Just in Time for Weekend, Sequoia National Park Fully Reopens Giant Forest

SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK — Sequoia National Park on Friday fully reopened the Giant Forest area that was threatened by a huge wildfire last year.

In addition, the General Sherman and Wolverton areas in the park are now open seven days a week.

Giant Forest was closed to the public in mid-September due to the KNP Complex Fire, which burned more than 137 square miles, mostly within Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks.

Crews took extreme measures to protect the largest and oldest sequoias in Giant Forest. They wrapped trunks in a fire-resistant foil, set up sprinklers, raked flammable matter from around the trees and dropped fire-retardant gel onto the tree canopies.

Giant Forest had been open on a limited basis since Dec. 11.

Bring Water and Food

The park advised visitors to bring all the water and food they will need because there currently is no potable water or food available in Giant Forest.

Sequoia-Kings Canyon park officials also say that navigation apps and GPS devices may offer routes that avoid park entrance stations but leave you stranded on unmaintained or closed roads. Use Highways 198 or 180 to enter the parks.

Here is a link to popular hiking trails.

(GV Wire contributed to this article.)

Flames from the KNP Complex Fire burn a hillside above the Kaweah River in Sequoia National Park, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. The blaze is burning near the Giant Forest, home to more than 2,000 giant sequoias. (AP/Noah Berger)