What is the best time of year to visit Sequoia National Forest?

[LRDave]

This is very subjective and I KNOW there are TONS of opinions/guidance out there on the interwebs. I am interested in what this community has to say.

The limited context for this inquiry is that this will be a driving trip from the eastern US, so other places will be on the agenda but this is considered our apex for the trip. Also, less crowds would be good for us, so bridge seasons are OK/preferred.

 

[Lsbcal]

Well you will probably like driving into Kings Canyon too for a day trip. Quite beautiful and very different then Sequoia. It gets very hot there in the summer. Maybe early June would be my choice because of that. Or perhaps the fall.

As an alternate: we like going to the eastern part of Yosemite in later August. We stay in Mammoth Lakes and drive the 45 minutes up 395 to the Tioga Pass entrance (at 10,000 feet). Some nice hikes in Toulomne Meadows region.

You can see giant Sequoias in Yosemite too (not necessarily in the valley which is very crowded in the summer). Link: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/sequoias.htm

 

[Fishingmn]

Can't answer when the "best" time is but we were there May 21-23 4 years ago.

Good news - there were people there but it didn't seem "too" crowded. Was easy to find a parking spot at each place we wanted to stop. We did love Sequoia.

Bad news - it was pretty cold and the park lodge we were staying at near King's Canyon decided to have their heat go out. We actually skipped most of that park and left a day early since it wasn't going to be fixed for the next night.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I don't know the best time but I do know it can still snow around Memorial Day weekend. We had camping reservations and when we went to the site it was covered in a blanket of snow. Lucky for us there was still room at the lodge.

 

[ER Eddie]

I would say late May or early June, or else late September, early October. Other times in between, especially July and August, will be crowded with summer tourists. Beautiful place. I miss it.

 

[Scuba]

I think September or early October is best. Warmest time of year and not nearly as crowded as summer.

 

[cathy63]

I like being there in the fall. They actually close a couple of loops of the main campground (Lodgepole) in late Sept because the crowds are smaller then. We did get snow overnight when camping there on Sept 20 a couple of years ago, but it melted off within a couple of hours once the sun came up. I remember the date because we noted that it was still technically summer.

The nps.gov website usually has lots of good info on what the different seasons are like in the parks.

 

[ABQ2015]

Timely post as I am considering going to Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP next year. Late May or early June is often recommended because of the waterfalls and wildflowers. Otherwise I would choose September.

I like to stay in hotels or cabins inside the parks. If traveling when late snowfalls or heavy spring runoff is a potential concern, I make two reservations about 2-3 weeks apart (months in advance for the popular parks where it is hard to get a room) and then cancel one of them when it is closer to the trip. I am driving so am flexible and the park hotels have free cancellation policies. This approach worked well when going to the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, and Zion NP where the very wet 2019 winter/spring closed major roads and trails late into the season. The individual park websites post Alerts on the conditions.

 

[Starsky]

It depends if you are planning on driving over the Sierras to get there or not.

The road at Lee Vining doesn't open until the late Spring and you have to go all the way around the Sierras to the Bakersfield area to get there. If you are coming from the East - that can mean a long detour north or south.

Otherwise, the early Spring is my favorite time to visit the Sierras because the mountain streams are flowing, there's snow on the peaks, and everything is nice and green. It's stunningly beautiful. Late Summer might be good, but it will be a lot drier than in the Spring and there will likely be extreme fire danger regulations that shut down all campfires. The trout fishing is good all the time, but the fish are bigger in the Fall. I imagine this year with the Coronavirus, park crowds will be smaller too.