A Popular Giant Sequoia Trails Will Close Temporarily for a 521-Acre Prescribed Burn
Several popular trails in Kings Canyon National Park will temporarily close next week while crews conduct a 521-acre prescribed burn in Grant Grove.
The National Park Service said burning is scheduled to begin October 13, weather permitting. The project will take place west of Highway 180, including areas near the General Grant Tree.
According to the park’s October 6 announcement, the General Grant Tree Trail, North Grove Loop, Grant Grove Day Ride Trail and part of the North Boundary Trail will close during ignitions.
Two of those trails start at the General Grant Tree parking area. The General Grant Tree Trail is a third of a mile long, while North Grove Loop is 1.5 miles.
The General Grant Tree Trail will close during ignitions
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The General Grant Tree Trail passes one of the world’s largest living trees. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the General Grant Tree the Nation’s Christmas Tree in 1926.
The paved loop also passes the historic Gamlin Cabin and the Fallen Monarch, a giant sequoia visitors can walk through.
North Grove Loop starts from the same parking area. The trail runs through sequoias and mixed-conifer forest, along with meadows and creeks.
The park closed North Grove Loop and part of the Grant Grove Day Ride Trail during another prescribed burn in June 2025. The General Grant Tree Trail stayed open during that 349-acre project.
Prescribed burning has a long history in Grant Grove
NPS has used prescribed fire around Grant Grove for decades. The park says burns in the area date back to 1968.
That work has also come into play during wildfires. Much of the land surrounding Grant Grove burned severely during the 2015 Rough Fire and the 2021 KNP Complex Fire, but NPS says Grant Grove largely escaped the worst damage because of its history of prescribed burning.
The KNP Complex burned through Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks after lightning started several fires in September 2021. In the hardest-hit areas, NPS says thousands of mature giant sequoias were killed.
The October 13 start could change
NPS will check weather and air quality before firefighters begin the 521-acre burn. If conditions are not right, the October 13 start date may change.
The park has not said how many days this round of burning will take, but firefighters plan to keep the trail closures as short as possible and reopen the areas once the work is finished.
