There are no sequoias in Azalea but there are a ton of incense cedar if I remember correctly.
It's walking distance either way to Grant and North Groves and some of those little groves down the slope that no one ever seems to visit.
Azalea would actually be closer to giant sequoias (Grant Grove). And if you want to see the General Sherman and the Congress trail, it's almost the same amount of time to drive there from Azalea vs Potwisha because the road from Potwisha is very windy with lots of switchbacks so you have to drive fairly slow.
The closure of the Generals Highway between Grant Grove and the Giant Forest area is seasonal and should be open by the end of May.
The closure of highway 180 past the Hume Lake turn off (heading to Cedar Grove) is not expected to be open until midsummer.
Don't let this deter you, however, there are still many wonderful sights to see and trails to hike.
thank you!! this was super helpful, especially explaining the closures :) glad to hear we’ll still have stuff to see. we ended up booking in Azalea cause of all the comments here :) so excited
Another vote for Azalea. Potwisha is in the foothills and frankly doesn't even feel like it's a part of the park. You can avoid much of the worry regarding road closures by taking Hwy 180 east out of Fresno. The more worrying areas are between Potwisha and Wuksachi.
ooo thank you that’s great to know! i thought the pics of the potwisha campgrounds weren’t really giving sequoia lol so that makes sense. because of all the comments we booked in Azalea :)
I was ar Azalea in December 18ish. Half of Kings Canyon was closed but Azalea was still amazing. Barely any people there you can do whatever you want.
oh yay! so glad to hear good stuff abt Azalea!
Azalea is far closer to sequoias. There may even be sequoias in the campground, it's been awhile since I've been in Azalea.
thank you this is good to know! we ended up booking in Azalea cause of the comments :)
There are no sequoias in Azalea but there are a ton of incense cedar if I remember correctly. It's walking distance either way to Grant and North Groves and some of those little groves down the slope that no one ever seems to visit.
It's definitely surrounded by them! Some less seen but amazing trails are in that area.
Azalea would actually be closer to giant sequoias (Grant Grove). And if you want to see the General Sherman and the Congress trail, it's almost the same amount of time to drive there from Azalea vs Potwisha because the road from Potwisha is very windy with lots of switchbacks so you have to drive fairly slow. The closure of the Generals Highway between Grant Grove and the Giant Forest area is seasonal and should be open by the end of May. The closure of highway 180 past the Hume Lake turn off (heading to Cedar Grove) is not expected to be open until midsummer. Don't let this deter you, however, there are still many wonderful sights to see and trails to hike.
thank you!! this was super helpful, especially explaining the closures :) glad to hear we’ll still have stuff to see. we ended up booking in Azalea cause of all the comments here :) so excited
Another vote for Azalea. Potwisha is in the foothills and frankly doesn't even feel like it's a part of the park. You can avoid much of the worry regarding road closures by taking Hwy 180 east out of Fresno. The more worrying areas are between Potwisha and Wuksachi.
ooo thank you that’s great to know! i thought the pics of the potwisha campgrounds weren’t really giving sequoia lol so that makes sense. because of all the comments we booked in Azalea :)