The United States Congress designated the Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness Area in 1984 and it now has a total of 736,980 acres. For a complete listing of public laws and further information on district offices, click here. About the Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness Sequoia National Park, America's second oldest park, was eventually joined with Kings Canyon National Park to form an area described only with multiple superlatives, a parkland of which everything off the beaten track has been designated Wilderness. Here in the heart of California wildland, almost surrounded by other designated Wildernesses, you'll find some of the most glorious scenery on Earth, a world of high peaks, deep canyons, lush meadows, bright lakes, rushing rivers, sparkling streams, and big, big trees.
Nothing living in the world grows larger than giant sequoias.
They can achieve over 300 feet in height, more than 2.7 million pounds in weight, bases over 40 feet in diameter, bark over 30 inches thick, and more than 3,200 years in age. In their shadow one gains a sense of being more in a cathedral than a forest. To the west, the park descends to dry foothills of oak and chaparral toward the San Joaquin Valley. To the south runs the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River, as well as the Wild and Scenic North Fork of the Kern River. Boating is not allowed within the park, but outside, the Kern provides some of the best white water on the planet.