Sequoia National Park in winter.

The Generals Highway and chains.

A winter trip to Sequoia National Park starts at the Ash Mountain Entrance on Highway 198, above Three Rivers. From the Foothills Visitor Center, the Generals Highway climbs to the Giant Forest in about an hour, per NPS, and on to Lodgepole, 21 road miles from the entrance. This main highway closes occasionally during and after snowstorms for plowing or debris removal, and in winter tire chains are often required. The stretch from Hospital Rock to Wolverton Road has many hairpin turns, and NPS advises against vehicles 22 feet or longer between Potwisha Campground and the Giant Forest Museum. There are no gas stations or electric vehicle chargers in the parks; the nearest gas open all year is at Hume Lake, in the national forest. Our Sequoia road closures page has every road's season.

Chain control zones can start at any time but are most common from November through March. When any chain requirement is in effect, every vehicle, four-wheel and all-wheel drives included, must carry chains or cables that fit. At R-1, chains go on unless your drive wheels have snow-tread tires. At R-2, chains go on unless the vehicle is AWD or 4WD with snow-tread tires on all four wheels. At R-3, every vehicle chains up, no exceptions, with four-wheel drive engaged too. Snow tires need an M+S, M/S, or snowflake mark on the sidewall and at least 6/32 of an inch of tread. The speed limit is 25 mph whenever chains are required. From fall through spring, NPS recommends carrying chains or cables no matter what the forecast says.

Sort out chains before you arrive. Many rental car contracts don't allow chains or cables, and NPS notes that renting an AWD or 4WD vehicle may save you from installing them, though you still have to carry them. Shops in Three Rivers advertise chains and cables for sale or rent; NPS says rentals typically run $40 to $65 a day and purchases $50 to $200. The park doesn't tow or repair vehicles, and tow trucks don't generally enter during active winter storms, so a car that slides off the road may wait until a day or more after the storm ends, and storm towing can be very expensive. If a storm is forecast, NPS suggests visiting at a different time. For 24-hour road conditions inside the park, call (559) 565-3341, then press 1 and 1 again. For roads outside the park, call Caltrans at (800) 427-7623.

Kings Canyon is the big winter unknown. North of Lodgepole, the Generals Highway to Grant Grove is unplowed and often closed from the Friday after January 1 to the third Friday in March, with the closure starting just north of Wuksachi Lodge. If it's open, allow at least 2 to 3 hours between entrance stations. If it's closed, you may have to drive back down to the foothills to reach the other park, and Highway 245 is often used between the parks then. Our Sequoia airports page covers the drives from Fresno.

Sequoias, snow play, and snowshoes.

The giant sequoias are the reason to come. A one-hour drive from the Foothills Visitor Center takes you to the Giant Forest and the General Sherman Tree. Stand among the sequoias on the Big Trees Trail, hike or snowshoe the Giant Forest trails, and visit the General Sherman Tree and the Giant Forest Museum. The trails aren't plowed, so ask at a visitor center about conditions, and note that the Giant Forest Museum may be closed or have limited hours in winter. Moro Rock-Crescent Meadow Road isn't cleared of snow; once it closes to cars it becomes a route for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Crystal Cave is out too, since its road is generally open only from mid-May to late September.

For sledding, skiing, and snowshoeing, go to the Wolverton Snowplay Area, between the Giant Forest Museum and Lodgepole, and rent snowplay gear at the Giant Forest Museum. Once snow makes Wolverton Road impassable, NPS plows it Friday through Sunday, on Wednesdays, and on holidays, so plan a snowplay day for one of those.

Ranger programs run year-round and are free. Across the line in Kings Canyon, Grant Grove Village has a free snowshoe walk, and Big Stump and Columbine near Grant Grove are sledding, ski, and snowshoe spots, if the drive there works for your trip. For an overnight trip into the snowbound High Sierra, get a wilderness permit at a visitor center. Always bring tire chains, warm layers, and emergency water and food, per the NPS winter activities page. For winter light and timing, see our Sequoia photography page.

Where to sleep.

Potwisha Campground, at 2,100 feet along the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River near Ash Mountain, is open year-round except when weather or safety conditions close it. All sites are reservation only, up to four months ahead, and there's a dump station. Vehicles longer than 24 feet aren't advised. Lodgepole Campground closes in phases, and its last loops, B and D, close in early December (December 2 in 2026). In Kings Canyon, Azalea Campground in Grant Grove stays open with one loop of 20 first-come, first-served sites from November through April. Our Sequoia camping page has every campground.

Wuksachi Lodge, in the Giant Forest area two miles from Lodgepole Village, has 102 guest rooms, a full-service restaurant, and a cocktail lounge. It sits at 7,050 feet, it's snowy in winter, and chains may be required to reach it during storms. The NPS lodging page gives no winter dates for it, so check visitsequoia.com or call (866) 807-3598 before you plan around a room. In Grant Grove, John Muir Lodge is usually open spring through fall, and the Grant Grove Cabins, at 6,500 feet, are snowy in winter too. For backcountry skiers, Pear Lake Winter Hut is a rustic cabin. Lodgepole Market is open only from May to October, so bring your own food.

How quiet winter really is.

February is the quietest month at Sequoia, averaging about 41,000 recreation visits against 194,000 in July. November runs 31% of July's visits, December 24%, January 23%, February 21%, and March 29%.

So is it worth visiting Sequoia National Park in December? Yes, if you want the sequoias in snow with about 24% of July's visitors and you're ready to carry chains. It's the wrong trip if a storm is in the forecast, if you need to drive on to Kings Canyon without a detour, or if your rental contract won't allow chains. The best time to visit Sequoia page weighs winter against the rest of the year.

Daylight and cold.

On December 21 the sun rises at 7:03 a.m. and sets at 4:43 p.m. at the Lodgepole Visitor Center, per the U.S. Naval Observatory, which leaves 9 hours 40 minutes of daylight. By March 21 sunset is 7:08 p.m., on daylight time. With a winding climb from the foothills, start early enough to drive down before dark.

NOAA 1991-2020 normals at the Lodgepole station (USC00045026, 6,735 ft) put December's average high at 37°F and low at 17°F, and January's at 39°F and 17°F. February is the snowiest winter month there, with about 62 inches, and January the wettest, with about 9 inches of precipitation. The foothills are a different season: NPS says winter brings snow to the sequoia groves and rain to the foothills, so pack for both.

Common questions.

Is it worth visiting Sequoia National Park in December?

Yes, if you're ready for winter driving. December averages 24% of July's visits, the Generals Highway to the Giant Forest is usually open, and you can snowshoe to the General Sherman Tree or play in the snow at Wolverton. Carry chains or cables, check the road line at (559) 565-3341 before you go, and expect the highway on to Kings Canyon to be unplowed and often closed from early January.

Is Sequoia colder than Yosemite?

At the NOAA stations we use, yes. Lodgepole, in Sequoia at 6,735 feet, averages a January high of 39°F and a low of 17°F. Yosemite Park HQ, in Yosemite Valley at 4,018 feet, averages 48°F and 29°F. The Lodgepole station sits about 2,700 feet higher. Both are 1991-2020 normals at single stations, not whole parks. Our Sequoia vs. Yosemite page compares the parks.

Where these facts come from

Chain zones and levels, snow tires, the speed limit, rental contracts, chain prices, towing, and the road phone lines come from the NPS winter driving and tire chains page. Winter trip ideas, the Giant Forest, Wolverton, the Giant Forest Museum, Kings Canyon passage, drive times, ranger programs, and winter campgrounds come from the NPS winter activities page. Road seasons, Wolverton Road plowing, the vehicle-length advisory, gas, and Highway 245 come from the NPS road information page and the NPS road conditions page. Potwisha, Lodgepole, and Azalea details come from the NPS campgrounds data and the NPS campgrounds page; Lodgepole Market from the NPS Lodgepole page; Wuksachi Lodge, John Muir Lodge, Grant Grove Cabins, and Pear Lake Winter Hut from the NPS lodging page. Sunrise and sunset come from the U.S. Naval Observatory for 2026 in local clock time. Temperatures, snowfall, and precipitation are NOAA 1991-2020 normals at Lodgepole (USC00045026); the Yosemite comparison uses Yosemite Park HQ (USC00049855). Road lines and pins are OpenStreetMap geometry routed by OSRM (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the campground location is from NPS campground data. Crowd numbers are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package on NPS IRMA Stats. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.