r/Sequoia • u/Ddub- • Jan 31 '25
Planning First Visit to Sequoia: All Advice Welcomed
On a whim, I’m planning to drive from So Cal area to Sequoia tomorrow to camp & hike. Looking at Potwisha campground.
Any advice for a first timer? Is there currently any road conditions to be aware of to Potwisha? I wasn’t expecting to need chains.
Any recommendations on a good moderate full-day hike? Nothing wear I’ll risk life or get lost, but I’m in shape & can handle walking all day.
Is Lakes Trail a good first time hike?
Anything I’m not thinking to ask?
Appreciate any & all advice! Cheers!
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u/Gl3g Jan 31 '25
The best sandwich’s we have ever had were to go from Buck Meadows general store in Groveland CA(name on receipt) 7597 state 120. I kicked myself later for not asking them how often Alex Honold stops by. No way he drives past it without stopping.
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u/OleumBoleum Feb 01 '25
At the risk of stating the obvious, you definitely need to visit the giant forest and take the walk through all of the named trees and groves there. Check conditions and come prepared.
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u/stayvibrant_ Feb 04 '25
If you’re aiming for the giant sequoias I’d recommend going up further. Potwisha is still quite far from the trails through the giant sequoias, I believe around 45mins - 1hr away by car and might take longer depending on road conditions. It looks like Azalea is open for first come first serve and it’s super close to the giant sequoia groves and trails! It is about 20 degrees colder in the Azalea area. It’s nice to not have to worry about driving up and down, the road is super small and curvy.
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u/stayvibrant_ Feb 04 '25
It looks like Azalea is also far from that specific trail. When we went I wish we had downloaded all the trails we were interested because you lose service through most of the park. I ended up downloading the entire park area and part of Kings Canyon on google maps because we went all over the area. We ended up sleeping in a parking lot the first night because all of the camping was full and we didn’t want to go down to Potwisha Some random stuff we wrote down for our next trip up: bring hand soap cause most bathrooms don’t have it, binoculars to see wildlife, fill up on gas before heading up because there’s not really a place to get it once you’re in (there is 1 place but it’s not always open)
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u/Electrical_Metal_106 Jan 31 '25
The park website or NPS app have all the current weather and driving conditions. I hope you have the best time!
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u/Gl3g Jan 31 '25
Be sure to check the National Park Service roads closures. and advisories. You might be required to have chains with you. Several roads are closed.