Trip to Sequoia?

[SA mom]

I have a troop of high school Girl Scouts that want to take a trip together. They would really like see the redwood trees. We are considering driving from San Antonio, Texas to California. What do you think would be the best route for us? Should we take I-10 across to LA and then head north, turn north earlier, avoid LA? Other places to see or avoid?

They would like to see the Grand Canyon on the way home.

I'm really second guessing this trip and I'm not sure I can be so close to Disneyland and not see it. Sigh. Guess we better sell a lot of Girl Scout Cookies!

 

[bcla]

Do you mean Sequoia National Park? If that's what you mean, just a note that many vistitors think of the two national parks as Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. They have a single superintendent as well as a unified staff, along with a single website. Many refer to it as "SEKI".

Also, they don't specifically have "redwoods" if your thinking of the taller coast redwood. They have the more massive giant sequoia. My favorite Sequoia grove is Redwood Mountain Grove, which is the largest Sequoia grove anywhere. It's not developed and there are no signs pointing out individual trees by name. It's a decent hike in over unpaved trails. It's technically in Kings Canyon NP, but there's no real distinction.

On top of that, what time of year? Going through Los Angeles might technically be the fastest route, but then you run the risk of LA traffic slowing you down.

While it's great and everything, Yosemite National Park has giant sequoia groves, and their largest Sequoia grove (Mariposa Grove) should be reopened to most visitors by next year. I'd really consider a trip to Yosemite, although finding a place to stay or camp is tougher because of the popularity.

 

[SA mom]

Thanks, and yes, we are thinking of Sequoia and Kings Canyon mainly because it is slightly closer than Yosemite. And it would have to be the summer, probably June. We are planning to camp some and use hotels some.

Any advice on camp grounds. I know sometimes it is hard to a campsite in National Parks during the summer.

 

[bcla]

Thanks, and yes, we are thinking of Sequoia and Kings Canyon mainly because it is slightly closer than Yosemite. And it would have to be the summer, probably June. We are planning to camp some and use hotels some.

Any advice on camp grounds. I know sometimes it is hard to a campsite in National Parks during the summer.

If you're going that far, it isn't really that much further to Yosemite. The biggest difficulty is in lodging reservations or campground reservations. There is nothing else that compares to the difficulty of getting a campground reservation in Yosemite Valley. Entire blocks of reservations pretty much sell out within minutes of becoming available.

SEKI doesn't have anywhere near the same difficulty. The main reservable campgrounds are Lodgepole and Dorst Creek, although there are others further in like Cedar Grove. There are also campgrounds on Forest Service land. The whole area is a combination of NPS and Forest Service. There's a section where It's not that difficult to get a reservation. The biggest Forest Service campground is Princess, although Hume Lake and Stony Creek are reasonable. Here's a map, which gives a sense of where the campgrounds are.

Are you prepared for bears?

 

[SA mom]

Thanks for all the advice. Yes, I have experience camping in bear country but will need to do some "training" with the girls.

 

[bcla]

Thanks for all the advice. Yes, I have experience camping in bear country but will need to do some "training" with the girls.

Bears in this area are notorious. Food isn't allowed in cars at dark because they'll break into vehicles. This isn't a common bear behavior, but it happens at Yosemite, SEKI, and Lake Tahoe.

I didn't name all the campgrounds. There are certainly a lot more in the area.

Really though. I like SEKI. I love Yosemite. If you can manage it, Yosemite is just so incredible.

 

[SA mom]

Wow! The bears were not quite so bad as that when we were there 30 years ago. Do they have bear proof boxes to store food?

I'm working on getting a time share donated. If we can get that, it would be possible to fly and rent a car.

 

[bcla]

Wow! The bears were not quite so bad as that when we were there 30 years ago. Do they have bear proof boxes to store food?

I'm working on getting a time share donated. If we can get that, it would be possible to fly and rent a car.

Some parking lots have bear boxes, and they recommend food be store in them while going hiking. In Yosemite, quite a few trailheads have them for people going backpacking, but in SEKI they even recommend storing food there during the day rather than in a car.

Pretty much every major campground in the area has bear boxes. However, the last time I camped in the area (Stony Creek), the box looked old and had a nonstandard latch that didn't look original. I'm thinking they might have been replaced by now with something more up to date. I haven't been to SEKI in a few years, but I recall that Dorst Creek and Lodgepole were the most active in terms of bears. When I visited the area over 30 years ago, they still allowed food storage in trunks, but they recommended storing food in airtight containers like Coleman steel coolers that has a seal like a refrigerator door.

https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/bears.htm
https://fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_058857.pdf

The second link mentions the possibility that some campsites might not have bear boxes. I guess this is a possibility depending on the specific situation with bears in a particular area. The skills to break into cars are learned and tend to stay in certain areas. That's one reason why "problem bears" typically aren't relocated, since other bears might learn from watching.

If you're thinking of flying in, Fresno is probably the closest, but there aren't a whole lot of choices for flights.

Have fun wherever you decide to visit. I love the Sierra Nevada. If the area itself is the sole concern, I think Yosemite is a place so special that I'd recommend it over any other destination in the Sierra Nevada. However, I understand practical concerns such as finding a place to stay and dealing with crowds.

Since this is a Girl Scout group, are you thinking of backpacking at all? That requires a whole different type of planning, especially if you have a large group.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I recommend camping in Sequoia National Park rather than Sequoia National Forest. You can make reservations ahead of time, and the accommodations are better to me. bcla and I have a lot of experience in Sequoia (as you can see by his answers )

by the way @bcla, I checked out that Big Stump Trail (I think you were the one that recommended it) last August when I was there.

 

[SA mom]

Backpacking is not in the cards for this group. I have two that really don't want to camp. Sigh, they're my own daughters! Plus, to fall under GS rules, someone would have to do some level 2 first aid training and I've done all the training I'm gonna do before these girls become adults.

I have another girl not real keen on the whole road trip idea. She has some very valid concerns about testing their friendships in this way. Plus, not sure the co-leader can take that much time off work.

I'm going to start looking into getting some monetary donations to maybe match fundraising. Then we could fly into California and have more options.

What do you think would be the best airport to fly into?

Again, I really appreciate the advice from both of you. I'm not really finding this sort of information online in articles.

 

[bcla]

I recommend camping in Sequoia National Park rather than Sequoia National Forest. You can make reservations ahead of time, and the accommodations are better to me. bcla and I have a lot of experience in Sequoia (as you can see by his answers )

by the way @bcla, I checked out that Big Stump Trail (I think you were the one that recommended it) last August when I was there.

Wasn't me. Mine would be the Redwood Saddle loop at a Redwood Mountain Grove. As for camping, I stayed at Stony Creek and found it to be comparable to any other hosted NPS campground. The conditions, bathrooms, and sites were about the same. It was reservable via Recreation.gov. The location of Princess probably isn't the greatest, but Stony Creek has a location that's really close.

What do you think would be the best airport to fly into?

Fresno. I picked some random dates in late May to early June, and round trip is actually cheaper SAT-FAT than SAT-LAX. Most of the flights to Fresno go through LAX. Don't know about car rentals though. A nonstop to LAX is about 2.5 hours. Different one-stop flights SAT-FAT might take at least 6 hours with connection and flight time.

Other than that, maybe Oakland or LAX.

Are the adults comfortable with driving these roads? It's a lot of narrow winding roads with some with sharp drop offs.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I agree about Fresno airport. A couple of years ago, I camped at Lodgepole with one of my friends, dropped her off at Fresno airport, then continued on to Yosemite for part 2 camping.

@SA mom, you might want to try going to Sequoia for a few days, then to Yosemite. The reason why I like Lodgepole so much is because there is a stream running right through it, and I love water nearby, and there are showers, a small grocery store, and deli (though I never use the deli), plus a visitors center, and the shuttle stops there. Even though I like camping, I like having those conveniences nearby. There are also a couple of trailheads from the campground, one being pretty easy at 1.7 miles to a small waterfall (one of my favorite trails).

If you can also make it over to Yosemite (3-hour drive from Sequoia) then I recommend Housekeeping Camp, IF you can get it. I call it pseudo camping, but it's a nice option when staying in the valley. You might consider part of the group driving (so you can take the gear), and part flying that can't take the road trip.

Things to research for Sequoia trip - Hume Lake (kayak, canoe rentals available - $20/hour, and a nearby beach called Sandy Cove), Crescent Meadow, Moro Rock, General Sherman Tree (largest living tree), Crystal Cave (fee to enter), Grants Grove, Tokopah Falls trail.

It looks like taking the 10 west and skirting the northern part of Los Angeles is the most direct route to take, and then going through the Grand Canyon on the way home. It'll be quite the adventure.

 

[SA mom]

Lots to think about, y'all! I think flying will be our better option considering time. We won't be able to travel until 2018 so that leaves us two more cookie seasons to raise the money. I checked room rates and they weren't as bad as I expected and there are actually GS programs we can book at Yosemite that include room and board.

 

[bcla]

I mentioned the Redwood Mountain Grove. The trails there are unpaved, and it's legal to go off trail and even touch the trees. Around the more developed areas like Grant Grove or most of Giant Forest near the parking lot, you're required to stay on the pavement. It's a more involved hike, but one could easily just go in for a mile or two and head back.

The way to Roads End is pretty interesting. There are some interesting areas on Forest Service land, including Boyden Cavern. Roaring River Falls and Kings Canyon itself are on NPS land.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyden_Cave

One thing to think about is where to get fuel. There's no public gas station of any of the NPS land. When a was there in the early 80s there were, but they were removed or only available for official vehicles. The only gas stations inside the entrance stations are at Stony Creek and Hume Lake (part of the Hume Lake Christian Camp). I don't think the Kings Canyon Lodge gas pumps are still operating. The lodge (surrounded by a Forest Service land) burned down after a big fire. The pumps (they were antiques) survived but it made no sense to operate it without being attached to the lodge.

 

[SA mom]

One thing to think about is where to get fuel. There's no public gas station of any of the NPS land. When a was there in the early 80s there were, but they were removed or only available for official vehicles. The only gas stations inside the entrance stations are at Stony Creek and Hume Lake (part of the Hume Lake Christian Camp). I don't think the Kings Canyon Lodge gas pumps are still operating. The lodge (surrounded by a Forest Service land) burned down after a big fire. The pumps (they were antiques) survived but it made no sense to operate it without being attached to the lodge.

Excellent information! Not something I would have thought about. We go to Big Bend and they only have 2 stations inside the park.

 

[kailuagirl]

My family went to Sequoia last month after our Disneyland trip and had an amazing time!! I'm not sure about the entrance to SEKI via Fresno, but the one by Three Rivers is very long. It is close to the parks entrance, but from the entrance to the actual Sequoias was pretty far. We were glad we were staying inside the park, wouldn't want to do that drive everyday of my visit. We spent 2 nights, 3 days and got to see everything we wanted and did a bunch of the shorter hikes. The food options were terrible and very limited. I wish we would have known and would have taken more than just snacks and water.

There were bear boxes everywhere. Even the trash cans were bear proof. We saw one bear on our way out. We were so excited as it was our first time seeing one.

Happy planning. Sounds like a great trip.

 

[SA mom]

Great info, thank you. We've been crunching the numbers and it is cheaper to fly in and rent a car. We have two girls with no interest in camping but are willing to camp if they can go to Disneyland for a day or two. It will be interesting negotiations.

 

[bcla]

My family went to Sequoia last month after our Disneyland trip and had an amazing time!! I'm not sure about the entrance to SEKI via Fresno, but the one by Three Rivers is very long. It is close to the parks entrance, but from the entrance to the actual Sequoias was pretty far. We were glad we were staying inside the park, wouldn't want to do that drive everyday of my visit. We spent 2 nights, 3 days and got to see everything we wanted and did a bunch of the shorter hikes. The food options were terrible and very limited. I wish we would have known and would have taken more than just snacks and water.

There were bear boxes everywhere. Even the trash cans were bear proof. We saw one bear on our way out. We were so excited as it was our first time seeing one.

Happy planning. Sounds like a great trip.

My last time I spent four nights. We ate inside a few times, but actually went to Visalia one night and Fresno the next for dinner. Most of the food inside was greasy spoon snack bar style, but Wuksachi Lodge was pretty good (pricey though).