Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks Accessibility Guide
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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR SEQUOIA & KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks Accessibility Guide Kirke Wrench Alison Taggart-Barone Kirke Wrench Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Accessibility Guide Table of Contents Welcome ...........................................................................................4 Where to Find Information .............................................................4 Contact Information ........................................................................5 Obtaining an Access Pass ................................................................7 Service Animals ................................................................................7 For People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing ..............................8 For People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired ............................9 For People with Limited Mobility .................................................10 The Foothills Area of Sequoia National Park ...............................15 The Giant Forest & Lodgepole Areas—Sequoia National Park ...20 The Grant Grove Area of Kings Canyon National Park ...............28 The Cedar Grove Area of Kings Canyon National Park ...............33 The Mineral King Area of Sequoia National Park ........................37 Welcome Welcome to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks! This guide highlights accessible services, facilities, and activities. In the first section, you will find general accessibility information to help plan your visit. The rest of the guide is organized by park area and includes descriptions of local accessible sites and services. We are dedicated to a continuing effort to improve the accessibility of trails, facilities, and services so they can be enjoyed by all. If you have questions or suggestions, please email us at SEKI_Information@nps. gov or call us at (559) 565-3341. Where to Find PARK NEWSPAPER Information AND MAP PARK WEBSITE The official park map and newspaper, both available at Go to the park website park entrances, have information www.nps.gov/seki for trip about park services and activities. planning information, condition Cell service and internet is very updates, park newspaper, limited in the parks, and GPS can educational resources, and be unreliable. Use the park map more. The National Park Service or ask for directions at visitor website at www.nps.gov has centers. Braille editions of the additional in-depth resources official park map are available at to make the most out of your visitor centers. national park experience. Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks Accessibility Guide 4 PARK APP VISITOR CENTERS The free, official NPS Sequoia & Several visitor centers and one Kings Canyon National Parks museum are located throughout App features several accessibility the park. These information options to help visitors with centers offer trip planning help, disabilities plan their trip and interpretive exhibits, ranger travel through the parks. The programs and several other app includes audio-guided services. Open hours vary by tours and audio descriptions season. Foothills, Lodgepole, and of outdoor exhibits and park Kings Canyon visitor centers are features. View accessibility wheelchair-accessible. information for each park site and facility, or filter map results Contact Information to show wheelchair-accessible sites. PARKS CONTACT INFORMATION Download the app before For general park inquiries, arriving at the parks, or use the including current weather and public WiFi at Foothills or Kings traffic: Canyon visitor centers. Go to the • (559) 565-3341 settings menu to download app content for offline use (required Sequoia and Kings Canyon in most areas of the parks) and National Parks enable accessibility options. 47050 Generals Highway Three Rivers, CA 93271-9700 Email: [email protected] 5 Individuals who are deaf, other specialty tours, park stores, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind, or the Dark Sky Festival, and the have speech disabilities may Field Institute. utilize the following Relay Service • Phone: (559) 561-4813. numbers: • TTY Federal Relay Service Delaware North (800) 877-8339 Company • Voice Carry Over (VCO) Delaware North Company pro- (877) 877-6280 vides lodging and dining options • Speech-to-Speech (877) in Sequoia and Kings Canyon 877-8982 National Parks at Cedar Grove, • Spanish (800) 845-6136 Grant Grove, and Lodgepole. • TeleBraille Sequoia and Kings Operating hours vary by season. Canyon National Parks (866) • Reservations: (888) 807-3598 893-8340 Silver City Resort OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION Located near Mineral King, the Silver City Mountain Resort The National Park Service works offers lodging, dining, and a gift with partners and other federal shop. agencies, to protect these lands • Reservations: (559) 242-3510 and provide memorable visitor experiences. US Forest Service Sequoia and Kings Canyon Sequoia Parks National Parks are bordered Conservancy by land managed by the US Sequoia Parks Conservancy, the Forest Service. If you drive official nonprofit partner to these between the Giant Forest and parks, operates Crystal Cave and Grant Grove, you’ll briefly leave the national parks and drive Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks Accessibility Guide 6 through the Sequoia National provides a discount on some Forest. The forest contains many federal facilities and services campgrounds, trails, and lodges. fees, such as camping. The pass Learn more about these facilities generally does not apply to in the park newspaper or call special recreation permit fees or the Hume Lake Ranger District fees at businesses in the parks, office at 559-338-2251 (TDD including Crystal Cave tickets. available). To get your pass, ask at any CELL SERVICE park entrance station. You’ll AND INTERNET be asked to sign a form confirming your eligibility. Cell phone service is only Medical documentation is not available for specific carriers required. You can also obtain a near park entrance stations. pass through the mail with an Free wireless internet is available application and $10 processing at Foothills and Kings Canyon fee. Go to www.nps.gov/ visitor centers. planyourvisit/passes.htm for a Obtaining an printable application and more Access Pass information. The free Access Pass is available Service Animals for all U.S. citizens or permanent Service animals are welcome residents with permanent in Sequoia and Kings Canyon disabilities. This pass covers National Parks, including all admission at more than 2,000 trails, facilities, campgrounds, federal recreation sites, including and ranger programs. As national parks, wildlife refuges, defined by the Americans with national forests, BLM sites, and Disabilities Act (ADA), a service more. The Access Pass also animal is any dog (or miniature 7 horse) that is individually trained properly dispose of waste to help to do work or perform tasks for prevent the spread of disease. the benefit of an individual with Remember to check your animal a disability. They do not include for ticks, which are common emotional support, comfort, year-round. or companion animals; animals used for crime deterrence; If you’re heading into the service animals in training; or any backcountry, treat water from type of pet. rivers, streams, and lakes before drinking, as waterways that may Service animals must be under contain giardia can infect both control and on a leash, except humans and dogs. If camping, when a leash interferes with keep your service animal in your the service animal’s tasks. tent at night. Beware—taking service animals into areas where wildlife is For People Who common carries unique risks. Are Deaf or Hard of Animal food attracts bears and Hearing must be kept in bear-resistant storage containers. Dogs may ASL INTERPRETERS trigger an aggressive response AND TOURS from animals, even deer. They may put you at an increased risk National Park Service for confrontation with bears, coyotes, and other wildlife. Also, Ranger Programs disease can be passed between American Sign Language dogs and wildlife. Keep animals interpretation is available at no close, securely store their food cost for any scheduled program. in wildlife-resistant food storage Please submit a request at containers or your car, and least seven days in advance, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks Accessibility Guide 8 preferably two weeks, to allow at information desks. Receivers time to schedule an interpreter. are compatible with T-coil Call (559) 565-3729 or email hearing aids. Assistive listening [email protected]. devices are also available at amphitheater programs. Crystal Cave Tours by Sequoia Parks LODGING Conservancy Wuksachi Lodge has rooms with Assistive Listening Devices visual alarms and notification and American Sign Language devices, available upon request. translations are available for Request this service by calling Crystal Cave tours. American (866) 807-3598. Sign Language translation is provided via videos on a tablet, For People Who Are which can be taken into the Blind or Visually cave. Naturalists will indicate when to play each video. More Impaired information on Crystal Cave AUDIO tours is found in the Giant Forest / Lodgepole section of this DESCRIPTION guide. Download the official park app, NPS Sequoia & Kings Canyon, CAPTIONING for audio descriptions of outdoor AND ASSISTIVE exhibits and other features LISTENING found throughout the parks. Captioning, audio description, and assistive listening are avail- able for all visitor center films. Ask