HIKE Sequoia & Kings Canyon<\/a> collects my favorite day hikes in what the National Park Service considers to be the five major regions of the parks: Giant Forest, Mineral King and the Foothills areas of Sequoia National Park plus the Grant Grove and Cedar Grove areas of Kings Canyon National Park.<\/p>\nThe groves are great, but it\u2019s possible to take many hikes in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks without sighting a single sequoia. Hillsides with chaparral and dotted with oaks aren\u2019t exactly rare in California but the California Foothills ecosystem in the lower elevations around Ash Mountain in Sequoia National Park is the only one in the nation under National Park Service protection. Some foothill trails, including footpaths along forks of the Kaweah River, can be hiked all year around.<\/p>\n
Mineral King, a gorgeous, avalanche-scoured valley ringed by rugged 12,000-foot peaks, is another area irresistible to hikers. Views from atop the Great Western Divide and the many lakes hidden in glacial cirques compel hikers to return summer after summer.<\/p>\n
The hiking season for much of Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks is a fairly short one. Middle elevations\u20145,000 to 9,000 feet\u2014are often snow-covered from November through May. In Mineral King, and higher in the High Sierra, the season can be even shorter.<\/p>\n
If you have only one day (promise yourself to return soon when you have more time!), drive from Grant Grove to Giant Forest or vice-versa and hike amidst the magnificent sequoia in each locale.
\nIdeally, the hiker needs at least three days to get a fair sampling of Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks. Take in the sequoia groves on the first day, on the second day, head for the high country (Lakes Trail is a good choice) and on the third day, take a hike in Mineral King.<\/p>\n
More than one million visitors per year pass through the parks, and major trails are well-traveled during the summer, but I\u2019ve rarely felt overwhelmed by humanity when hiking in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. Many hikers have told me they have found quiet and tranquility on the trail to the park\u2019s natural treasures\u2014provided, of course, you avoid tourist-trafficked hot spots such as Moro Rock and General Sherman Tree.<\/p>\n
When I hit the trail in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, I feel as if I\u2019m living large and hiking larger: the trees are huge, the mountains high, the canyons deep and the trail system is quite extensive\u2014a well-maintained network of more than 800 miles. The parks offer hundreds of thousands of acres of untouched Sierra high country, of which more than 90 percent is designated wilderness. If you\u2019re a hiker, that\u2019s a dream come true.<\/p>\n
Hike smart, reconnect with nature and have a wonderful time on the trail.<\/p>\n
Hike on.<\/p>\n
\u2014John McKinney<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Come for the sequoia, stay for the Sierra. And take a hike in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. If you only drive through you\u2019ll…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2961,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,98],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2977"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}