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The holiday season is right around the corner. We are excited to share with you our 2017 Holiday Gift Guide designed to help you find the perfect gift for everyone on your list while supporting your favorite National Parks.
Call us at 559-565-4256 for more info about our products.
Receive a 25% discount during the holidays by becoming a member today! Our Holiday Member Sale begins November 1 and continues through December 31. Because the Sequoia Parks Conservancy is a non-profit organization, all proceeds benefit your public lands by helping to preserve the landscape, protect our resources, and provide visitor services.
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Saturday, December 16, 2017 How would you like to spend a Saturday in December looking and listening for birds in Sequoia National Park? The annual Christmas Bird Count is a fun way to celebrate the winter season by walking trails with a small group of people and paying attention to the sights and sounds of nature. People of all ages and experience levels are welcome. Each group has at least one experienced birder, and others can help by spotting birds and keeping track of the type and number of birds seen. This is a great chance to learn about bird life in the park. Every year since 2000, a dozen to over 35 enthusiastic people have gathered in Sequoia National Park for this bird count, walking trails on pre-planned routes – listening carefully, searching the sky, trees or shrubs, the ground, and rivers and streams for birds, then identifying, counting, and writing them down. In previous years, birders have recorded from 40 to 67 different species, with the average being 60 species. The local Sequoia count is part of a global effort that helps scientists track populations of birds and where they spend the winter. The first count began on Christmas Day in 1900, when Frank Chapman, an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, proposed it as an alternative to the traditional Christmas bird hunts. Today the Christmas Bird Count takes place annually from December 14 to January 5, and typically more than 30,000 people worldwide count over 2,400 species – or about 65 to 70 million birds each year! The data collected on individual counts are especially valuable when combined with data from the many other counts. Regional-scale analyses of Christmas Bird Count data by the National Audubon Society have revealed that birds seen in North America during the first weeks of winter have moved dramatically northward toward colder latitudes over the past four decades. More than 60 out of 305 species assessed moved more than 100 miles north, while the average distance was 35 miles. Temperature increases coincided with these northward movements of bird populations, making a warming climate the likely explanation for many bird species shifts toward cooler places. In addition to enjoying a day of birding in the park, your participation in a local Christmas Bird Count also contributes important information to our understanding of birds in North America, and their responses to a changing environment. Event logistics: To sign up for this event, please visit: http://bit.ly/2gZs1pK. The cost is free. Volunteers registered for the owling and birding events receive a free park entrance to participate. The time frame is: 6 am - 7 am for owling and 7 am - 5 pm for birding. You can bird a shorter amount of time if you cannot spend all day. All ages are welcome, and children must be accompanied by an adult chaperone. Meet at the Foothills Visitor Center, Sequoia National Park. Be sure to bring water and food, wear sturdy walking shoes, and weather-appropriate clothing. Loaner binoculars and bird books are available.  For the past 10 years, a Central Valley family has quietly donated funds to support trail access for all, in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The Jeangerard Family Foundation worked with Sequoia Parks Conservancy to realize this inspirational mission. Jack Jeangerard, now 90 years young, wanted to enhance trails in the two parks, giving every person access to parks to experience the incredible beauty. Whether the visitor was walking, in a walker, stroller or wheelchair the vistas were too magnificent to be missed. As a result, accessible trails in Sequoia and Kings Canyon became his mission. Jack and his family funded several front country trail improvements on Tokopah Falls Trail, Redwood Canyon, and Bubbs Creek Switchbacks. Trail improvements were also made to Panoramic Point Overlook, Hazelwood Trail, Zumwalt Meadow Boardwalk to Muir Rock. The longest ADA trail, about one mile in length, was created at Cedar Grove Valley Nature Trail beginning at Zumwalt Meadow Boardwalk ending on the beach on the Muir Rock Trail. This year’s ADA trail project at Roaring River Falls brings their cumulative donations to the awe-inspiring million dollars supporting access for all. “A Million Thanks!” to Jack and his family for their extraordinary generosity was celebrated at Roaring River Fall in collaboration with the National Park Service, Sequoia Parks Conservancy and Delaware North. To join the Jeangerard Family in supporting accessible trails in these parks, contact the Conservancy’s Executive Director, Karen Dallett at 559.565.3756.  Get ready for our annual sale! November 1st - January 15th members enjoy 25% off all items in-store and online. All proceeds benefit the parks. To become a member today click here. Join us for a fun filled evening of pumpkin carving! Each year we witness the toothy grins of the neighborhood carved pumpkins, but did you know that the first jack o’lantern was actually a turnip in Ireland? Hear this and other seasonal stories while making you own jack o’lantern…from a provided pumpkin of course! Two dates to choose from: Saturday - October 21st, 6pm-7pm Location: John Muir Lodge Saturday - October 28th, 6pm-7pm Location: Wuksachi Lodge   The Sequoia Parks Conservancy provides increased accessibility on park trails and infrastructure. This one mile loop is now ADA accessible which allows virtually all park visitors to experience this trail with views of beautiful meadows and giant sequoia groves. This nature loop is a easy and pleasant trail that brings you through a beautiful grove in the Giant Forest.
 Stay right at the next junction, beginning a counterclockwise loop. Along the way you will see informative trail-side exhibits that describe what you see. As you come to another junction bear left to stay on the loop. You will then head downhill and cross a wooden bridge over Little Deer Creek and come to another junction. Stay to the left completing the loop. Take the right to return to the museum. The Sequoia Parks Conservancy provides increased accessibility on park trails and infrastructure. Other trail and access projects include:
To make a donation to the Sequoia Parks Conservancy Trails & Access fund visit https://app.mobilecause.com/form/kOmzOQ.
 During the 1920s and 1930s, this hill was a garbage dump site. Black bears would come to this site to feast on the trash and in the 1940s it was closed due to bear and human conflicts. This hike will take you past Bear Hill and beautiful giant sequoias. Distance: 4 miles round trip Hiking time: 2 hours Park in the Giant Forest Museum parking lot. Walk .1 mile up Crescent Meadow Road and turn left at the Bear Hill Trail sign. You will head up the hillside and pass beautiful plants and maybe see an animal or two. At .5 miles you will reach a knoll and junction at the base of Bear Hill. Bear right to continue on the Bear Hill Trail. At 1.5 miles you will reach another knoll and descend to Crescent Meadow road. Continue on the road and wind up the hillside to the end of the trail at Roosevelt Tree. Visitor video of Roosevelt Tree From there you can take the right fork to Moro Rock, the left fork to the Soldiers Trail or head back the way you came. All three trails will return you to the museum.
 This loop takes you through a beautiful grove of sequoia and features the General Grant Tree, also known as the Nation's Christmas Tree. Distance: 1-mile loop Hiking time: 30 minutes Park in the Grant Tree parking lot. From the trailhead, follow the right fork past the Robert E. Lee tree to the Fallen Monarch. This hollow giant sequoia was once used to house people and to stable horses.
Continue on the trail to a loop circling the General Grant Tree. Follow the loop to see a 360-degree view of this magnificent tee. From there continue up to the Gamlin Cabin. In 1890, this cabin was used by the U.S. Calvary. You may get the chance to see history come alive when visiting this cabin. The Sequoia Field Institute puts on programs throughout the summer at this location. For the program calendar visit: exploresequoiakingscanyon.com.
The route back to the parking area will take you past the Centennial Stump, Oregon, and Lincoln Trees.
To learn more about the General Grant Tree visit www.nps.gov.
 The climb up Moro Rock always offers a dramatic view. Throughout the seasons the natural environment changes and the view can be different each time you visit. Distance: 0.6 miles round trip Hiking time: 40 minutes
Once at the top you will feel as if you are on top of the world. Take your time at the top and when ready, head back down the way you came.  
Park in the Hospital Rock parking lot and hike towards Buckeye Campground, unless you are already camping there. Along the way you will see a diverse display of nature. A few examples of what you can expect to see are butterfly, manzanita, buckeye, yucca, and Castle Rocks.
Once you reach the campground look for site 28. At campsite 28 you will see a signed trail on the left. Follow that path and you will quickly see the river. Cross a footbridge and bear left heading upstream past pools and boulders. A short distance from the bridge you will come to Kaweah Falls.
The rivers in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are swift and dangerous. Always use caution when near the river.
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Sequoia Parks Conservancy, the official 501(c)(3) nonprofit partner of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (National Park Service) and Lake Kaweah (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), uses tax-deductible contributions to support these parks.
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Sequoia Parks Conservancy
47050 Generals Hwy Unit 10 Three Rivers, CA 93271 |
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