Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Mike White

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СКАЧАТЬ is sheltered in a narrow ravine, well-watered by a tributary of Dorst Creek, which produces conditions compatible for growth of the Big Trees. Containing nearly 200 specimens in 50 acres, the upper part of Lost Grove on the north side of the highway has a short nature trail. A longer trail on the south side heads south and then east to Dorst Campground (see Trip 50). This grove is certainly not “lost” nowadays, but the origin of its name remains unclear.

       31.9 miles

      Sequoia National Park boundary: A historic sign marks your departure from national parklands at the entrance to Giant Sequoia National Monument. Formerly, these lands were simply part of Sequoia National Forest until President Bill Clinton designated the monument in 2000. While the National Park Service is responsible for the parks, the US Forest Service retains oversight of the monument, which includes 33 giant sequoia groves on the west flank of the Sierra.

       34 miles

      Stony Creek Campgrounds and Day Use Area: Two Forest Service campgrounds, three group campgrounds farther up the highway, and a picnic area provide recreational opportunities near Stony Creek, a tributary of North Fork Kaweah River. The upper campground also has a small parking area at the trailhead for the Stony Creek Trail (see Trip 52).

       34.4 miles

      Stony Creek Village: On the left side of the highway is a seasonally open lodge with motel-style accommodations, a general store, restaurant, showers, and gas station.

       38.2 miles

      Montecito Sequoia Lodge: Also on the left side of the highway, Montecito Sequoia is an all-season, all-inclusive resort near a private lake. Lodging is available in hotel-style rooms, suites, or cabins.

       38.7 miles

      Big Meadow Road Junction: The Big Meadow Road provides access to Horse Camp, Buck Rock, and Big Meadows Campgrounds and Buck Rock Lookout, as well as trailheads for trips into Jennie Lake Wilderness (see Trips 53–56).

       39.3 miles

      Big Baldy Saddle: The highest point on the Generals Highway is reached at Big Baldy Saddle (approximately 7,600 feet), which also coincides with the Kings Canyon National Park’s east boundary. For the next few miles, the highway follows the boundary between the park on the left and national forest land to the right. A broad shoulder at the saddle provides parking for the Big Baldy Trail, which travels 2-plus-miles to the top of a granite dome with a fine 360-degree view (see Trip 57).

       41.3 miles

      Buena Vista Trailhead: A small parking area on the left-hand side of the highway provides limited parking for the 1-mile hike to the top of Buena Vista Peak and a view of the Redwood Mountain area (see Trip 58).

       41.4 miles

      Kings Canyon Overlook: On the right-hand side of the Generals Highway is a parking for an overlook of the deep clefts of the South Fork and Middle Fork Kings River canyons, some of the deepest canyons in North America. Interpretive signs help to identify the distant snow-clad peaks rising above these deep holes, which provide the headwaters for these two forks of the Kings River. Closer at hand to the northeast is Buck Rock Lookout.

       42.4 miles

      Quail Flat Junction: The major junction at Quail Flat provides access to a variety of destinations. The narrow, dirt road on the left leads 1.7 miles to Redwood Saddle, where trails access Redwood Mountain Grove, the largest giant sequoia grove on the planet, where thousands of giant sequoias thrive in the drainages and hillsides of aptly named Redwood Mountain (see Trips 59–60).

      Paved Tenmile Road to the right leads to Tenmile and Landslide Campgrounds, and Logger Flat and Aspen Hollow Group Campgrounds, on the way to Hume Lake. The lake offers swimming at Sandy Cove, picnicking at Powder Can, and camping at Hume Lake Campground. Hume Lake Christian Camps above the southwest shore has a general store with gas pumps, a snack shop, gift shop, and boat rentals available to the general public.

      From Quail Flat, FS Road 14S02 leads to remote giant sequoia groves, including the Kennedy Meadows Trailhead and Evans Grove (see Trip 56).

       43.1 miles

      Redwood Canyon Overlook: A pullout on the left-hand side of the highway offers a wide-ranging view of the Redwood Mountain Grove. Careful observation soon reveals the characteristically round crown of giant sequoias, which differs from the tops of its usual associates—white firs, incense cedars, and sugar pines. More than 15,000 specimens of giant sequoia larger than one foot in diameter, along with tens of thousand younger sequoias, call the grove home.

       43.4 miles

      Kings Canyon National Park boundary: At 0.3 mile from the overlook, the Generals Highway forsakes the national forest land present on the right-hand side for the last few miles and now travels wholly within Kings Canyon National Park.

       46.1 miles

      Y-junction with Kings Canyon Highway: Although the Generals Highway technically continues another 2.8 miles to the General Grant Tree, for our purposes the road log for the Generals Highway ends at the Y-junction with Kings Canyon Highway. A left turn at the junction will lead shortly out of the park beyond the Big Stump Entrance and toward Fresno. A right turn will continue through Grant Grove and ultimately into Kings Canyon proper.

      Kings Canyon Highway Road Log

      Kings Canyon Highway provides the lone vehicular access into its namesake canyon, dead-ending at aptly named Roads End. State Highway 198 proceeds eastbound from Fresno across the broad plain of the San Joaquin Valley before climbing through the foothills zone and into the mid-elevation forests to the Big Stump Entrance into Kings Canyon National Park. The 40-mile journey from the Big Stump Entrance to Roads End requires a minimum СКАЧАТЬ