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Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

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Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks National Park Service Visitor Guide: Late Spring 2016 U.S. Department of the Interior Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks & Sequoia National Forest/Giant Sequoia National Monument A century of national parks Check for details & hours inside: One hundred years. Not long belts and hatbands of park rangers. Return for more programs and in geologic time, but long enough Activities: programs ............5 At the heart of the park system activities that celebrate 100 years of to embed an idea in the heart of lies stewardship, the commitment national parks, including: America — the national parks. And Bears & food storage ........11 to protect something not only for like our hearts, the park system can • June 18 - The Legacy of the Buf- ourselves but for the future; the Campgrounds .....................4 grow to include more stories, more falo Soldiers: Special walks and willingness to care for something people, more of our treasured talks, and an encampment of histori- Exploring: above and beyond our own lives. landscapes. cal re-enactors take us back to 1903. Sequoia NP ........................6 You play a critical role in steward- Kings Canyon NP & USFS ..7 Nature, history, sacred sites: Like ship here! Your eff orts to protect • August 5-7 - Dark Sky Festival many national parks, Sequoia and your parks not only ensure their (annually): Astronauts, star-gazing Facilities & hours . .............8-9 and photography programs, night Kings Canyon have them all. Se- longevity; they protect the sur- Lodging ...............................5 quoia and the forerunner of Kings rounding areas and towns, as well. walks, telescopes, and more. Canyon, the tiny General Grant Map of park roads ...............8 Get yourself, your children, your • August 25 - NPS Founders Day: National Park, were designated th friends out in these parks. Explore The actual 100 birthday of the Na- Nature & ecosystems ...........3 in 1890 — the second and third trails, read exhibits, and go on tional Park Service! Special activities national parks in this country. Over ranger-led programs. Take care of and programs, candlelight cave tours. Phone numbers ...................2 time, with the creation of more this place, then take that sense of • August 26-28 - Ersa of the Red parks, the country realized that it Rules & regs: some basics.....9 ownership and stewardship home Trees: Renactment of a historic pag- needed a professional agency to with you. Let it grow to include eant once performed here, under the Road information ..............12 oversee their care, and in 1916 the safeguarding other histories, peo- giant sequoias, in 1926. Join in! National Park Service was born. Safety .................................10 ple, and landscapes in your own Yet the early infl uence of these community and in other parks. Other events take place outside the Visitor centers .....................2 parks remains clear. Look closely parks: See www.sequoiaparkscon- Then give it another 100 years. at the symbols of the service: servancy.org and www.nps.gov/seki/ Wilderness camping & Who knows what celebrations may permits ...........................11 You’ll see a sequoia tree on the ar- learn/news for details. rowhead and sequoia cones on the stem from your eff orts? 2 Finding Information: Late Spring 2016 Telephone & Internet Visitor Centers, Book Stores, Partners in the Parks & Information Desks EMERGENCY — DIAL 911 The following work together to protect these lands, No coins needed in payphones. provide services, and publish this guide, which was Each offers park and area informa- first printed in 1974 as the Sequoia Bark. Limited Cell Signals & Service tion, varied exhibits and films, and ∙ Editor: NPS - Malinee Crapsey See pay-phone locations by area, pages 8-9. many sales items: books, maps, gifts, ∙ Publisher: Sequoia Parks Conservancy (below) postcards. All profits from park visitor ∙ Printer: Willems Commercial Printing, Inc. Sequoia & Kings Canyon (NPS) centers support the parks! 1-559-565-3341 (24 hour): Press 1 for an information National Park Service (NPS) - menu then: for roads/weather/fire, press 1; camp- Foothills Visitor Center (in Sequoia) federal agency in the Dept. of the ing/lodging 2; wilderness 4; and more. (NPS) Daily 8am-4:30pm. Exhibits on life in the Interior: 1-559-565-3341, nps.gov/seki low elevations. 1-559-565-4212. Muchas veces hay GPS, Web & Social Media Forest Service (USFS) - federal agency in rangers aqui quienes hablan español. Local wilder- GPS programs sometimes misdirect travellers here. the Dept. of Agriculture: 1-559-784-1500, Use maps and signs, or ask for directions. ness permits: On weekdays get them at the Wilder- fs.usda.gov/sequoia ness Office behind the visitor center; on weekends, The only offi cial park information sources online: self-register near the visitor center door. Geological Survey (USGS) - federal agency in the Dept. of the Interior:1-559-565-3171, werc.usgs.gov Website: Giant Forest Museum (in Sequoia) nps.gov/seki (NPS) Daily 9am-6pm. Exhibits on sequoias. 1-559- DNC Parks & Resorts at Sequoia & Kings Canyon 565-4480. Local wilderness permits. No payphone (DNC) - the concessioner providing lodging & food services: 1-888-252-5757, visitsequoia.com Facebook: (closest outside Lodgepole Market & Wolverton). Sequoia and Kings Sequoia Parks Conservancy (SPC): This new non- Canyon National Parks Kings Canyon Park Visitor Center profi t park partner was formed by the merger (NPS) In Grant Grove. Daily 8am-5pm. Exhibits & of the Sequoia Natural History Association and movie in English & Spanish. 1-559-565-4307. Local Sequoia Parks Foundation. See below or www. Twitter: wilderness permits 8am-4:30pm. sequoiaparksconservancy.org, & www.explorese- SequoiaKingsNPS quoiakingscanyon.com for activities and programs. 1-559-565-3759. Hume Lake District Offi ce (USFS) Sequoia National Forest/Monument (FS) 35860 Kings Canyon Road (Hwy 180) in the For- 1-559-338-2251, fs.usda.gov/sequoia est Service office in Dunlap, 19 miles west of Kings Canyon park entrance at Big Stump. Weekdays Connect to Yosemite National Park (NPS) 8am-4:30pm. Maps, books. 1-559-338-2251, your national park! 1-209-372-0200, nps.gov/yose www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia California Road Conditions (CalTrans) Lodgepole Visitor Center (in Sequoia) The Sequoia Parks Conservancy (SPC) works with 1-800-427-7623, dot.ca.gov (NPS) Daily 7am-7pm. Films, exhibits. Local wil- these parks to enrich your experience and promote derness permits. Payphone outside. Wi-Fi awareness of public lands. They offer educational In lobby at Wuksachi Lodge, Grant Grove Village programs, publications, and financial support Market, and at Montecito Lake Resort for guests Cedar Grove Visitor Center (in Kings for preserving the natural and cultural history of (see Lodging page 5). Canyon) (NPS) Daily 9am-5pm. 1-559-565-3793. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Devils Wilderness permits issued at Road's End. Postpile National Monument, and Lake Kaweah. Translations Mineral King Ranger Station (Sequoia) Support the Conservancy in all it does: (NPS) Daily 8am-3:45pm. Local wilderness per- • Seeks funding for park improvement projects, Welcome - You may borrow a Braille copy of the mits, maps, bear canisters. resource protection, and research; park map & guide at visitor centers. • Provides activities & tour-guide services through Sequoia Field Institute (SFI; page 5); Bienvenidos - Hay un folleto en español dis- • Supports park programs & activities; ponible en los centros de visitante. • Increases accessibility of park trails; Bienvenue - Une guide officielle est disponible • Conducts Crystal Cave tours; dans les centres d’information. • Expands park outreach; • Accepts donations for Wilkommen - Eine Landkarte ist auch in search & rescue efforts; deutscher sprache im Besucher-zentrum erhaltlich. • Manages the Pear Lake Winter Hut; Benvenuti - La traduzione in lingua Italiana della • Funds park books, maps, mappa e’ disponibile in tutti i centri di informazioni. & this guide! Nature & Ecosystems in the Park 3 Change: Natural & Unnatural Unnatural Change: We often think of parks as outdoor museums. Caretaking a living ecosystem, Alien Invaders however, is very different than protecting unchanging objects. Plants and animals evolve together in communities Both natural features and human facilities may be different each time you visit. Both over time. Often, they keep each other in check. are changing all the time. How we take care of those features and facilities may also affect your visit. You won’t notice the ozone monitor that works 24 hours a day, When species get brought in from other places, the but you will see other activities such as revegetation, road work, painting, or trail newcomers may multiply wildly. This is because maintenance. Some activities may unavoidably affect you, such as smoke from a the competitors, predators, and diseases that keep prescribed fire, campsite closures due to revegetation, or bear management. them in check in their home communities are not here. This imbalance breaks links in the local web The park staff uses such actions as tools to maintain the landscape and protect its of life, badly disrupting native species that depend on each other. Sometimes the non-native aliens inhabitants and visitors. Your visit gives you but a snapshot of this process; Nature completely replace local plants and animals. decides the timing of many of these actions. They all share one goal: preservation of these parks for us all, now and in the future. Practice alien hygiene! Look for seeds and tiny animals attached to shoes, clothes, waders, equip- ment, tires, and pet fur. Wash mud from under cars and on tires before coming into the parks. The natives will thank you! Imminent Alien Threats! Star thistle is one of the most damaging non- Prescribed fi re in a sequoia grove natives in the state. Dense, thorny growth completely Fire: A Natural Change excludes native plants and limits wildlife movements. Years ago, we tried to banish fire from the land- For over 40 years at these parks, we have studied It is not yet established in scape, believing it was destructive.
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