Generals Highway

The Generals Highway is a highway that connects State Route 180 and State Route 198 through Sequoia National Park, Sequoia National Forest, Giant Sequoia National Monument, and Kings Canyon National Park in the Sierra Nevada of California. As the road goes through national parks and monuments, the highway is primarily maintained by the federal government instead of a California State Highway controlled by Caltrans.[1]

Generals Highway

Generals Highway highlighted in green
Route information
Maintained by U.S. Forest Service and NPS
Length32.5 mi[1] (52.3 km)
Major junctions
South end SR 198 in Sequoia National Park
North end SR 180 in Kings Canyon National Park
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountiesTulare
Highway system

Route description
Switchbacks on Generals Highway
Clover Creek Bridge spanning Clover Creek on Generals Highway

It is named after two of the largest and most famous Giant Sequoia trees, the General Sherman and General Grant trees. The highway is notoriously steep, narrow, winding, and difficult to drive, especially its southern section from Hospital Rock to Giant Forest within Sequoia National Park. This section also consists of numerous switchbacks, and has a speed limit of 10 MPH. Regulations restrict the length of vehicles—they must not exceed 40 feet (12 m), although vehicles longer than 22 feet (6.7 m) are not recommended to use the road [2] between Potwisha Campground and Giant Forest Museum.[3] Furthermore, the highway north of Lodgepole campground generally closes due to snow conditions, and is not plowed between the Friday after January 1 and the third Friday in March.[4]

The Generals Highway begins as a continuation of SR 198, where the state highway legally ends at the southern boundary of Sequoia National Park. The road travels northeast along the middle fork of the Kaweah River and enters Sequoia National Park through the Indian Head Entrance. Near the Hospital Rock turnout, the road turns north and goes through several turns before straightening out and continuing northeast, passing near the General Sherman Tree. At Lodgepole Bridge, the road turns west before later turning north. Generals Highway leaves Sequoia National Park through the North Entrance, entering Sequoia National Forest.[5] The road continues northwest through Giant Sequoia National Monument before traveling along the northern border of Kings Canyon National Park, briefly entering it before terminating at SR 180.[6]

History

Two of the stone bridges on the highway are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[7]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Tulare County.

LocationmikmDestinationsNotes
Sequoia National Park0.000.00
 SR 198 west – Visalia, Hanford		Continuation beyond the Sequoia National Park southern boundary
0.300.48Ash Mountain Entrance Station; park fee or pass required for entry[8]
Kings Canyon National Park32.552.3 SR 180 – Fresno, Grant Grove Village, Cedar Grove
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References
  1. "NPS: History of the Generals Highway". nps.gov. National Park Service. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
  2. "Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (U.S. National Park Service)".
  3. "Vehicles and Traffic Safety" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
  4. "Sequoia and Kings Canyon Road Information". National Park Service. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-11-08. Retrieved 2011-06-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. California Road Atlas (Map). Thomas Brothers. 2008.
  7. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form". National Park Service. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
  8. "Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park Fees & Passes". National Park Service. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
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