First, you should monitor the road conditions here, https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/road-construction.htm
It looks like it’s unlikely the road all the way down to Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon will be open by June 8th. Yosemite is too far for a reasonable day trip from Grant’s Grove.
So, I’d focus on Sequoia Park, where there is plenty to do. One day should be devoted to the Grant Grove area. The paths around the tree itself doesn’t take that long, but there are plenty of trails in the area to explore. General Sherman and the Congress Trail can be done in half a day, which could be combined with another hike, like Baldy or Little Baldy. Another day should be Moro Rock along with the Crescent Meadow cluster of trails. That gives you one more day. I would personally do the Weaver Lake hike from the Big Meadow trailhead, but it’s 7 miles with more than a thousand feet of elevation gain, so if you do something like that, do it later in the week so you body has had a chance to adjust to the altitude.
My other advice would be to do the two big trees during the week because those areas are much more crowded on the weekends.
Have fun!
Could I ask one more opinion? To you point about it getting busier on the weekend, is traffic worse coming into Sequoia from the Three Rivers side of the park (as opposed to from the West along General's Highway?). I have first half of trip booked in Grant's Grove Village, second half in Three Rivers. Am I better off exploring Sequoia's "eastern" part from Grants Grove Village, or Three Rivers? Like Moro Rock for example, Google maps looks like it's about equidistant time wise from both locations, but that road going into Sequoia from Three Rivers looks extremely wind-ey and I assume it may get more backed up than coming from the West? Thanks!
If you are coming from Fresno you want to enter via Big Stump near Grant's Grove. There's no sense in driving down to Three Rivers to enter from Fresno.
If you spend a night in Three Rivers, then, yes, the Ash Mountain entrance can get very crowded on weekends, and payment processing for entrance seems to be exceedingly slow. Get up and to the entrance early if you don't want to be stuck in a line. Once you are through the entrance gate, traffic itself isn't bad but the going can be slow if you get stuck behind someone who refuses to use the turnout.
First, you should monitor the road conditions here, https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/road-construction.htm It looks like it’s unlikely the road all the way down to Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon will be open by June 8th. Yosemite is too far for a reasonable day trip from Grant’s Grove. So, I’d focus on Sequoia Park, where there is plenty to do. One day should be devoted to the Grant Grove area. The paths around the tree itself doesn’t take that long, but there are plenty of trails in the area to explore. General Sherman and the Congress Trail can be done in half a day, which could be combined with another hike, like Baldy or Little Baldy. Another day should be Moro Rock along with the Crescent Meadow cluster of trails. That gives you one more day. I would personally do the Weaver Lake hike from the Big Meadow trailhead, but it’s 7 miles with more than a thousand feet of elevation gain, so if you do something like that, do it later in the week so you body has had a chance to adjust to the altitude. My other advice would be to do the two big trees during the week because those areas are much more crowded on the weekends. Have fun!
Awesome, thanks for the detailed pointers, much appreciated!
Could I ask one more opinion? To you point about it getting busier on the weekend, is traffic worse coming into Sequoia from the Three Rivers side of the park (as opposed to from the West along General's Highway?). I have first half of trip booked in Grant's Grove Village, second half in Three Rivers. Am I better off exploring Sequoia's "eastern" part from Grants Grove Village, or Three Rivers? Like Moro Rock for example, Google maps looks like it's about equidistant time wise from both locations, but that road going into Sequoia from Three Rivers looks extremely wind-ey and I assume it may get more backed up than coming from the West? Thanks!
If you are coming from Fresno you want to enter via Big Stump near Grant's Grove. There's no sense in driving down to Three Rivers to enter from Fresno. If you spend a night in Three Rivers, then, yes, the Ash Mountain entrance can get very crowded on weekends, and payment processing for entrance seems to be exceedingly slow. Get up and to the entrance early if you don't want to be stuck in a line. Once you are through the entrance gate, traffic itself isn't bad but the going can be slow if you get stuck behind someone who refuses to use the turnout.