Meadow Opening Dates

Each year, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks establish opening dates for grazing in their wilderness meadows. This allows the parks to protect biological and scenic resources from the impacts that can occur when pack stock graze meadows before soil has dried and plants have developed.

Meadows are most susceptible to pack stock impacts when ground moisture levels are high. Therefore, the parks rely on the amount of winter precipitation (measured in the form of mountain snowpack) as a guide when establishing opening dates. To determine snowpack, the parks and other cooperators of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program collect data along a series of snow courses and snow gage sensors.

The parks use the amount of moisture in the snowpack to categorize the year as one of the following:

• Dry 50% or less of the average April 1 snowpack
• Normal 51% to 150% of the average April 1 snowpack
• Wet 151% or more of the average April 1 snowpack

The parks issue two bulletins based on the April 1 and May 1 snowpack measurements in order to allow commercial outfitters, recreational users, and park operations to plan trips in advance. The bulletins update current conditions and anticipated opening dates. They will be posted on this page as they are available in the Current Situation section below.

All bulletins are advisory only. The actual opening dates of specific meadows will be determined in the field.

If you are planning a trip on or near the opening date for a particular area it is your responsibility to contact our Wilderness Office at 559-565-3766 or [e-mail] for the latest update on conditions. More information on planning a wilderness trip using stock can be found on our Wilderness Stock Use webpage.

Current Situation

Snowpack measurements in the parks as of April 5 show that there is approximately 47% of the average snowpack in the San Joaquin and Kings River Drainages, 34% in the Kaweah River Drainage, and 36% in the Kern River Drainage. Snowpack data are available through the California Department of Water Resources.

At this time, the parks are anticipating that opening dates in 2021 will be categorized as a dry year in all drainages. For current park condition information, including COVID-19 safety guidance, please visit our Current Conditions page.

At this time, the we anticipate posting an update in early May.

2021 Opening Dates

This table shows the opening dates in dry years in 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. If you are planning a trip, it is your responsibility to contact the parks' Wilderness Office for latest condition updates. The office can be reached at [e-mail] or at 559- 565-3766. Changes in 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. Check our overnight backpacking web pages for additional information about wilderness travel.

Note that the opening dates only restrict grazing. We 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 meadow, 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.

River Drainage	Travel Zone	Forage Areas	Name of Travel Zone	Anticipated Meadow Opening Date
San Joaquin	28	all	Goddard Canyon	7/1
San Joaquin	33	1	Evolution	6/15
San Joaquin	33	2-4	McClure, Colby and Darwin	7/7
San Joaquin	34	all	Evolution Basin	7/15
Kings	38	all	Blue Canyon	7/1
Kings	39	all	LeConte	7/1
Kings	42	all	Dusy Creek	7/1
Kings	45	all	Upper Palisade Creek	7/1
Kings	46	1, 3-6	Upper S.Fork Kings River/Above JMT Jxn.	7/15
Kings	46	2	Upper S.Fork Kings River/Below JMT Jxn.	7/1
Kings	51	all	Simpson and Tehipite	7/1
Kings	52	all	Kennedy Canyon	7/1
Kings	53	1-6, 8	Dougherty Creek	7/15
Kings	53	7	Shorty's Meadow	8/1
Kings	54	all	Granite Basin	6/20
Kings	56	all	Twin Lakes	7/1
Kings	57	all	Woods Lake Basin	7/15
Kings	58	1	Castle Domes	7/1
Kings	58	2-3	Woods Creek Crossing	7/7
Kings	63	all	Charlotte Creek	7/1
Kings	65	all	Upper Bubbs Creek	7/1
Kings	66	all	Lower Bubbs Creek	6/15
Kings	67	all	East Lake	7/1
Kings	68	all	Sphinx Creek	6/15
Kings	69	all	Roaring River	6/10
Kings	70	all	Cloud Canyon	6/10
Kings	71	all	Deadman Canyon	6/15
Kings	72	1-13.1	Sugarloaf	6/15
Kings	72	13.2-22	Ferguson	6/15
Kings	73	all	Ball Dome Area	6/15
Kaweah	74	all	Clover and Silliman Creeks	6/15
Kaweah	75	all	Lone Pine Creek	7/1
Kaweah	77	1-4, 6-7	Bearpaw Meadow, Cliff Creek, Pinto Lake	6/15
Kaweah	77	5	Redwood Meadow	6/1
Kern	79	all	Kern-Kaweah	7/1
Kern	80	all	Tyndall Creek	6/20
Kern	81	1-2.2, 2.4	Wright and Wallace Creeks	6/20
Kern	81	2.3	Wallace Creek Waterfall	7/1
Kern	82	all	Upper Kern Canyon (Junction Mdw to Hot Springs)	6/25
Kern	83	1-3, 7-8	Lower Crabtree	6/20
Kern	83	4, 6	Upper Crabtree	7/5
Kern	84	all	Lower Rock Creek	6/20
Kern	85	3-4, 6-7, 10	Upper Rock Creek	7/1
Kern	85	8.1, 8.2	Rock Creek Lake and Stringer Meadows	7/5
Kern	86	all	Lower Kern Canyon (Hot Springs to Kern Ranger Station)	6/1
Kern	87	all	Chagoopa Plateau and Big Arroyo	6/20
Kern	88	1-2	Little Five Lakes	7/1
Kern	88	3-5	Big Five Lakes	7/15
Kern	89	1-4, 10-13	Lost, Soda, Lower Rattlesnake, Laurel, Crytes, Coyote	6/15
Kern	89	5-9	Upper Rattlesnake (>9,000 feet)	7/1
Kaweah	90	all	Hockett	6/10
Kaweah	91	all	South Fork Kaweah River	3/1
Kaweah	96	all	North Fork Kaweah River	3/1