mineral king road

美国是自驾旅游的圣地，红杉和国王峡国家公园如果没有车简直寸步难行。沿着路开这，两边犹如移步换景，时而是成片的针叶林，时而出现一个雄壮的瀑布，时而是一片湖景，又可能变幻成一幅草地牧场的图像，如此多样的景色并不多见，让人流连忘返。

It's closed this time of year, but Mineral King is definitely worth the drive...what a payoff! Good dayhiking and a great way to catch Mt Whitney from the back, with way better scenery than any other route that I know of.

I rode Mineral King maybe 10 years ago. The tips are to ask at the Ranger kiosk if the store at the end is open. It's one road in and one out. 520 something in 25 miles each way. You'll go at a crawl up to maybe 25-35mph. Totally worth it. Have your own gas, snacks, water. Cell service? Not likely. If the store is open, they often have some incredible home made pies. There was a pay phone at the store with some local carrier.There will be giant Sequoia redwoods by the side of the road. One root ball to ride under, incredible! Don't be in a hurry, take lots of pictures, and on the way down, mind your rear brake so you don't overheat it.Any bike can make this trip depending in rider experience. We were on 3 BMW's. An early GS, an RT Sport Tour, and a K1100RS. All experienced riders. The RS has the tiniest stubs for handlebars and the least ground clearance and did fine.Tell your friends about this road. It's a semi-secret and worth the trip. Gas up in Three Rivers.

A long and winding mountain road, but incrdibly beautiful. Be sure to have a meal at the Ol' Buckaroo food truck in Three Rivers! Food is local, frsh, organic and delicious.

Some people might not give good reviews because of the accident here, but then again, who to blame? nature for being beautiful or people for being dumb? I guess is an easy answer here, I really enjoy going to Mineral King specially because of the road, very narrow but with amazing views all the way inside the park, I really recommend this road to any one you will be surprise how pretty, just remember to be careful..

I know three people who actually survived going over the side on this road! On some sections "going over the side" can mean an almost sheer drop of 600-800 feet! Often times those drivers who are intimidated, drive way too close to the middle of the road presenting a "head-on" collision opportunity for the unsuspecting driver coming around a blind curve. This happened just few years ago when a scared driver had a head-on collision with a park ranger.Take this advice: Anytime you can, drive this road at night! You'll be infinitely safer being able to see the headlights coming around the many, many blind curves.Day or night, plan on 1 1/2 - 2 hours to travel from Highway 198 to Mineral king Valley.

The year was 1971 and my youngest brother and I began the drive up the road in my `65 Opel wagon to check out the camping as our parent`s and sister were going to follow us in their station wagon and 15` travel trailer. Almost a mile up that steep road I had to lighten the load which had my brother exiting the car! We turned around and headed back down the mountain and found a payphone to call our parents and give them the news. Little did we know that we had missed the sign below that advised visitors of the difficulty for trailers and RVs to travel this road! A very enjoyable vacation was in store for all of us in Sequoia at Azalea Campground that year which was not our first there for our family.

Had a great time this summer visiting the park. Lots of easy trails for the family to hike. My daughter participated in the junior ranger program which was a very special memory for her. The giant sequoias are an awesome attraction if you haven't lost your sense of wonder. I mean these trees are unbelievable. Lot's of great places for picnics and of course camping if you plan for that. We stayed just outside of the park and drove in to different locations each day planning for a few hikes and a picnic each time. We had my grandparents with us this time so we went at a slow pace but it was great being surrounded by the beauty of the parks and having time with family. Seniors can purchase a lifetime pass to the parks for a low rate which benefited us on this trip. - Early morning drives are great for spotting wildlife.- Junior Ranger Program for Kids - http://www.nps.gov/learn/juniorranger.cfm- Check out the day hikes - http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/dayhikes.htm- My favorite picnic - Grizzly Falls

Both are located in the Sierra Nevada (California) at the latitude of Fresno. The altitude is about 2000 meters for the Sequoia and goes down to about 1000 meters for the King Canyon.In the Sequoia Park, you can drive and see interesting view points and hike as there are several trails. Do not expect large views because the park is covered by trees. Of course the most interesting trees are the sequoias, of which the "Sherman Tree" is the largest tree in the world ! The "Grant Tree" (on the road to the King Canyon) is just a little bit smaller. The road in the park is rather slow and there are not so many parkings.The King Canyon park has a "V" shape ; there are not so many trees in this park but the views are spectacular. The road goes down from the Sequoia park and follow afterwards the river at the bottom ; you return by the same road. You find also trails especially at the end of the road. When I was there (October 2012) the Sequoia Park was in the clouds but descending to the King Canyon lets the sun appear.Count one day to visit each park.

This road was only big enough for one and a half cars at most. Plus there were a lot of blind spots, and no guardrail of any kind. One mistake and that's it....your history...I prayed all the way up and down everytime I had to drive it.

The brochure I read states that this road has 698 tight turns. I think it is correct. The road ends in a valley surrounded by mountains. There are plenty of hikes that go up to gorgeous mountain lakes & waterfalls. A few miles before the end of the road is Silver City, where you can grab a bite to eat.

Love the hike at White Chief but if you are out of shape, DO NOT attempt the hike. Make sure you are acclimated to the altitude for a night or two before hiking so you don't get altitude sickness (nausea, vomiting => brain swelling). Take your time and enjoy. Marmots may chew on your radiator hose so park your car a mile down the road from the hike and hoof it up. If not, get chicken wires and wrap it around your car. Don't let these cute friendly creatures deter you from hiking this Swiss Alps look alike beauty.

It is a nice 25-mile long scenic drive, narrow in some places but wide enough in most places to allow an oncoming vehicle. It is easier if you are in the range of 15-20 mph. If you are coming back from the King's canyon/Sequoia, then the scenery is not extraordinary as you would have seen similar or better already but still worth the drive. We went for about 11 miles or so where the county maintained road ended and then turned back. While going, saw a small King snake resting on the road but some vehicle had smashed its head when we were coming back. Several cars had passed by without problem; some of them looked like local residents as there are houses along the road.

MARMOTS: there is no concern about marmots chewing car engine hoses except in early summer. You can ask a ranger to confirm this, as I did.ROAD:Although the road is only one lane wide in a few spots, if you go no faster than 15-20 miles per hour, stay on your side of the road, and look ahead to see cars coming, chances are there will be a turnout where you can stop and wait for them to go by.My husband drove our 4Runner up to Atwell Mill Campground on Friday, September 16, 2011 around 1:30-2:30 p.m. We never had to back up to let another car go by. We encountered maybe six cars coming down, either at wide enough spots or we could see each other soon enough for one or the other car to wait in a wide spot.The 23-site (or is it 24?) campground had only about four-five sites occupied on Friday night, only two on Saturday night, and between Saturday and Sunday we saw only a few sluggish mosquitoes, seven deer (strolling through the campground) and four bears (two strolling separately through the campground, one running away from the trail, one crossing the Mineral King Road)!When you start going up Mineral King Road, the road is essentially never straight. It constantly turns right or left. The driver must constantly be turning the steering wheel, right, more to the right, more to the right, left, more, more, right, left, right, left, etc. The road width varies between two narrow lanes and one narrow lane, every few breaths. It gets wider between the National Park entrance and Atwell Mill Campground.Visibility varies from seeing the road a few hundred yards ahead, to blind, one-lane curves around steep rocks. After one such turn, we found a cow standing on the road's right edge, against the cliff, grazing.Although there are no guard rails, the edge of the road is never precipitous. There are often grasses, bushes, and trees along the road's edge that make it look even less steep. See photos.To see how the road never goes up or down steeply, see photos.If I had to drive on this road, I would likely go at 15 (not 20) miles per hour, so it would take me more than an hour, therefore the challenge for me would be to maintain such intense alertness and precise responsiveness for that long.On Sunday we drove on (up) to Silver City and the campground beyond. The road was narrower more of the time. On the way down to the bottom of Mineral King Road, we encountered about three bikers pedaling up.COMPARISONS:- Compared to road #30 (Honoapiilani Highway to the west, Kahekili Highway to the east) around the northwest coast of Maui, Mineral Kind Road is easier because it lacks sections that are simultaneously narrow, steep, and long--especially when you have to back all the way down a long, steep, one-lane slope to let a pick-up truck go by!- Compared to Road 612 to Bjargtangar, the westernmost point in Iceland (and Europe), Mineral King Road is much easier. Road 612 in Iceland doesn't have steep grades, but it is narrow, unpaved, loose gravel, along a steeper cliffside, half-way between ocean and sky. Driving west requires driving along the ocean side of the road, with locals barreling down the other way. I drove an SUV out that way and was scared the whole time--thank goodness it didn't take very long!

We didn't really know what to expect, except a lot of turns. It's scary, it takes a long time, and probably isn't worth it if you don't intend to hike, but did we have fun! I drove the way up, my husband drove the way down. Expect to want a drink once you return to the bottom. Expect to be scared most of the way. You will see cattle. You will see locals driving at what you think are Nascar speeds (when we hit 8 mph we thought we were too fast...) The scenary is incredible, and the experience was worth every minute!