TRAVEL-202609-uswest/days/2026-09-24.md

# Sep 24 (Thu) — Yosemite → Sequoia

**Stay:** [Gilmore Cabin — Miramonte](../bookings/stays/cabin-sequoia-miramonte.md) · check-in from 4 PM · **no cell service** — door code **0110 + unlock** (received Sep 23)

## Logistics

- Check out of Wawona by 10 AM, following the check-out procedures posted at the property · **leave by 8:00 AM** — Hwy 41 to Fresno, Hwy 180 to the Big Stump entrance, Generals Hwy to Giant Forest: **~4 hrs**
- Fresno: full tank and groceries for three nights at Whole Foods (Shaw Ave, off Hwy 41; see Addresses). No grocery store in Miramonte; Clingan's on Hwy 180 at Squaw Valley is the only stop near the cabin, and it is a gas-station store. No gas near the cabin or inside the parks; backups are Hume Lake (off the byway) and Stony Creek Lodge (Generals Hwy, seasonal) — verify open. Sep 24–25 is ~250 miles
- Giant Forest → Miramonte is ~1 hr 30 back along Generals Hwy and Hwy 180; leaving ~5:15 PM keeps the arrival in daylight. Watch for deer
- **Entrance pass:** use the 2026 America the Beautiful Non-Resident Annual Pass purchased for the trip; keep the digital/PDF pass ready, show it with MS's photo ID, and ask the ranger for a physical pass. An unstaffed entrance may require the displayed physical/PDF pass. See [the pass record](../bookings/activities/america-the-beautiful-pass-2026.md).

## Route after Fresno

The Sequoia / Kings Canyon leg is a T: Hwy 180 from the cabin up to the Wye junction is the stem, and each day takes a different arm. Today is the right arm, Sep 25 is the left.

| Leg | Road | Distance | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresno → Big Stump entrance | Hwy 180 east (Kings Canyon Rd) through Centerville and Squaw Valley; the Hwy 245 turnoff for the cabin is ~12 mi before the entrance. Pay or show the pass at Big Stump | 62 mi | 1 hr 30 |
| Big Stump → the Wye | Hwy 180; fork 2 mi past the entrance — **left** is Hwy 180 into Kings Canyon (Sep 25), **right** is the Generals Highway into Sequoia (today) | 2 mi | 5 min |
| Wye → Giant Forest Museum | Generals Highway south, winding, past Stony Creek and Lodgepole | 28 mi | 55 min |

Return is the same way in reverse, ~1 hr 30 from Giant Forest to the cabin.

### Cabin stop on the way in — decide later

The cabin is ~5 mi south of Hwy 180 on Hwy 245, near Pinehurst; ~10 min each way, ~40 min with unloading. Arrival there would be ~11:30 AM, before the 4 PM check-in, so it only works if the host agrees to an early drop and the door code is active. The code (0110) arrived Sep 23; ask Cheyenne (+1 559-790-6432 · Cheyenne@ProspectReal.com) beforehand.

- **Option A — stop.** Fridge for the groceries, no food in the car at trailhead lots (bear rules: food out of sight by day, never overnight), and the door code is tested in daylight — the property has no cell service, so a failed code at 6:30 PM means driving back toward the highway for signal. Giant Forest at ~1:15 PM
- **Option B — straight to Giant Forest.** Buy a cooler and ice in Fresno, keep food in the boot. Giant Forest at ~12:30 PM; first time at the cabin is in the dark, so have the code, the host's number and the turn-by-turn saved offline

## Plan

> Menu: [`parks_sights.md`](../parks_sights.md). Roads all open per NPS Sep 23; Crescent Meadow Road is open to cars on weekdays after the shuttle season. No sunset wait: the day ends at the cabin in daylight.

- **~12:15 PM** Lunch — options, in order of fit:
  - Lodgepole Grill & Market — grill counter (burgers, sandwiches, salads) plus a market; 8 AM–9 PM daily to mid-Oct. On the Generals Hwy 4 mi north of the museum, so it comes first from the Wye. +1 559-565-3301
  - Cooler at the Giant Forest Museum — no food sold there
  - The Peaks at Wuksachi — lunch is Sat/Sun only; dinner 5–10 PM daily with reservation
- **~1:15–3:00 PM** General Sherman Tree from the main Sherman lot on Wolverton Road — ½ mi down 200 ft to the tree, Congress Trail 2-mile paved loop from the tree, ½ mi back up. **Walk the whole loop**: the far end has the President (second-largest tree in the world), Chief Sequoyah beside it, and the Senate group just beyond, all better than the Sherman fence
- **~3:15 PM** Giant Forest Museum — restrooms, map, 15 min. Beetle Rock is a 2-min walk behind it: bare granite facing west over the foothills
- *Optional:* Big Trees Trail — 0.7-mile paved loop around Round Meadow from the museum lot, ~30 min; redundant after the Congress Trail
- **~3:45 PM** Crescent Meadow Road to the end (2 mi past the museum). Tunnel Log on the way: 8 ft wide, 7 ft high, bypass if unsure. Crescent Meadow: 5 min to the meadow edge, or the 1-mile flat loop past Tharp's Log (~40 min) if there is energy
- **~4:30 PM** Moro Rock — small lot at the trailhead; ~350 steps, 20 min up, view 4,000 ft down the Kaweah canyon and east to the Great Western Divide. Whoever stays at the bottom: Hanging Rock, a 5-min path from the lot to a boulder with the view back at Moro Rock
- **~5:15 PM** Leave for Miramonte; cabin ~6:30 PM in daylight — test the door code (0110 + unlock) before dark. Dinner at the cabin from the groceries, or Lodgepole Grill on the way (until 9 PM), or Grant Grove Restaurant 2 mi past the Wye (listed until 9 PM)

## Drive / walk

Everything is inside the Giant Forest, on two roads: the Generals Highway and the 3-mile Crescent Meadow Road that leaves it at the museum.

1. **Drive** Fresno → Big Stump entrance → right at the Wye → Generals Hwy south to Lodgepole. ~2 h 15 from Whole Foods
2. **Walk** none. Lunch at Lodgepole
3. **Drive** Lodgepole → Sherman lot, 2 mi south, right on Wolverton Road. 5 min
4. **Walk** ½ mi down to the Sherman Tree, 2-mile Congress Trail loop to the President and the Senate, ½ mi back up. ~3 mi, 1.5–2 h; the climb back to the lot is the only effort
5. **Drive** Sherman lot → Giant Forest Museum, 2 mi. 5 min
6. **Walk** 2 min behind the museum to Beetle Rock. 15 min total
7. **Drive** Crescent Meadow Road from the museum to the end, 3 mi. 10 min; through Tunnel Log on the way
8. **Walk** 5 min to the meadow edge, or the 1-mile flat loop past Tharp's Log, ~40 min
9. **Drive** back 1.5 mi to the Moro Rock spur. 5 min
10. **Walk** ¼ mi and ~350 steps up, same down. ~45 min with time on top. Hanging Rock, 5 min from the lot, for anyone staying below
11. **Drive** Moro Rock → museum → Generals Hwy north to the Wye → Hwy 180 west → Hwy 245 south → Todd Eymann Road. ~1 h 15

Walking ~4.5 mi, almost all flat or paved. Driving inside the park ~12 mi.

## Addresses

| Place | Address | Map |
|---|---|---|
| Gilmore Cabin — Miramonte | 48753 Todd Eymann Road, Miramonte, CA 93641 · **door code 0110 + unlock** · Booking PIN 2531 · host +1 559-790-6432 · no cell service | [search](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=48753+Todd+Eymann+Road+Miramonte+CA+93641) |
| Todd Eymann Rd turnoff | from Hwy 245 just north of Pinehurst; the cabin is on the ~2.5 mi residential stretch beyond — exact house not mapped, rely on the address search and the host's directions | [36.69722, -119.01364](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.69722,-119.01364) |
| Whole Foods Market — Fresno | 650 W Shaw Ave, Fresno, CA 93704 (Fig Garden Village); groceries for three nights. Hwy 41 exit Shaw Ave, ~1 mi west; ~1 h 40 from Wawona | [36.80910, -119.80544](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.80910,-119.80544) |
| Clingan's Junction Grocery | 35468 E Kings Canyon Rd (Hwy 180), Squaw Valley · gas station store, last stop before Big Stump; ice, milk, basics · +1 559-338-2404 | [36.75463, -119.17197](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.75463,-119.17197) |
| Lodgepole Grill & Market | Lodgepole Village, off the Generals Hwy 4 mi north of the museum | [36.60422, -118.73139](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.60422,-118.73139) |
| Grant Grove Restaurant & Market | Grant Grove Village, Hwy 180, 2 mi past the Wye | [36.74054, -118.96305](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.74054,-118.96305) |
| Giant Forest Museum | Generals Highway | [36.56470, -118.77270](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.56470,-118.77270) |
| General Sherman Tree | main lot off Wolverton Road | [36.58165, -118.75144](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.58165,-118.75144) |
| Beetle Rock | behind the Giant Forest Museum, 2-min walk | [36.56370, -118.77681](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.56370,-118.77681) |
| The President / the Senate | far end of the Congress Trail | [36.57343, -118.75001](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.57343,-118.75001) |
| Hanging Rock | 5-min path from the Moro Rock lot | [36.54906, -118.77054](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.54906,-118.77054) |
| Moro Rock | Crescent Meadow Road | [36.54409, -118.76511](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.54409,-118.76511) |
| Tunnel Log | Crescent Meadow Road, 1 mi past Moro Rock | [36.55254, -118.76138](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.55254,-118.76138) |
| Crescent Meadow | end of Crescent Meadow Road, lot at the loop trailhead | [36.55457, -118.74880](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.55457,-118.74880) |