Sequoia & Kings Canyon
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NATIONAL SEQUOIA & KINGS CANYON PARKS & SEQUOIA NATIONAL FORES T/ GIANT SEQUOIA NATIONAL MONUMENT WINTER GUIDE 2010-11 Park Activities • page 3 page 8 • Facilities & Programs in Sequoia Road Limits / Safety / Finding Gasoline • page 5 page 9 • Facilities & Programs in Kings Canyon & USFS Highlights in Sequoia Park • page 6 page 10 • Camping & Lodging / Bears & Your Food Highlights in Kings Canyon & USFS • page 7 page 12 • Traffic Delays / Park Map Winter welcome Many people see the cold winter face will refresh your spirit while your legs of these parks and shiver at the thought get pleasantly tired. Not enough snow? of a visit. Those who come anyway fig - Take a hike! ure out the secret: Winter welcomes us Stay safe on the trails, too. Carry a with some of the greatest beauty, mys - map and tell someone where you are tery, tranquility, challenge, and just plain going. Follow a road that’s closed to fun these parks can offer. vehicles, or learn how to spot and fol - Enjoying the parks in winter may not low the ski-trail signs on the trees. Get be as easy as a summer visit: You may back before winter’s early sunset. need to “chain up.” In fact, if you are in Didn't bring a sled, snowshoes, or the park now and want to see sequoias skis? You can rent or buy them at Grant but don't have tire chains in the car, Grove Market and Wuksachi Lodge. check the weather forecast and think Visitor-center staff can help you again. The suddenness and unpre - make sure you have what you need for dictability of Sierran weather, plus gen - your particular winter adventure. Step uine concern for your safety, make the into the centers at Grant Grove or rangers err on the side of caution when Lodgepole (Giant Forest Museum is deciding to require chains. But if you've closed this winter) and check out the got chains, layers of warm clothes, and exhibits while you’re there. When you you're willing to take the roads slowly, head outside again, you'll know and then the delights of winter await you! appreciate the natural scene around If there’s enough snow and you enjoy you even more. social fun, head to one of the bustling If you’ve had enough of cold, the snowplay areas (see pages 8 and 9). Snow highlights the sequoias’ red bark and black fire scars. snow-free foothills are in their glory Take your fun seriously, though, and ©C. Purchis. now. Green grass coats the hills that play safe. People get hurt snowplaying were bone dry and brown just a few every year. Some of the injuries are devastating; don't let one hap - months ago. Flowers pop up by late January. Birds not seen here in pen to you! Rangers may close all or part of the snowplay hills if summer flash through oak and chaparral. Slanted and soft, winter they get extremely icy, but only you can prevent accidents. sunlight highlights the landscape’s details. Take advantage of the Want to be active but not in a crowd? When the snow is deep lower-elevation trails now; they’ll be very hot by summer! enough, snowshoe or cross-country ski into the wintry heart of a So welcome to winter in the Sierra. We’re glad you didn’t let the sequoia grove; it’s like nothing else you’ve ever tried. Whether you cold keep you away. Just remain flexible and let the weather call the find misty fog or bright sunshine, the peace and clean, clear beauty shots; winter fun unmarred by accidents make the best memories. WELCOME to SEQUOIA & KINGS CANYON Land of giants... and more WELCOME You expect giant trees and huge canyons—and you You may borrow the park map & guide in Braille at visitor centers. won’t be disappointed. Yet the whole of these parks is even greater than the sum of its famous parts. BIENVENUE Rising from 1300’ to 14,494’ (the highest elevation in Une guide officielle est dis pon ible the lower 48 states), these parks protect a spectacular ele - dans les centres d’information. vational range. This span from low to high means dramatic shifts from warm foothills to cool forests to the cold High BIENVENIDOS Sierra. It means diverse plants and animals living in Hay un folleto en Español extremely varied conditions. It means steep roads and trails disponible en los centros de visita. that climb mountains, and cold rivers that plunge down from their heights. WILKOMMEN The caretakers of this landscape are also diverse. A Eine Landkarte ist auch in national monument, which is part of a national forest, bor - deutscher sprache im Besucher- ders these two national parks. The U.S. Geological Survey zentrum erhaltlich. conducts research here. The Sequoia Natural History BENVENUTI Association runs bookstores at visitor centers and con - La traduzione in lingua Italiana tributes to education and research. The Sequoia Parks della mappa e’ disponibile in tutti Foundation supports important park projects. i centri di informazioni. Other partners, public and private, cooperate with the Park Service to meet a challenging mission—providing for public enjoyment while keeping the parks unimpaired for PARK, FOREST, future generations. You are an important partner, too! Experience these parks, learn all you can, and help to pre - OR MONUMENT? PHONE NUMBERS serve them. Thank you! What is the difference between EMERGENCY — DIAL 911 Sequoia and Kings Canyon No coins needed. National Parks, Sequoia National Forest, and Giant Sequoia 24-Hour Park Information National Monument? 1-559-565-3341 (NPS) Each is on federal land. Each www.nps.gov/seki exists to benefit society. Yet each Na tional Forest Information has a different history and pur - 1-559-338-2251 (USFS) YOUR FEES HELP YOUR PARKS! Most of your entrance and camping fees stay right here. pose. Together they provide a wide www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia spectrum of uses. Yosemite Information (NPS) The parks invest them in projects that improve visitor facili - National parks strive to keep 1-209-372-0200 ties and protect park resources. Fees have paid for repairing landscapes unimpaired www.nps.gov/yose and upgrading roads, campgrounds, trails, picnic areas, for future generations. California Road Conditions and restrooms. They have also improved visitor centers, They protect natural 1-800-427-7623 (Caltrans) updated exhibits, and modernized slide programs offered and historic features by rangers! while offering light-on- Partners in the Parks the-land recreation. The following organizations work ENTRANCE FEE OPTIONS Park rangers work for together to provide this guide, first the National Park Service, published in 1974 as the Sequoia Bark. • 7-day pass for Sequoia & Kings Canyon and for Hume Lake part of the Department of It is published by the Sequoia Natural District of Sequoia Na tional Forest/Giant Sequoia National the Interior. His tory As so ciation (SNHA) and National forests, managed under printed by Willems Commercial Monument (GSNM) : $20 per vehicle (private, non-commercial) Printing, Inc. or $10 per person on foot, bicycle, motorcycle, or bus. a “multiple use” concept, provide services and commodities that National Park Service (NPS) • 12- Month Pass for Sequoia & Kings Canyon and for Hume may include lumber, cattle grazing, Malinee Crapsey, Editor minerals, as well as 1-559-565-3341 Lake District of Sequoia Na tional Forest/GSNM : $30 admits recreation with and www.nps.gov/seki all passengers in a private vehicle for one year from month of without vehicles. Sequoia Natural History purchase. Not valid at Crystal Cave. Forest rangers work Association (SNHA) for the U.S. Forest 1- 559-565-3759 • 12-Month: America the Beautiful Interagency Annual Pass : Service, an agency www.sequoia hist ory. org $80. Valid for entrance fees at Federal recreation sites including in the Department Sequoia Parks Foundation National Parks, National Forests, FWS, BLM, & Bureau of of Agriculture. 1-559-739-1668 Reclamation. Admits all passengers in a single private non-com - Both agencies manage wilder - www.sequoiaparksfoundation. org mercial vehicle where per-vehicle fees are charged, or the passh - ness and other areas where they U.S. Forest Service (FS) older plus up to 3 persons (age 16 & older) for per-person fee maximize protection of natural 1- 559-784-1500 areas, for 12 months. Not valid at Crystal Cave. resources. For example, part of www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia Sequoia National Forest has been Delaware North Companies designated Giant Sequoia National Parks & Resorts (DNCPR) • Seniors: America the Beautiful Interagency Pass : $10 one- Monument to emphasize protec - 1-888-252-5757 time fee buys a lifetime pass for entrance fees for U.S. citizens & tion of sequoias. www.visitsequoia.com permanent residents 62 or over. (Previously issued Golden Age Parks, forests, and monuments Kings Canyon Park Services (KCPS) passes remain valid.) Not valid at Crystal Cave. may have different rules in order 1- 866-KCANYON (522-6966) to meet their goals. Read “Where www.sequoia-kingscanyon.com • Accessibility: America the Beautiful Interagency Access can I...” on the next page to learn U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Pass : Free to blind or permanently disabled U.S. citizens and what activities are permitted 1- 559-565-3171 permanent residents. Take appropriate documentation to any where. Despite confusion over www.werc.usgs.gov park entrance station or visitor center. (Previously issued Golden names, we get a wide range of ben - efits from these diverse areas. Page 1 illustrations ©SNHA by Rick Wheeler Access passes remain valid.) Not valid at Crystal Cave. 2 WINTER 2010-11 SEQUOIA & KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS Our park partners Two non-profit park partners The Sequoia Parks Founda- can help you to help the parks, tion raises funds for projects and everyone benefits: that enhance these parks.