hi all. been a while. who has been to Sequoia/Kings Canyon for family camping? are most of the camp sites first come first serve? hope all is well.
it's been awhile, but my friends and i used to go camping at kings canyon every year for 3 years straight. when we went it was first come first serve, but that was also 11+ years ago. nice place with a lake near by for water activities. kayaking and stuff like that.
thanks for the input! i think the idea is to get there as early as possible on a friday morning for a long weekend.
Agreed. Awesome place to camp. We've never had a problem getting a good site. If you have more questions let me know. The only negative thing I can say is there are miles and miles of incredible singletrack -- all off limits to bikes.
on that, which are the better sites? ive been trying to check it out online, but the gov't website doesnt provide the most detailed info. a good point. maybe, someday....
Go to Recreation.gov to reserve campsite that are owned by the U.S. government/National Park Service (NPS) (i.e. Yosemite..and Sequoia). Go to ReserveAmerica to reserve campsites that are owned by the state..think we used them for Lake Arrowhead/Dogwood campiste. Here's the trick to find out what the hell the sites look like..right?..those maps on Recreation/ReserveAmerica..suck: Use campsitephotos to cross reference the site # (from either recreation or reserveamerica) to the pictures so you can see what you are getting. They campsite# on the photos at the campsitephotos page correspond to the campsite# from the crappy maps on the recreation and reserveamerica page. -- As far as going to a site and winging it to see if you can get in..I would not..unless you are local to the campsite and can just go back home if you can't get in..most campsites are going to be packed by now (especially the weekends)..they fill EARLY!! As far as a good place in Sequoia..from what I hear from people and friends ..Lodgepole is supposed to be one of the better ones (we are staying in Lodgepole in August). Go to YouTube and search Sequoia campsites and there are a bunch of videos on them. Good luck..
We go up there all the time. It all depends if you are talking about Sequoia or Kings Canyon. The Campgrounds in Sequoia (most notably Lodgepole) get pretty booked up. They take reservations. Whereas you can go to Sunset or Azalea in Grants Grove (Kings Canyon) early on Labor Day weekend and get a spot. The campgrounds down in the Kings Canyon are awesome but get pretty warm in the summer, compared to the higher elevation campgrounds in either Sequoia or Kings Canyon. However you are next to a big refreshing cold river to swim in. There are also a number of USFS campgrounds (first come first served) and even primitive camping areas in between the parks.
The farther up the Kings canyon the better. The Kings is low so dress cool. There is one dirt road you can ride legally. it makes a good loop ride. It is really the only legal dirt in a national park. Sequoia is higher, thus cooler. MM was 85 degrees yesterday, today it was 55-45 and it is above 7000ft There are trails in the fir belt but they are up past Lake Hume. Out there you can climb the fire road and make you own way back. The DG is soft and there is no direct way due to brush down tress and small trees, but it is very rideable and a heck of fun. Don't get lost. Happy fur belt riding. The ride down from Giant Forest to Ash Fork is to die for, I do it everytime I go.
Yea..it's pretty booked for the summer..I hope your searches you are flexible..if you filter with dates, you will not see any options..
