Tentatively beginning the week of April 15 visitors to Sequoia National Park can expect weekday, daytime closures, and delays for an estimated 4-week period between Hospital Rock and the Giant Forest area. This is the last remaining section of severely damaged roadway along the Generals Highway from the early 2023 winter storms, out of over 20. All other damage along the Generals Highway was repaired in 2023, but this section is requiring significant drilling and rebuilding with large heavy machinery, in a narrow and windy section of the road.
“While still impactful, we are grateful that the timing of these significant visitor impacts will take place after most spring break visitation and before the Memorial Day weekend summer kick-off,” said Rick Hall, Chief of Facilities, Maintenance, and Construction. “A lot of critical work was accomplished last year, and thanks to the incredible hard work of our National Park Service, Federal Highways Administration, and dedicated contractor teams, we are hopeful that the remaining road work will be completed in about an eight-week period this spring.”
For the estimated last four weeks of the project after May 10, weekday, daytime, traffic delays near the construction site are not expected to exceed 30 minutes.
Access to the Giant Forest area of Sequoia National Park, featuring the General Sherman Tree, Wuksachi Lodge, Moro Rock, and more, will remain accessible at all times during this timeframe by entering Kings Canyon National Park from Highway 180 and driving over via the Generals Highway.
Similar road construction will be taking place along the Mineral King Road of Sequoia National Park, but a start date or schedule have not been set and is not expected to begin before the end of April. This work is also estimated to take about 8 weeks to complete. When public access opens to Mineral King this season, delays are not expected to exceed 30 minutes.
Road construction by Caltrans outside the park on Highway 180 to Cedar Grove continues, and public access to Cedar Grove is expected to reopen for the season shortly after Caltrans repairs are complete.
Delay and closure schedules are subject to change, and we urge anyone planning to visit during this time to check our park website for the most current information: https://www.nps.gov/seki/
Public Meeting April 1
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks brought nearly $160 million in visitor spending to the local region in 2022. We understand that any type of closures or delays impact our local economy, which means working closely with business owners and providing messaging and tools to help visitors in the area is extremely important.
With that in mind, an in-person public meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 1 at 6 p.m. at the Memorial Building in Three Rivers, CA. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Superintendent, Clay Jordan, and his team will be presenting an overview of recovery and resiliency work that has been taking place since the two largest natural disasters to ever hit the parks, the KNP Complex in 2021 and the 2023 Atmospheric Rivers. They will cover what can be expected this year, including the above road construction, and some of what is in the works moving forward.