Snow on Sequoia
| Friday, Dec 09 2011 10:51 PM
Last Updated Friday, Dec 09 2011 10:53 PM
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To minimize inconvenience, Dierkes advises these tips for visitors:
Check the parks' website nps.gov/seki for road conditions.
Call the parks for road updates at 559-565-3341.
Ask for updates at the visitor centers when entering the park.
According to Dierkes, the "news release" category under "Park News" on the website is a good, central location for information about road conditions, activities and programs in the park.
Location -- The park entrance is about a three-hour drive from Bakersfield. Drive north on Highway 99, turn east onto Highway 198. Generals Highway leads into the park.
In-park lodging -- From the southern entrance, lodging is limited to the Wuksachi Lodge. Call 559-565-4070 to make reservations. This writer paid $157 per night, plus tax, with an AAA discount, for a standard room. Upgrades are available. Several motels are located in the Three Rivers area, just outside the park.
Food -- The Wuksachi Lodge has a large dining room and varied menu. The food ranges from reasonable to high-priced. This writer also brought an ice chest filled with breakfast and lunch ingredients, and beverages. Complimentary coffee is provided in guest rooms. A limited selection of food products can be purchased in park gift shops.
Entrance fee -- $10 per person or $20 per non-commercial vehicle for a seven-day pass. An annual America the Beautiful Pass, which allows entrance to all national parks and to recreation facilities operated by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation, can be purchased for $80.
Best deal ever -- For $10, U.S. citizens and permanent residents age 62 or over can buy a lifetime America the Beautiful Senior Pass. U.S. citizens and permanent residents with permanent disabilities can obtain a free lifetime America the Beautiful Access Pass. For information about all America the Beautiful passes, go to nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm.
OVERNIGHT IN WINTER SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK
A blanket of early winter snow covered the rocks and skirted the giant redwood trees in Sequoia National Park on Thanksgiving weekend. But despite it being a four-day holiday, few people trudged along the park's trails; only the lonely sound of a steady breeze rustling tree branches filled the air; and just a few tourists stopped by the Lodgepole Visitor Center.
Maybe it's not fair to describe nearby Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks as the sometimes overlooked stepsisters to the more popular Yosemite National Park, located to the north. But year-round, the two parks receive fewer visitors, and have fewer and more subtle attractions.
However, to Sequoia and Kings Canyon fans, those are the parks' strengths, not their weaknesses. A visit to the parks, located in the Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, is a more intimate, personal encounter with nature, compared to a visit to a tourist-packed park.
And the intimacy of Sequoia and Kings Canyon is at its best in the winter.
"A visit to Sequoia or Kings Canyon in the winter is magical," said Dana Dierkes, a public affairs specialist in the park. "In many respects, you feel as if you have the parks to yourself. It is a beautiful time to visit."
The second oldest in the National Park system, Sequoia was established in 1890. Kings Canyon National Park, directly to the north, was established in 1940. Both parks are jointly administered. Highway 198, which runs through Visalia, is the southern entrance to Sequoia. Highway 180, east of Fresno, is the northern entrance to Kings Canyon. The Generals Highway, which internally links both parks, is closed by snow during the winter months.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon are home to some of the most spectacular displays of nature, including Mount Whitney, which at 14,505 feet above sea level is the highest point in the contiguous 48 United States. The parks are filled with caves and wilderness areas, popular attractions for backpackers.
But Sequoia and Kings Canyon are best known for their groves of majestic giant sequoia trees. The General Sherman tree in Sequoia is believed to be the largest tree in the world. The Giant Forest in Sequoia is connected by the Generals Highway to Kings Canyon's General Grant Grove, home to the General Grant tree and other giant sequoias.
The peak tourist season for both parks is summer, when campers and hikers fill the trails, push their way through the Tunnel Log and picnic in the many picturesque meadows. But winter also provides many unique ways to view the sequoias and enjoy the parks.
"There are many fun things to do in the winter," said Dierkes, who put playing in the snow at the top of her list. Cross-country skis and snow shoes can be rented at several locations in the park, including at the Wuksachi Lodge. And depending on weather conditions and staffing, rangers at Lodgepole conduct free snowshoe hikes around the forest. A listing of activities can be found on the parks' website www.nps.gov/seki.
But be forewarned: To visit Sequoia any time of the year -- particularly during the winter months -- requires advance planning. Perpetual road construction, which has lasted for decades, can create hours-long delays on the Generals Highway.
Construction of the main highway from the south entrance to the park began in 1921. Before that, the Old Colony Mill Road off of the North Fork Road near Three Rivers was the main route into the park. Generals Highway was originally constructed of dirt and oil. In the late 1930s, the highway was paved. By the early 1990s, with around 1.6 million people a year visiting the parks, the highway required major repair and in some locations, reconstruction.
A 1½-mile stretch of the highway, from Deer Ridge to Amphitheater Point, is being reconstructed, narrowing passage to one lane. Signal lights placed at each end of the construction zone alternate the traffic flow, resulting in routine 20-minute delays. Two-hour delays are scheduled to accommodate construction, as well.
Vehicles allowed to travel on Generals Highway must not exceed 22 feet in length. In the winter, tire chains are required.
