Visiting Kings Canyon and Sequoia from LA area

[Keyser]

It turns out we have one more day than originally planned for our LA/San Diego trip in August. This got me to wondering whether it would be possible to somehow fit a trip to Kings Canyon/Sequoia into our plan.

If we were starting somewhere in the northern LA area (maybe Burbank or North), is it really about 3.5 hours each way to the park? (That's what Google Maps says, but it's not always reliable.) I know that driving in the park itself will be slow, but if we know the time to/from, I could at least figure out whether it's worth the trip. Is it feasible to, e.g. leave around 8:00 a.m., get to the park around noon, spend 3-4 hours in the park, and then return by evening?

The main thing would be to see some of the giant sequoias (I've seen them; my family hasn't), the General Sherman tree, maybe one or two other particular sites, and maybe some other parts of the scenery that are quite different from what we can see elsewhere. I know we would be missing a lot of what a national park has to offer, but I think we'd be willing to give up a day to see these trees.

Also, my memory of the sequoias (and redwoods, which aren't near there) is from >20 years ago as part of a family trip where lots of different stops in California have blended together. I know that King's Canyon is not Yosemite, but am I remembering correctly that it's still a good park for natural scenery that you wouldn't get somewhere closer to LA?

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I live near LAX, and it is a 5-hour drive for me to get to the Giant Forest at Sequoia National Park. So, I would shave off 45 minutes maybe from that for your trip up there. If you leave around 8am plan on city traffic on your way out of Los Angeles, and there will be traffic on Hwy 99 up north.

You could visit the General Sherman, Crescent Meadown, and Moro Rock, if you care to climb to the top. There is also the tunnel log in that area.

If you don't mind driving, then plan on 10 hours round-trip (just in case).

 

[dshimel]

I have done the drive a couple times. It can take 4 hours just to get out of L.A. and over the grape vine (I5 near Gorman) if you were to try to leave Burbank at 8AM (maybe a slight exaggeration.)

If.... you could make it just 20 miles further north start at, say Santa Clarita, it could shave as much as an hour off the trip, starting at 8AM.

Google maps say 3:20 from there to the entrance to the park, but the entrance to the park is the foothills.... it is a long, fairly slow drive from there to the Giant Forest. Probably another hour or so.

So, maybe noon-ish arrival. It might be close, but I bet you could do it.

General Sherman, Crystal Cave, and maybe even a 4 mile round trip up to Tokopah Falls.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

General Sherman, Crystal Cave, and maybe even a 4 mile round trip up to Tokopah Falls.

Tokopah Falls is even less than 4 miles roundtrip. I really like that hike, more so for the scenery along the trail, and how it changes, more than the ultimate view of the falls once you get there.

We're camping at Lodgepole at the beginning of July. We usually in August, so it will be a nice treat to be there when there is more water in the park.

 

[dshimel]

Tokopah Falls is even less than 4 miles roundtrip. I really like that hike, more so for the scenery along the trail, and how it changes, more than the ultimate view of the falls once you get there.

We're camping at Lodgepole at the beginning of July. We usually in August, so it will be a nice treat to be there when there is more water in the park.

Yeah, it is closer to 3.4 round trip, but I was giving it some extra to walk around the falls a but and maybe even that campground some.

The hike is lovely. The trees, the streams, the meadows, springs, sheer granite cliffs...

I posted a bunch of pics in another thread yesterday.

 

[Keyser]

I have done the drive a couple times. It can take 4 hours just to get out of L.A. and over the grape vine (I5 near Gorman) if you were to try to leave Burbank at 8AM (maybe a slight exaggeration.)

If.... you could make it just 20 miles further north start at, say Santa Clarita, it could shave as much as an hour off the trip, starting at 8AM.

Google maps say 3:20 from there to the entrance to the park, but the entrance to the park is the foothills.... it is a long, fairly slow drive from there to the Giant Forest. Probably another hour or so.

So, maybe noon-ish arrival. It might be close, but I bet you could do it.

General Sherman, Crystal Cave, and maybe even a 4 mile round trip up to Tokopah Falls.

Thanks for all the feedback from both of you! We could probably stay a little bit farther North. We will basically be looking for a hotel that would work for:
- Trip up to King's Canyon/Sequoia (if not, we would probably go to Universal Studios)
- Day making a driving loop to Reagan library in Simi Valley, 23 down to Malibu, PCH to Santa Monica, and maybe a stop by the Getty Museum
- Visit to Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Cirque du Soliel show
- Somehow going by the Griffith observatory and the La Brea tarpits, if we can fit them in
Burbank area seemed like it might work for that, but maybe something else would be better (Mission Hills?). Would Santa Clarita be too far out of the way for some of that?

For the rest of the trip, we'll probably stay in a hotel near Disneyland, and one in San Diego, and we fly in/out of Long Beach, so we need to figure in the drive to/from those places, also.

Thanks for the suggestions on what to do in the park. A 3+ mile hike is probably too much for our 4 year old, but hopefully there would be some interesting things to see either from the car or within a shorter hike from a parking spot.