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The Giant Forest Museum and patio area are surrounded by giant sequoias and make an ideal wedding location, but conditions vary across the seasons. The photo on the left was taken in early September, while the photo on the right was taken in early April. Photo left: NPS; Photo right: Kirke Wrench
What could be a better backdrop for your wedding day than the giant sequoias near the Giant Forest Museum or the wide foothills view from Beetle Rock? Please read through all of the information listed below to learn more about holding your wedding ceremony in these beautiful parks.
Amended Conditions for Special Use Permits in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (SEKI), in coordination with Federal, State, and Local guidelines, have amended current special use permit conditions. The following conditions apply until further notice:
Permit conditions are subject to change prior to the event as circumstances and guidance evolve. Permit holders are responsible for the following conditions that are current on the date of their event.
Permit Information
A Special Use Permit is required for any wedding, commitment ceremony, or elopement held within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
If you wish to hold a photo shoot only, with no wedding, elopement, or commitment ceremony, you may be required to obtain a photography permit. Please visit Filming and Photography Permits or contact us if you have additional questions.
The Special Use Permit fee is $150. Payment is due when you submit an application. Permit fees are not refundable, including in the event of closure due to fire, weather, or other unanticipated events. We are unable to contact permit holders individually if/when wildfires or prescribed burns occur, so please be sure to check for updates here and on the Current Conditions webpage.
Event Information
Time
The maximum time allowed for outdoor events is three hours.
Entrance Fees
All entrance fees into Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks apply for all wedding participants and guests
Privacy
A Special Use Permit does not allow exclusive use of a location or guarantee the applicant a specific site in a permitted area.
Permittees are not allowed to restrict other park visitors from an event’s location at any time.
For more privacy, it is recommended that you schedule your ceremony early or late in the day.
Seating
If your event includes the use of chairs, please include the number of chairs in the Equipment Details section of the application.
Chair requests should be kept to a minimum and must not obstruct or block public use of the area.
You are responsible for supplying, setting up, and removing chairs within the 3-hour event time period.
Parking and Vehicles
All vehicles, including motorcycles, must be parked in designated parking areas only.
Parking is limited and lots often fill up early in the day. We recommend that all wedding participants and guests carpool to an event site.
Some park roads close on busy holidays, summer weekends, and during the winter due to snow. Be sure to check the Road Conditions webpage ahead of your event.
Shuttles are available in the Giant Forest and Lodgepole areas in the summer and on special holiday dates. Please check the Park Shuttles webpage for more details and route information.
Special forms of transportation, such as horse drawn carriages and hot air balloons, are prohibited.
Cell Service
Cell service is unreliable and typically unavailable within the parks. You should ensure all participants have printed directions to an event location prior to arriving at the park.
Receptions can only be held in concessioner facilities or on private property.
Delaware North Parks & Resorts is the concessioner of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and they have facilities in both parks. Delaware North provides food service, lodging, grocery, and gift shops as well as catering services for receptions. To reserve an area for a wedding reception at a location operated by Delaware North, please visit the concessionaire's webpage to explore their options.
Wedding Locations
Descriptions and photos of potential wedding locations in the parks are available online.
Please be aware that all locations are at elevations that receive snow, typically from November through April. Some locations not accessible to vehicles when road conditions become impassible due to snow. Please check our location-specific road information and our winter driving information page before choosing a location. Before your arrival, please also visit our current park conditions page.
Sequoia National Park
Beetle Rock
Halstead Meadow
Crescent Meadow (road closes to vehicles when it becomes impassable to snow)
Long Meadow / Wolverton
Lost Grove
Kings Canyon National Park
Panoramic Point (the access road is not plowed in winter)
Muir Rock / Road's End (available only when Highway 180 to Cedar Grove is open, typically May through October)
Potential Smoke Impacts and Expectations
When choosing a wedding date and location, please note that the Fire Management Team at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks reduces hazardous fuel loads and manages for wildfire risk throughout the year by initiating prescribed burns and mechanical fuel reduction projects. We are unable to contact permit holders individually if/when wildfires or prescribed burns occur, so please be sure to check the Current Conditions webpage.
General Smoke Expectations
Below are estimated anticipated smoke impacts that may occur at each specific wedding location if a prescribed burn is taking place in the area. Please be aware that fire and smoke can be present at any time and that the times listed for each location are estimates only. Prescribed burning is dependent on weather, site conditions, fire personnel staffing, and air quality.
Giant Forest Area (Sequoia National Park)
Typically burned sometime from late May to July and/or late September to winter
Beetle Rock - Light to moderate smoke can be anticipated from any active burns
Halstead Meadow - Negligible light smoke may drift over from Giant Forest prescribed burns
Crescent Meadow - Heavy smoke can be anticipated in the morning hours
Long Meadow / Wolverton - Light to moderate drift smoke may settle
North Fork / Dorst Area (Sequoia National Park)
Typically fall / late fall burn window
Lost Grove - Light smoke in the morning, along with fire personnel and equipment in the area.
Grant Grove Area (Kings Canyon National Park)
Typically fall / late fall, but potential for early summer
Panoramic Point - Light to moderate smoke may drift across Panoramic Point in the morning hours.
Muir Rock/Roads End – Negligible light smoke may settle into canyon from Grant Grove prescribed burns
Choose a location, date, and time. Choose alternates in the event that your first choice is unavailable. Wedding permits will not be issued for heavy use periods including Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July, and Labor Day weekend.
Return it via e-mail to the address listed on the form, along with proof of the $150 non-refundable application payment (see payment instructions below). Allow 30 days for processing.
If approved, we will e-mail you a draft permit for your review and signature.
You will sign and e-mail the signed permit back to us to be finalized by the Superintendent.
The finalized permit must be issued by the NPS a minimum of 30 days prior to the event date or the application will be canceled. No changes may be made to the finalized permit.
Carry the permit with you on the day of your event. Please keep in mind that cell service is not typical at the event locations, so you should print a copy of your permit.
Scroll down to “Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP Wedding Permit Fees” and select “Continue”, then select “Continue to the Form”
Fill out the form completely and select “Continue”.
Save a screenshot of your proof of payment and include it with your application.
Special Use Permit Terms and Conditions
The Permittee must perform the work or conduct the activities authorized by this permit in accordance with the permit’s terms and conditions and in accordance with all applicable federal, state, or local law, including the regulations in 36 C.F.R. chapter I; the regulations in 43 C.F.R. part 5; and all applicable workplace-safety and public-health orders, rules, and requirements. If the Permittee fails to do so, then the Superintendent of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks may immediately suspend or revoke this permit without notice.
The Superintendent may immediately suspend or revoke this permit without notice if destruction of, loss of, or injury to any park property or resource has occurred, is occurring, or appears imminent. In accordance with the System Unit Resource Protection Act, 54 U.S.C. §§ 100721-100725, any person that destroys, causes the loss of, or injures any park system unit resource will be liable to the United States for response costs and damages resulting from the destruction, loss, or injury.
The Superintendent may revoke this permit at any time after providing 24 hours’ written notice to the Permittee setting forth the reasons for the revocation.
If this permit is revoked for any reason or upon its expiration, the Permittee must repair all damage to park property or resources in accordance with the Superintendent’s direction and must restore the Permitted Area to its original, pre-permit condition.
The Permittee must obtain all federal, state, or local permits, licenses, inspections, or other reviews or approvals legally required to perform the permitted work or conduct the permitted activities.
This permit does not grant the Permittee exclusive use of the Permitted Area. Unless the Superintendent restricts public access to or closes the Permitted Area in accordance with 36 C.F.R. § 1.5, the Permitted Area will remain open to the public to the same extent that it is open to the public during regular park visiting hours, and the permitted work or activities may not unduly interfere with the public’s use and enjoyment of the Permitted Area.
This permit may not be transferred or assigned to another party without the Superintendent’s prior written approval.
The Permittee waives all demands, claims, and causes of action against the United States and its officers, employees, agents, and representatives, and releases the United States and its officers, employees, agents, and representatives from all liability, arising out of or resulting from the permitted work or activities. The National Park Service issues this permit upon the express condition that the United States and its officers, employees, agents, and representatives will be free from all liability of any sort whatsoever arising out of or resulting from the permitted work or activities. Accordingly, the Permittee hereby agrees to indemnify, defend, and save and hold harmless the United States and its officers, employees, agents, and representatives from and against all liability of any sort whatsoever arising out of or resulting from the permitted work or activities.
If the Superintendent requires liability insurance as a condition of issuing this permit, then the Permittee must obtain general liability insurance against claims occasioned by the acts or omissions of the Permittee and its officers, employees, agents, representatives, and contractors while performing the work or conducting the activities authorized by this permit. The policy must be in the amount of $ n/a per occurrence and $ n/a aggregate; must be issued by a company licensed to do business and in good standing in California; and must name the United States of America as an additional insured. The Permittee must provide the Superintendent with a Certificate of Insurance with the proper endorsements before the permit’s effective date.
If the Superintendent requires a bond as a condition of issuing this permit, then the Permittee must deposit with the Park, before the effective date of this permit, a bond in the amount of $ n/a from a bonding company licensed to do business and in good standing in California or in the form of cash or cash equivalent, to guarantee that all financial obligations to the Park will be satisfied.
As authorized by 54 U.S.C. § 103104 or 54 U.S.C. § 100905 and in accordance with other applicable law and policy, the National Park Service will recover all costs of providing necessary services associated with this permit, including the costs of administering the permit and monitoring the permitted work or activities. The National Park Service may bill the Permittee for either actual costs or estimated costs. Payment is due at the time of billing. If the National Park Service bills the Permittee for estimated costs, and actual costs exceed the estimated amounts, then the National Park Service will bill the Permittee for the excess. If the National Park Service bills the Permittee for estimated costs, and actual costs are less than the estimated amounts, then the National Park Service will refund the difference to the Permittee after the permitted work or activities have concluded and the permit has expired or been terminated. Under no circumstances will the National Park Service be liable for interest on any refunded amount.
The Permittee designates On-site Contact Name – xxx-xxx-xxxx, as the on-site person responsible for adherence to the permit’s terms and conditions. The on-site person must have full authority to make all decisions about the permitted work or activities; must be reachable at all times; and is responsible for all persons or entities performing the permitted work or activities, including the Permittee’s contractors and subcontractors.
Nothing in this permit binds the National Park Service to expend in any one fiscal year any sum in excess of appropriations made by Congress or allocated by the National Park Service for the purpose of this permit, or to involve the National Park Service in any contract or other obligation for the further expenditure of money in excess of such appropriations or allocations.
If any provision of this permit is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this permit will not be affected and may be enforced to the full extent authorized by applicable law.
Use of the National Park Service Arrowhead Symbol is governed by 36 C.F.R. part 11. The Arrowhead Symbol is the official emblem and a registered trademark of the National Park Service. The National Park Service must authorize any use of the Arrowhead Symbol, including incidental use. Using the Arrowhead Symbol for advertising, promotional, or other commercial purposes is prohibited. Unauthorized use of the Arrowhead Symbol may subject an individual to criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. § 701.
Approval of the special use permit does not constitute and should not be construed as a Government endorsement of the permittee's views, activities, products, goods, services, or enterprise. The permittee shall not refer to special use permits awarded by the National Park Service for commercial purposes, in advertising, or in a manner which states or implies that, by issuing the special use permit, the views, activities, products, goods, services, or enterprises undertaken pursuant to this permit are approved of or endorsed by the Government.
Credit Lines recognizing the NPS issuance of this permit may be approved through additional terms and conditions.
Federal regulations prohibit any person from knowingly giving false information on an application for a permit and from knowingly giving a false report for the purpose of misleading a government employee or agent in the conduct of official duties. 36 C.F.R. §§ 2.32(a)(3) and 2.32(a)(4). Any violation of those regulations will result in this permit’s immediate revocation.
This permit may not be transferred or assigned without the prior written consent of the Superintendent.
This special use permit for use of an area of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park does not allow the event to restrict other park visitors from that location.
The Permittee is prohibited from giving false information; to do so will be considered a breach of conditions and be grounds for revocation (re: 36 CFR 2.32(4)).
Permittee will comply with applicable public health and sanitation standards and codes and will provide a copy of this permit and conditions to any hired caterers, entertainment, etc.
The variety of ecological sites located within the Park boundaries are all important components of the Park’s renowned resources as well as important habitats for a host of plants and animals. Some of these areas, such as The General Sherman Tree, The General Grant Tree and Moro Rock, attract a great deal of visitor use, which results in considerable environmental impact. To minimize such impacts and to maintain the scenic and ecological integrity of these sites, few special activities such as weddings, formal meetings or parties are permitted at these sites.
Weddings are not allowed around the bases of Sequoia trees or in meadows. Permittee may not cut or otherwise damage any vegetation.
For the purposes of this permit the Lodgepole Sub-District Ranger shall represent the National Park Service. They can be contacted through Dispatch at (559) 565-3195.
