“When I entered this sublime wilderness the day was nearly done, the trees with rosy, glowing countenances seemed to be hushed and thoughtful, as if waiting in conscious religious dependence on the sun, and one naturally walked softly awestricken among them.” – John Muir
Monday & Tuesday (6/17-18) – Lemon Cove, CA
Lemon Cove Village RV Park proved to be an excellent spot from which to visit Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The campground was quite nice, too, with large pull-through spots set apart by small wooden fences with full hookups ($55 per night; site 23). We arrived on Monday around 2 p.m., and decided we would go up to Sequoia NP right away. The trip to Sequoia was scenic and full of switchbacks, and it got even more nail-biting once we got into the park. As is our usual practice, we began with a visit to the Foothills Visitor’s Center to talk with a ranger, then followed her advice on what to see in the time we had. We took Generals Highway to see the General Sherman tree, which is the largest tree (by volume) on earth. It is estimated to be 2,200 years old.
Then we took a little side road to Moro Rock, which can be seen looming up above as you drive into the park. We climbed most of the 400 steps up to the top, but couldn’t quite make ourselves go around the bend with the steep drop-offs! But the views from there were spectacular, as you can see. We also took a drive through Tunnel Log, because that’s what tourists do. Because the roads are such slow going, we didn’t arrive home until almost 9 p.m.
The next morning we got up early and went to Kings Canyon. We took a winding road called Dry Creek Road to get there, and it took us nearly 2 hours. When we arrived at the park we visited the General Grant tree, the second largest tree on earth by volume, but the widest at the base. It would take 20 people to put their arms around it. It’s also called the nation’s Christmas Tree. Fun fact: The National Park System was founded in part to protect the Sequoias, and Sequoia NP is the second oldest national park. (The oldest is Yellowstone.)
After visiting General Grant tree and stocking up at Grant Grove Village (we got a 7-11 style lunch to go for $35), we took the whole day to drive the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway. The park ranger the day before had told us that Zumwalt Meadow at the end of the byway was the best-kept secret of the park system, and that the views rivaled Yosemite. When we arrived there, we were in luck: a ranger tour was just beginning. He told us some interesting facts about Sequoias, including that they can’t reproduce unless there is sufficient heat (as from a fire) to open their cones. The park service for many years had diligently put out forest fires, only to observe that there were no new seedlings. Sequoias are fairly impervious to fire (evidence being that they live for thousands of years), and part of the reason is their bark, which can be up to 3 feet thick. When you touch it, it feels shaggy and damp.
We walked with the ranger over the raging Kings River, up a few feet from normal, towards the Zumwalt Meadow. Unfortunately, the boardwalk over the meadow had washed away and the meadow was now a lake, but the views were still grand.
It was another late night for us, so late that we had cereal for dinner (again).
Wednesday-Saturday (6/19-22) – Groveland, CA
When we looked at the map and realized our next campground was only 160 miles away, we thought we were in for an easy day of driving. But, like the roads leading into Kings Canyon and Sequoia, our route was full of switchbacks. The views were spectacular, but most of the roads had no guardrails, with the drop off the road many hundreds of feet down. We were glad to arrive at Yosemite Lakes RV Resort & Campground around 4 p.m. It’s another Thousand Trails campground, and we were glad to see that this one was several notches up from the others we’ve camped at. We set up camp in site 9 (full hookups) next to a couple of large pine trees and relaxed for a bit before we went in search of a cell signal.
The campground is about 10 miles outside of Groveland, and there is no signal there. They gave us an information sheet that told us where to go to pick up an AT&T or Verizon signal. The AT&T signal was only a couple of miles away up a logging road. The Verizon signal was 7 miles away. We were happy to be AT&T customers on this particular day! The campground also has WiFi in the lodge, but is only passable (like every other campground). I do miss our high-speed internet, which I have obviously been taking for granted!
On our way we stopped at the Mariposa County Visitor’s Center, and Sean, an amiable man in his 70s, gave us the complete scoop on seeing Yosemite. We were impressed with all the information he shared, including where to park, rent bikes, etc.
On Thursday we decided to get up early and go to Yosemite National Park, as Yosemite Valley is notoriously crowded at this time of year. The campground is only about 15 minutes from the park entrance, so we entered the park around 7:30. But from the park entrance to the Valley is another 45 minutes of driving on curvy roads. By the time we arrived at the Visitor Center parking lot, after a stop along the way to admire a view of the upper Yosemite Falls, it was 75 percent full. From there we took a short hike to Lower Yosemite Falls. There is a bridge that will take you directly in front of the falls, where you can get a fabulous view and get drenched!
After that, we made our way back to the Visitor Center, where we talked with a ranger about getting a good view of Half Dome. She sent us to a small trail alongside a meadow, and there it was! There is a row of cottages, presumably occupied by park employees, that face right onto the meadow. What a view! On the way out of the park we saw El Capitan and Bridal Veil Fall. Everything is breathtaking.
On Friday morning we decided to visit Hetch Hetchy, which is much less popular with tourists, although still gorgeous. Hetch Hetchy is a reservoir that provides water for San Francisco. You can walk right out onto the O’Shaughnessy Dam, which is kind of a thrill, since you can feel it vibrating underneath you as thousands of gallons of water per second are forced through a few holes on the non-reservoir side. Despite the views, I didn’t want to linger.
After Hetch Hetchy, we stopped at the Evergreen Lodge, which we had passed on the way in, to have lunch. It surprised us to see several resorts and camps this far out in the middle of the wilderness.
Late that afternoon, we drove about 2 hours out to Glacier Point to see the Yosemite Valley at sunset. We arrived there around 6:30 after stops at Tunnel View (the classic sight on most Yosemite postcards) and Washburn Point. It was crowded, as a lot of people come to see the sunset. We stayed for about an hour, but decided to head back before sunset, as the road to Glacier Point is quite treacherous and we didn’t want to navigate it in the dark. We arrived back at Tunnel View as the dark was falling, and it was lovely.
We knew that Yosemite would be very crowded on the weekend, so we decided to make Saturday a camp day. Sure enough, as we were driving around Groveland, we saw signs that the parking lots at Yosemite were full—before noon. We had lunch in town and did a little cleaning and organizing before the next trip.
On Sunday we headed back toward the coast, going north this time.