Article Summary: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Facts
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Facts! In this article, More Than Just Parks provides you with 15 amazing facts about two of America’s most magnificent national parks.
More Than Just Parks is your one-stop-shop when it comes to learning everything you’ll need to know about America’s national parks. We’ve got expert guides, beautiful photos, helpful tips, breathtaking films and so much more.
I’ve been to so many of these amazing places since retiring from teaching in 2018. Did I mention that I taught history? I spent a lifetime teaching about the history behind some of these natural wonders. Then I got to see them firsthand. And now I’m sharing some of the incredible stories about these beautiful places with you. It doesn’t get any better than that!
More Than Just Parks takes a deeper dive with its national park facts. We’ve done our homework so that you’ll get more than you bargained for.
Without further ado, let’s dive in.
Table Of Contents: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Facts
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Facts
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Facts
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Facts
- 5. Kings Canyon Was First Made Popular By John Muir
- 6. A Journalist Would Play An Indispensable Role In The Creation Of Sequoia National Park
- 7. Sequoia Had The First African American Superintendent Of A National Park
- 8. Sequoia Was The First Park Created To Protect A Living Organism
- 9. A Photographer Helped To Expand Sequoia National Park
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Facts
- 10. Sequoia Is Home To The Tallest Mountain In The Lower 48 States
- 11. Sequoia Is Home To The Largest Tree On Earth
- 12. Over 95% Of Sequoia & Kings Canyon Are Wilderness
- 13. Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks Feature Over 800 Miles Of Trails
- 14. George W. Bush Was The First President Ever To Stay At Sequoia & Kings Canyon While In Office
- 15. Sequoia & Kings Canyon Have The Deepest Canyon In America
- 16. Sequoia & Kings Canyon Are Great Places For Mountaineering
- Why Trust Us About Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks?
- Meet The Parks Brothers
- We Hope You’ll Follow Our Journey
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Facts
1. Basic Facts About the Parks
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks are truly a land of giants.
Sequoia National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and today protects 404,064 acres of forested mountainous terrain.
Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly 13,000 feet, the park contains the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet above sea level.
Kings Canyon National Park features terrain similar to Yosemite Valley, and is home to the largest remaining grove of sequoia trees in the world.
Located next to Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon Park is composed of two distinct areas – Grant Grove (home to the General Grant tree, also known as “the Nation’s Christmas Tree”) and Cedar Grove.
Kings Canyon is also home to Redwood Canyon, the largest remaining grove of sequoia trees in the world.
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Sequoia and Kings National Parks, which, administered as one park, present a Sierra scene that complements and emphasizes the beauties and wonders seen by so many millions in Yosemite.
-The National Parks, Freeman Tilden
2. Native Americans Of The Southern Sierras Were The Earliest Peoples To Inhabit Sequoia & Kings Canyon
If you enjoy origin stories as much as I do then the first of our Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Facts is one you’ll find particularly interesting.
Beginning in the 19th century, there were two distinct groups of people who occupied the southern Sierra Nevada. In the higher mountains and along the western foothills there lived hunters and gatherers who we know today as the Monache or Western Mono.
West of the Monache in the lowest foothills and across the Great Central Valley were the other major group – the Yokuts.
What’s particularly fascinating is that along the high peaks of the Sierra Range, different Native American groups established a fairly intricate network of trading relationships, which not only brought them into contact with one another, but also allowed them to trade a variety of critically important trading items.
These items included: salt, pine nuts, mineral paints, obsidian as well as other important items. Other commodities traded included: fresh and saltwater shells, acorns, manzanita berries and bear skins.
CHECK OUT: 11 AMAZING Facts About Acadia National Park
3. The First Americans To Explore The Area Were Trappers
One of my favorite Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Facts involves the first Americans to explore the area.
Jedediah Smith was an American clerk, transcontinental pioneer, frontiersman, hunter, trapper, author, cartographer, mountain man and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the Western United States, and the Southwest during the early 19th century.
In 1827, while working as a trapper and pursuing the numerous beaver to be found in the San Joaquin Valley, Smith is reported to have succeeded in crossing the mountains in the vicinity of the Stanislaus River which is east of what is today Stockton, California.
Smith may have been one of the first if not the first American to actually set foot in what is today Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks.
In 1832-33, a party which included Ewing Young and J.J. Warner were trapping along the Kings River.
Joseph Redderford led a party in 1833-34 across the Sierra into Yosemite country and proceeded along the western foothills of the Sierra.
CHECK OUT: 10 AMAZING Facts About Badlands National Park
4. The Brewer Expedition Gave People Their First Detailed Understanding Of The Area
For Sequoia & Kings Canyon to become national parks, people needed to know which lands were there and why they were so important.
The California Geological Survey was created by the state legislature in 1860.
Four years later, William Brewer, thirty-two at the time and a graduate of the Yale Scientific School, was tasked with leading a survey of this area.
Brewer’s mandate was to focus on the largest remaining blank spot on the map of California which encompassed the high country of the southern Sierra.
Brewer led his men into the mountains and camped just west of modern Grant Grove.
The Snow Group
Brewer’s expedition would make some incredible discoveries. On June 28, 1864, Brewer climbed and named Mount Silliman after the son of one of his Yale professors.
He and his team encountered what they believed to be the highest mountains in the United States. Brewer called these newly discovered mountains the “Snow Group.”
It was from the upper slopes of Mount Brewer, named for William Brewer, that Brewer and Clarence King and their companions first beheld the lofty peak which they then and there hailed as the highest of the Sierra and named in honor of their chief, Josiah Dwight Whitney, Mount Whitney.
Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of 14,505 feet.
William Brewer would go on to write an amazing account of his expedition titled: Such a Landscape!: A Narrative of the 1864 California Geological Survey Exploration of Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon from the Diary, Field Notes, Letters & Reports.
His assistant, Clarence King, would go on to become the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1881. Nominated by Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes, King was noted for his exploration of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Such a landscape! A hundred peaks in sight over thirteen thousand feet–many very sharp–deep canyons, cliffs in every direction almost rival Yosemite, sharp ridges inaccessible to man, on which human foot has never trod–all combined to produce a view of sublimity of which is rarely equaled, one which few are privileged to behold.
-william brewer
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Facts
5. Kings Canyon Was First Made Popular By John Muir
Another of our amazing Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Facts involves the man who many consider to have been the “Father of the National Parks.”
In 1873, John Muir, the famous naturalist, visited Kings Canyon and was impressed by its similarity to the terrain of the Yosemite Valley. “A rival to the Yosemite,” wrote Muir.
John Muir was born in Scotland and raised in Wisconsin. He came to California in 1869 and discovered the Yosemite area which he popularized in his writings.
As the National Park Service notes, Muir’s passion for nature brought him to every continent except Antarctica. He experienced fantastic adventures – climbing a 100-foot tree in a thunderstorm, inching across a narrow ice bridge in Alaska, and spending a night in a blizzard on Mt. Shasta. Muir transformed his adventures into articles and books which sparked peoples interest in nature.
His tireless advocacy helped create several national parks including: Sequoia (1890), Mount Rainier (1899) and Grand Canyon (1908). John Muir has been called the “Father of the National Parks.”
John Muir & Mount Whitney
Now here’s an interesting fact about John Muir. During his exploits in California, Mount Whitney caught his attention.
Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of 14,505 feet.
In 1873 Muir decided to climb the mountain, but mistakenly climbed Mount Langley instead which was a half dozen miles to the south of Whitney. Muir recognized his error, however, and attempted to follow the ridge toward his destination.
This is where the story gets interesting. He found himself trapped by nightfall at 13,000 feet in his shirt sleeves. Muir only managed to survive by forcing himself to dance in order to keep want. He literally danced the night away.
Undaunted, Muir returned a few days later. John Muir made his first ascent of Whitney on October 21, 1873.
Muir was the first person to climb Whitney from the east via what is today known as the Mountaineers Route. He had attempted to summit via the southwest, as those before him, but had retreated to Independence after a cold night out, returning to summit by this new route.
CHECK OUT: 10+ AMAZING JOHN MUIR FACTS | America’s Greatest Conservationist
6. A Journalist Would Play An Indispensable Role In The Creation Of Sequoia National Park
One of my favorite Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks involves the story of a man who was a true visionary. Without him, it’s conceivable that Sequoia National Park would not have come into existence.
George W. Stewart came from a new generation of westerners. He saw the California landscape in ways far different than did the emigrants of his father’s generation. In 1872, only fifteen years old, Stewart moved to Tulare County, where he soon found a vocation that would occupy much of his life—journalism.
Stewart called for a state law to prohibit the cutting of giant sequoias. Nothing concrete came of the suggestion, but Stewart had chosen sides in a battle that was just beginning. As a native Californian, he had convinced himself that Big Trees had higher uses than being converted into fence posts and shingles.
George Stewart teamed up with others, including General John F. Miller who was seeking election to the U.S. Senate in 1880, to introduce legislation setting apart a certain tract of land in the State of California as a “public park.”
He kept the issue before the public and worked to create a consensus. His efforts helped lead to H.R. 11570 which became the legislation establishing Sequoia National on September 25, 1890, making it our country’s second national park.
7. Sequoia Had The First African American Superintendent Of A National Park
For almost 30 years, I taught high school history. What impressed me most about the field of history are the amazing stories of men and women whose contributions changed the course of human events. In doing so, they helped to bring about the world we have today.
The people we know, however, are relatively few when compared to the ones we don’t. When you start to do a little digging, you begin to realize that the stories of the ones we don’t know anything about can be just as interesting.
A case in point is Colonel Charles Young.
He Lived A Truly Extraordinary Life
Born as a slave during the American Civil War, Charles Young lived a truly extraordinary life. He was the first African American to graduate from a white high school in Ohio.
In 1884, Young defied the odds winning an appointment to West Point through a competitive military examination.
After confronting the racism which was typical of his era, Young emerged as only the third African American to graduate from West Point–America’s most prestigious military academy.
Young served as a cavalry officer. He then became the captain of an all-black regiment at San Francisco’s Presidio. Young’s career path would take an interesting turn when managing the national parks became the responsibility of the U.S. Army beginning in 1891.
Superintendent Of Sequoia & General Grant National Parks
Young served as a cavalry officer. He then became the captain of an all-black regiment at San Francisco’s Presidio. Young rose through the military ranks to become one of the most respected leaders of his time.
His career path would take an interesting turn, however, when managing the national parks became the responsibility of the U.S. Army beginning in 1891.
Young was assigned to take his troops to Sequoia and General Grant (what is now Sequoia National Park and a small portion of Kings Canyon National Park).
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.
-Booker T. Washington
No Poaching On His Watch
Poaching had become a problem in the parks given their limited supervision. As a result of Young’s leadership, however, there was no poaching reported at Sequoia or General Grant during his tenure as superintendent.
In commemoration, a Sequoia Tree would be named in his honor.
Young spent one summer as an acting superintendent at Sequoia/Kings Canyon before being reassigned as a military attache in Haiti. He then served in the same position in Liberia.
Charles Young Earns The Rank Of Colonel
Young was sidelined from active duty during World War One due to health issues, but returned to command after the war. He would earn the rank of colonel. Young died unexpectedly, however, in 1922.
Given his distinguished service, he was the fourth soldier to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
To learn more about this extraordinary American, I recommend: Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment: The Military Career of Charles Young by Brian G. Shellum.
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8. Sequoia Was The First Park Created To Protect A Living Organism
Just when you thought we couldn’t come up with another surprising Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Fact, we do!
If you’ve read Jonathan Swift’s classic, Gulliver’s Travels, or Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, it’s the story of Lemuel Gulliver who journeys to four amazing lands.
While his most famous voyage was to Lilliput (ergo the “Lilliputians” or “Little People”) in one of Gulliver’s other journeys, he travels to the land of Brobdingnag where a blade of grass is as tall as a tree.
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You, Too, Can Experience What Gulliver Did
You don’t have to travel to Brobdingnag to experience what Gulliver did. Travel to Sequoia National Park where the trees are so tall and so amazing that you’ll feel like a Lilliputian in this land of the giants.
These massive Sequoia trees actually grow between 5,000 and 8,000 feet in elevation.
How is this possible you might ask? At Sequoia, the winters are relatively mild which makes it a perfect natural habitat for these incredible specimens to grow and thrive.
“The sequoias belong to the silences of the millenniums. Many of them have seen a hundred human generations rise, give off their little clamors and perish. They seem indeed to be forms of immortality standing here among the transitory shapes of time.“
-Edwin Markham
9. A Photographer Helped To Expand Sequoia National Park
If a picture’s worth a thousand words then how many acres might it be worth?
In America, the 1920s were known as the “Jazz Age.” It was a time of economic prosperity, cultural transformation and bootleg gin. It was also a time when women were making themselves felt in society.
Women Gained The Right To Vote
With the passage of the 19th amendment, women cast their first ballot for president in 1920. Their entrance into the workforce in increasing numbers signaled a battle for social liberation and equal rights.
One of these women would be Susan Priscilla Thew. In August of 1923, she decided to explore the wilderness of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
A preservationist at heart, Susan Thew wanted to share the magic of these parks with a wider audience so she brought along a camera to capture some iconic images.
Her Pictures Made A Difference
Susan Thew originally came to California to escape the harsh winters of her native Ohio. Soon she fell in love with the Sierra Nevada range.
Learning of efforts to create a greater Sequoia National Park, she contacted Colonel John R. White, the park’s superintendent. She then proposed the idea of promoting the park to a wider audience.
Thus began the incredible travels of Susan Thew. Just as John Muir stirred peoples souls with his inspiring stories of the wonders of nature, Susan brought those wonders to life through her incredible photographs.
She covered hundreds of miles traversing some of the most rugged territory throughout the United States.
She Influenced Ansel Adams
A project which would take her several summers culminated in a beautiful publication titled, “The Proposed Roosevelt-Sequoia National Park.” Her intended audience were the members of Congress. It was for them that she managed to convey a sense of what made these lands so special.
Through her efforts, Congress was able to pass a bill enlarging the park’s boundaries to include the Great Western Divide, the Kaweah Peaks, the Kern Canyon, and the Sierra Crest.
Susan Thew’s bold approach influenced Ansel Adams. In 1940, Adams also created a portfolio of stunning images for distribution among members of Congress. Like Susan Thew, Ansel Adams efforts contributed to success in passing a bill creating Kings Canyon National Park.
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If you are weary with the battle, either of business or the greater game of life, and would like to find your way back to sound nerves and a new interest in life, I know of no better place than the wild loveliness of some chosen spot in the High Sierra in which, when you have lost your physical self, you have found your mental and spiritual re-awakening.
-Susan Thew
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Facts
10. Sequoia Is Home To The Tallest Mountain In The Lower 48 States
Remember that wonderful song from The Sound Of Music which Julie Andrews sings? Yes, I know, there were so many of them. The one I have in mind is “Climb Every Mountain.”
Well, if you’re ready for adventure and like to climb mountains then Sequoia’s got one waiting for you. As mentioned earlier, Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States. It has an elevation of 14,505 feet and a view at the top that’s simply breathtaking.
The mountain’s west slope is located in Sequoia National Park. The southern terminus of the John Muir Trail is where the summit is located.
From the peak of Mount Whitney, you can see the incredible majesty of the Sierra Nevada range and look down into the beautiful Owens Valley. This magnificent mountain is the highest point of the Great Basin Divide.
The mountains are calling and I must go.
-John Muir
11. Sequoia Is Home To The Largest Tree On Earth
You probably didn’t see General Sherman march through Georgia, but you have the opportunity to see his namesake at Sequoia National Park.
William Tecumseh Sherman was five foot eleven inches tall. The General Sherman Tree is much, much taller.
As a matter of fact, it’s the world’s largest tree, measured by volume. It stands 275 feet tall, and is over 36 feet in diameter at the base. Sixty feet above its base, the Sherman Tree is 17.5 feet in diameter. It’s a real “skyscraper.”
CHECK OUT: General Sherman Tree – Everything You Need To Know About The Largest Tree In The World
12. Over 95% Of Sequoia & Kings Canyon Are Wilderness
If you’re someone who likes to get away from it all then you’ll be thrilled by our next Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Fact. Over 95% of Sequoia and Kings Canyon are actually wilderness areas.
Thanks to the efforts of Susan Thew and others over the years, Congress expanded Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks to 1,353 square miles.
I’m a historian by background and training so perhaps a little history would be helpful. In September of 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act.
This act made the preservation and protection of wild places a national priority. Today, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks currently protect over 808,000 acres of designated wilderness in addition to 29,500 acres of proposed wilderness.
CHECK OUT: Is It Time For Another Bipartisan Era Of Environmental Activism?
-President Lyndon B. Johnson
Conservation is ethically sound. It is rooted in our love of the land, our respect for the rights of others, our devotion to the rule of law.
13. Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks Feature Over 800 Miles Of Trails
To paraphrase Nancy Sinatra, “These parks are made for walking. That’s just what they do.”
And, if walking’s what you do then check out the John Muir Trail. It’s a 221-mile trail stretching from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney.
It passes through what many backpackers say is the finest mountain scenery in the United States. It’s a land of 13,000-foot and 14,000-foot peaks, of lakes in the thousands, and of canyons and granite cliffs. The John Muir Trail is also a land blessed with the mildest, sunniest climate of any major mountain range in the world.
And the best part of all is that it travels through Kings Canyon and into Sequoia so you get two parks for the price of one.
If you’re a hiker then know that the best hiking season is from July to September when the weather is sunny and dry. Permits are not required for day kikes unless you’re planning to hike Mount Whitney. Consider going in the early morning or evening hours to escape the heat of the day.
14. George W. Bush Was The First President Ever To Stay At Sequoia & Kings Canyon While In Office
The average male has 25% body fat. As President, George W. Bush had a a body fit of 14%. How did he do it? According the the White House, he worked on an elliptical machine two days a week, lifted weights two days a week, ran an average of four miles four days each week and did regular stretching exercises.
George W. Bush was clearly one of our more physically fit presidents while in office. When jogging became too difficult as a result of knee surgeries, he later took up mountain biking. This man did not shy away from rugged physical exercise even on the hottest of days.
He was also the first president to visit Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks while in office. While there, he took a walking tour of Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park on May 1, 2001.
15. Sequoia & Kings Canyon Have The Deepest Canyon In America
Another one of my favorite Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks Facts has to do with a canyon. In fact it’s the deepest canyon in the United States and it’s located in Kings Canyon.
The Kings River Canyon drops 8,200 feet from high in the Sierra to the San Joaquin Valley. It’s deeper than Hell’s Canyon on the Snake River in Idaho and the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
If you’re planning a visit then you ought to check out both the Kings River Canyon and the Kings River.
The Kings Wild and Scenic River includes the entire Middle and South Forks and six miles of the Kings River. It flows through Kings Canyon National Park and the Sequoia and Sierra National Forests.
Beginning in glacial lakes above timberline, the river flows by deep, steep-sided canyons, over falls and cataracts, eventually becoming an outstanding whitewater rafting river in its lower reaches in Sequoia National Forest. Geology, scenery, recreation, fish, wildlife and history are all significant aspects.
And I’ve saved the best news for last because, believe it or not, you don’t need to hike this one. You can drive right down to the bottom of the canyon on the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, which links the park’s main visitor centers of Grant Grove and Cedar Grove.
Along the way, you will also pass through the Giant Sequoia National Monument of the Sequoia National Forest, pass Hume Lake and several hiking trails.
16. Sequoia & Kings Canyon Are Great Places For Mountaineering
If you like to climb then Sequoia and Kings Canyon have much to offer you. As a matter of fact, these parks are a climbers paradise. Similar to Yosemite, these rock formations are nothing short of amazing.
Whether you’re just starting out or an experienced climber, there’s something for everyone. Climbs range from easy to extremely challenging-without the crowds and distractions of better known climbing areas. Popular routes include the Obelisk and Grand Sentinel.
Come prepared to spend the night, however, as most climbs include at least a day’s hike in.
Why Trust Us About Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks?
We’re Jim Pattiz and Will Pattiz, collectively known as the Pattiz Brothers (and sometimes the Parks Brothers) and we absolutely LOVE the national parks.
You should probably know that we don’t just make this stuff up out of thin air. We’ve spent our entire adult lives exploring and filming America’s national parks and public lands.
We’ve worked with the National Park Service, the Department of Interior, USDA, and the U.S. Forest Service for years creating films on important places and issues. Our work has been featured in leading publications all over the world and even some people outside of our immediate family call us experts on the national parks.
Meet The Parks Brothers
Map Of Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
15 Facts About Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
- Native Americans Of The Southern Sierras Were The Earliest Peoples To Inhabit Sequoia & Kings Canyon
- The First Americans To Explore The Area Were Trappers
- The Brewer Expedition Gave People Their First Detailed Understanding Of The Area
- Kings Canyon Was First Made Popular By John Muir
- A Journalist Would Play An Indispensable Role In The Creation Of Sequoia National Park
- Sequoia/Kings Canyon had the first African American superintendent (acting) of a national park
- Sequoia was the first park created to protect a living organism
- A Photographer Helped To Expand Sequoia National Park
- Sequoia is home to the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states
- Sequoia is home to the largest tree on earth
- Over 95% of Sequoia & Kings Canyon are wilderness
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks Feature Over 800 Miles Of Trails
- George W. Bush Was The First President Ever To Stay At Sequoia & Kings Canyon While In Office
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon Have The Deepest Canyon In America
- Sequoia/Kings Canyon Are Great Places For Mountaineering
We Hope You’ll Follow Our Journey
Our goal here at More Than Just Parks is to share the beauty of America’s national parks and public lands through stunning short films in an effort to get Americans and the world to see the true value in land conservation.
We hope you’ll follow our journey through the parks and help us to keep them the incredible places that they are. If you’re interested in joining the adventure then please sign up below!
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I am a visitor / tourist to USA, from India, at the invitation of my children.
Recently I had visited this National Park. I have only one impression after looking at these immobile and gentle giants – how puny and transients we humans are. They bring in a perspective so overwhelming and humbling that we are left with no choice but to bow our obeisance to them.