SEKI Wilderness Permit — Lodgepole — Redwood Canyon

Redwood Canyon (Lodgepole): what makes it different

Redwood Canyon is the backpacking door into the Redwood Mountain sequoia grove from the Redwood Saddle trailhead. The first legal camp is only 1 mile in at Redwood Creek, groups are held to 10, and fire damage from 2021 means most of the old loops are no longer maintained.^1,4,8

Getting to the start

Recreation.gov says to park at Redwood Saddle and warns that the dirt and gravel Redwood Saddle Road can be impassable early in the season. Permits for this entry come from the Kings Canyon Visitor Center, though NPS also lists Lodgepole and the Ash Mountain Wilderness Office for the Grant Grove trails.^1,2

From the Generals Highway the road is unpaved. NPS puts the trailhead 2 miles from Highway 180 on rough dirt, the Trailmaster says the dirt stretch runs 1.7 miles from the Quail Flat junction, and a 2019 hiker called it about one lane wide with sneaky bumps and put the dirt at about 2 miles. The sources disagree by a few tenths of a mile, so allow for a slow drive.^6,12,11

NPS says Redwood Mountain Road is unpaved, runs from the Generals Highway to the trailhead, and generally opens the Wednesday before Memorial Day. It closes whenever weather makes it impassable. An older NPS trail page from 2022 still lists the road as closed, so the July 2026 road page is the one to trust.^7,5

The first leg

Recreation.gov and NPS agree that the first allowed camping is 1 mile from Redwood Saddle, at Redwood Creek. The trail starts on an old dirt road, and NPS says the Hart Tree loop follows that road 0.3 mile to the first trail sign.^1,2,5

The Trailmaster describes the same first stretch as a wide forest path to a signed junction, with Barton's Post Camp, an old logging site, about a mile out and Hart Meadow another mile beyond. NPS places the Hart Tree spur at 3.2 miles and the Big Springs spur at 3.6.^12,5

Terrain and difficulty

Recreation.gov calls this a relatively easy trail through one of the largest sequoia groves, with two 6.5 mile loops that can be joined. NPS gives the Hart Tree loop as 7.3 miles with 1,100 feet of gain and the Sugar Bowl loop as 6.5 miles with 1,480 feet of gain, and says the two together make a 10 mile loop.^1,5

A hiker who did the loop on October 22, 2019 logged a range of about 5,500 to 6,900 feet, felt the south and west facing slopes warm up, and found downed wood on the trail but nothing impassable. That was before the fire changed the grove.¹¹

The 2021 KNP Complex Fire burned about 23% of the grove at high severity, according to Wikipedia, where more than 75% of the trees died. The Hart Tree remains one of the 25 largest trees by volume, though the nearby Roosevelt Tree died in the fire.¹⁰

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Redwood Canyon (Lodgepole), overnight: 15 people a day. This is the daily quota in the Redwood Canyon division text on Recreation.gov, read October 15, 2026, which says 10 of the 15 are reservable. It is the division's published description, not a live calendar read.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

Groups are capped at 10 people here, below the 15 person trail limit used elsewhere in the parks. NPS also lists Redwood Canyon among the places with a 10 person off-trail limit and a two night camping limit, and it prohibits campfires.^1,8

Overnight stock use is not allowed from this entry point.¹

Cattle from grazing allotments in the neighboring national forest sometimes wander into the canyon, and NPS asks hikers to tell a ranger if they see any.⁵

Where it leads

Hart Tree is the headline stop, at 3.2 miles on the Hart Tree loop. The Trailmaster adds the Tunnel Tree, a hollowed sequoia log the trail goes through, and Fallen Goliath, an ancient fallen giant that now feeds young trees.^5,12

The Sugar Bowl loop climbs the ridge to overlooks of Big Baldy at 1.5 and 2 miles, then drops into a dense stand of young and mature sequoia. Big Springs is a separate 3.6 mile spur.^5,12

What trip reports say

Candace Gregory of Sierra News Online hiked the Hart and Sugar Bowl loops on October 22, 2019 at about 60 degrees. She saw dogwood color along the creek, crossed Barton Creek, found a small waterfall on the Hart Trail, and had lunch at a log crossing on Redwood Creek. She mentions no camping.¹¹

The Trailmaster, a guidebook author, calls the trails a quieter wilderness feel than the busy groves around Giant Forest. He suggests a short 4 mile out and back along the creek if time is short and says hiking is the only way to see these groves. His page does not mention fire damage.¹²

When to go from here

NPS posted on June 18, 2026 that the maintained trail from the trailhead down Redwood Creek had been cleared, while other routes were densely overgrown with heavy fire damage. By October 13, 2026 the conditions page said only 2.5 miles of trail in the Redwood Canyon area were maintained and advised against the others because of tree hazards.^3,4

The road is not open to vehicles in winter, so plan around the late May opening. Recreation.gov's division text still carried a closed due to fire notice when we read it, so call the Kings Canyon Visitor Center before you drive up.^5,7,1

Compare with nearby entry points

• Ladybug: Ladybug also lets 15 people in a day with 10 reservable, but it starts low at South Fork, climbs to Ladybug Camp in 1.7 miles, and NPS says the south facing trail is open all year. Redwood Canyon camps after 1 mile, and one 2019 hiker put the loop between about 5,500 and 6,900 feet.^1,9,2
• Colony Mill East: Colony Mill East is the other fire-affected entry in this group. Recreation.gov caps it at 8 people a day with none reservable and also marks it closed due to fire, so Redwood Canyon, with 10 of its 15 places reservable, is the one you can plan ahead.¹
• Belle Canyon: Belle Canyon is a Jennie Lakes entry with 25 people a day, 15 reservable, and leads to Seville, Lost and Ranger Lakes. Redwood Canyon is a grove walk with creek camping, not a lake trip.¹

Sources

1. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness Permits, Redwood Canyon division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Wilderness Trail Descriptions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Trail Conditions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Current Conditions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Redwood Canyon Trail, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Redwood Mountain Trailhead, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Road Information, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Minimum Impact Restrictions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Ladybug Trail, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Redwood Mountain Grove, Wikipedia. Read 2026-10-15.
11. Hiking Redwood Canyon Loop in Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, Sierra News Online. Read 2026-10-15.
12. Sequoia: Redwood Canyon, The TrailMaster. Read 2026-10-15.
13. Wilderness Permits & Reservations, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Redwood Canyon permit