Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks In California

Sequoia Nature and Wildlife
In Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, the dynamic landscape evolves from geologic processes working over the millennia to sculpt granite, marble and other forms of rock. Here in the parks are canyons carved by rivers and glaciers, towering rugged peaks and miles of underground caverns.

Year-round and seasonal residents include the chickaree, gray squirrel, golden-mantled ground squirrel, mule deer, black bear, mountain lion, and migratory and a variety of resident birds (western tanager, violet-green swallow, white-throated swift, Wilson's warbler, olive-sided flycatcher, hermit thrush, western bluebird, and pileated woodpecker). Reptiles are not common, but the mountain kingsnake, rubber boa, western fence lizard, and alligator lizard are occasionally seen.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks History

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, Spanish began exploring the edge of the Sierras. Soon afterwards, trappers, sheepherders, miners, and loggers poured into the Sierras seeking to exploit whatever the mountains had to offer.

By the end of the 19th century, San Joaquin Valley communities increasingly looked to the Sierras for water and recreation.

In the struggle between all these competing interests, two national parks were born that became what we know today as Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park Lodging

Wuksachi Lodge (Delaware North Park Services)
In Sequoia National Park, 4 miles (6.5km) from Giant Forest; 23 miles (37km) from Sequoia Park entrance. Modern hotel rooms in several lodge buildings.

Grant Grove Cabins & John Muir Lodge (Kings Canyon Park Services) Modern rooms in the John Muir Lodge. In summer, rustic and housekeeping cabins are available, all in the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon National Park, 1/2-mile (.8km) to a sequoia grove. Visitor center, market, restaurant, gift shop, & post office nearby.

Cedar Grove Lodge (Kings Canyon Park Services)
Rooms in a lodge in the Cedar Grove Village, deep in the canyon of the Kings Canyon itself. Counter-service restaurant, market, gift shop in building.