Weekend getaway · California

Sequoia & Kings Canyon weekend

Sequoia & Kings Canyon Weekend

A two-night summer weekend in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks from Los Angeles, with notes for Bay Area drivers. Drive up on Friday afternoon to Three Rivers. Saturday is the giant sequoia day: Giant Forest, Moro Rock, Crescent Meadow, the General Sherman Tree and the Congress Trail, then the Generals Highway north to Grant Grove for the night and a sunset at Panoramic Point. Sunday starts at the General Grant Tree, drops into Kings Canyon on the scenic byway to Zumwalt Meadow and Roads End, and heads home through Fresno.

Time
2-night weekend
Driving
About 13–14 hours of driving in all: roughly 4 hours up from Los Angeles, about 2 hours inside the parks on Saturday, and a long Sunday out through Kings Canyon and Fresno
Best time
Late May to mid-October
Updated
$5 USD

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A paved trail running through a grove of giant sequoias, their huge cinnamon-red trunks lit by low sun among green firs, with two hikers small in the distance
Fabio Achilli · CC BY 2.0. August 2016 photograph on the Congress Trail; resized and displayed with crop.
Suggested times, not bookings

Your weekend at a glance

  • Fri 12:30 pmLeave Los Angeles
  • Fri 4:45 pmThree Rivers, on the Kaweah River
  • Fri 6:15 pmDinner in Three Rivers
  • Sat 7:00 amAsh Mountain entrance and the Generals Highway
  • Sat 8:15 amGiant Forest Museum and the Big Trees Trail
  • Sat 9:45 amMoro Rock
  • Sat 11:00 amTunnel Log and Crescent Meadow
  • Sat 12:15 pmLunch at Lodgepole
  • Sat 1:30 pmGeneral Sherman Tree
  • Sat 2:15 pmThe Congress Trail
  • Sat 4:00 pmGenerals Highway to Grant Grove
  • Sat 6:00 pmDinner in Grant Grove Village
  • Sat 7:15 pmPanoramic Point
  • Sun 7:30 amGeneral Grant Tree
  • Sun 8:30 amKings Canyon Scenic Byway and Junction View
  • Sun 10:00 amZumwalt Meadow
  • Sun 11:15 amRoads End, then lunch at Cedar Grove
  • Sun 12:30 pmOut through Fresno
Highlights

Worth the trip

  • The General Sherman and General Grant trees, a day apart
  • Over 350 steps up Moro Rock above the Great Western Divide
  • Kings Canyon's granite walls at Zumwalt Meadow and Roads End

What’s in the guide

Matching HTML and PDF guides, detailed stop guidance, rules, practical pitfalls, a route map, Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps links, weather alternatives and phone instructions. See an example guide →

Plan for the conditions

Expected seasonal weather

The weekend spans big elevation changes. Three Rivers and the lower Generals Highway are in hot, dry foothills, often very hot in midsummer. Giant Forest and Grant Grove, at roughly 6,000–7,000 feet, are much milder by day and cool to chilly at night, and Kings Canyon's floor is warm and sunny. Afternoon thunderstorms can build over the high country in summer. Late summer and fall can bring wildfire smoke, and the NPS notes summer ozone often exceeds federal health standards. By October, cold rain and the first snow are possible at the groves. These are seasonal expectations, not a forecast for your travel dates; check the NWS Hanford forecast before you go and each morning.

Admission and parking are separate. Check current conditions before departure.

A good day, in the bag.

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