4, 10-13	Lost, Soda, Lower Rattlesnake, Laurel, Crytes, Coyote	6/15
89	5-9	Upper Rattlesnake (>9,000 feet, above Cow Camp)	7/1

 

Kaweah River Drainage

Travel Zone	Forage Areas	Named Areas	2026 Opening Date	Notes
74	all	Clover and Silliman Creeks	6/15
75	1	Lone Pine Creek	7/1
77	1-4, 6-7	Bearpaw Meadow, Cliff Creek, Pinto Lake	6/15
77	5	Redwood Meadow	6/1
90	1-6, 8-17, 19	Hockett	6/10
91	1-2	South Fork Kaweah River	3/1
96	all	North Fork Kaweah River	3/1