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Four Seasons of Activities
Throughout the year, you and your family may enjoy numerous activities and park programs in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The parks have a rich variety of flora and fauna, and are filled with fun and educational activities to satisfy every visitor's interests.

From the 800 marked trails for hikers, to the more than 200 caves for explorers, and the 50 cross-country trails for skiers, Sequoia and Kings Canyon offer both depth and breadth of activities for experts and novices alike.

Here you can enjoy hiking, horseback riding, children's programs, field seminars, ranger-led walks, rock-climbing, fishing, spelunking, cross-country skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, wildlife watching, and swimming at Hume Lake.

You can visit the new Giant Forest Museum to learn all about the "Big Trees," or take your children to the Walter Fry Museum, featuring hands-on exhibits that include microscopes and skeletons.

While some of the activities available at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are specific to a particular season, many activities can be enjoyed throughout the year. Yet with each changing season, the landscape of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks reveals itself in a new and beautiful way.

Winter

Under the snow-laden branches of the Big Trees, Sequoia and Kings Canyon make for a magical winter wonderland. The parks are often covered in a mantle of snow four to six feet deep during this romantic season. Summer trails disappear and skis and snow-shoes replace hiking boots on the approximately 50 marked cross-country trails in the parks. You'll glide through the quiet winter forest, with only the chirping of the mountain chickadee, the golden-crowned kinglet, the brown creeper, and the red-breasted nuthatch to invade your silent reverie. For a little more excitement, head over to the Big Stump snow-play area and build a snowman with the kids, or sled down a wintry slope if you dare. Park rangers may also offer snowshoe nature walks, naturalist and evening programs this time of year. Walks average about two hours and allow you access into areas where you'd otherwise sink to your hips in snow. In the evening, warm yourself up around the fireplace in the John Muir Lodge.  You'll deserve it after a day of invigorating winter activity. In the morning, enjoy the snow-covered woodland scenery outside of your window, as you sip hot coffee in your warm bed. Winter is the time of year that many families return year after year to spend their holidays with us. Whether it's Thanksgiving or the annual Yuletide celebration underneath the General Grant Tree, Sequoia and Kings Canyon have been a part of many warm family traditions since the early part of the last century.

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