Mineral King Road is only open for the non-snowy parts of the year. The road is bumpy, narrow, windy, and long...if you are willing to sacrifice 1.5 hours of driving, you will be rewarded with spectacular scenery. You will pass some lovely Sequoias (not nearly as large as the giants found in the rest of the park, but fascinating nonetheless. At the end of the road, you are greeted with a vista of Sierra Mountain splendor. Particularly beautiful in the fall, the trails lead past some lovely shades of orange and yellow mixed among the pine trees. We saw some snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, flowing streams, old cabins, and lovely valleys. We hiked the Mosquito Lakes Trail, but there are trails of all lengths and skill levels. I suggest the Farewell Gap Trail to Aspen Flat for an easy 2 mile, 1 hour hike. There are port-a-potties at the trail head.

I went to Sequoia for the first time and made Mineral King my first destination. I came thru Kings Canyon to Sequoia. You actually have to exit the park to get MK. Shortly after passing the Park Kiosk you will take a sharp left and head upwards. The drive up to Mineral King is one lane and is extremely winding. At some points 2 cars could fit on the road, but for some sections only one can fit. The drive is very fun...but you MUST be paying close attention. It is the most serpentine road I have ever driven on in my life. The views are tremendous. You are increasing in elevation by over 6000 feet.

Mineral King is beautiful. The area is kept pristine. Everywhere I went looked like looks like humans are rarely there. I hiked from the valley up to Monarch Lake. The hike is great.. but it is steep. I live at sea level so hiking from 7500 to 10200 in elevation was a little tough, but hiking up from the valley and getting to take in the views was worth the extra effort.

If you ever have the chance, take the time to drive up and do some hiking in Mineral King. You will most certainly find this beautiful section of the Sierra Nevada rewarding and worth the effort.

Kings Canyon National Park: I expected to see "trees", I wasn't quite prepared to be overwhelmed by the beauty and majesty of this forest of giants. Having traveled quite a bit and having seen many natural wonders-this ranks up there with some of the best! Just when you think you have seen the grandest or the most interesting individual or group, you look up and see another more grand than the last. The peace you can experience in the woods in very calming. It was just what I needed on this trip, I could have wandered for many hours, simply enjoying just being there, soaking up the quiet and the wonder of creation.

Mineral King is a hidden jewel in the Sierras. A lot of people don't even bother to check it out probably because of the long, winding, one lane road to get there but it is one of the most beautiful places to go. We just got back from an eight day camping trip. We camped at Cold Springs campground which is the last campground along Mineral King road.

While setting up camp we were greeted by a few deer that wandered past our camp nibbling away at all the green grass and bushes that were abundant in the area. The deer visits became daily occurances, usually in the morning and just before sunset. They would come out of a small riparian area located just behind our tent and forage along as they slowly walked past the tent and our campsite and headed on their way through the campground. We must have seen at least a hundred deer during our camping trip.

At least we didn't have to worry about the marmots chewing up our car wiring or radiator hoses. That part of the year was over. Still, you could see many people wrapping chicken wire around the bottoms of their cars just to make sure.

The first four nights we were there we had some light rain off and on around sunset. The overall weather was great, it was a huge difference from the heat of the central San Joaquin valley.

The hiking is awesome with some of the best views around. There are many alpine lakes that you can hike to and fish if you like. Be forewarned that the altitude is pretty high here. Most of the trails start at about 7500 feet and then climb pretty rapidly. Some of the more strenuous trails can reach altitudes over 12,000 feet but the views are spectactular. The wildflowers were blooming everywhere and we were amazed at the extreme variety of wildflowers to be seen.