A California mountains weekend getaway at Sequoia National Park is just a six hour drive from either San Francisco or Los Angeles

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Sequoia National Park, Calif.—For  California mountain vacations or weekend getaways, maybe you've been to Big Bear Lake, Yosemite National Park, Mammoth Mountain or even Lassen Volcanic National Park. One of our favorite mountain weekend getaways is to Sequoia National Park and its sister or brother national park, Kings Canyon NP. The reason this trip is so inspiring, so refreshing and simply amazing is that when you arrive at your destination over 7,000 feet above sea level, you can gaze out to the distant mountain peaks standing another 7,000 feet higher than where you are. You can see Mount Whitney to the east, standing over 14,000 feet, as the tallest peak in the contiguous United States. (Alaska's Mount McKinley over 2,000 miles north, is a whopping 20,320 feet high!)

While this amazing geography is not the only reason we love to visit Sequoia National Park for a quick trip, it is one of the memories you take back with you as you journey down the mountain to your home, wherever it may be.

Some of the mountain getaways offer cities, casinos, shopping and haute cuisine--and though you'll find some delicious meals served at Wuksachi Lodge at Sequoia National Park, this Sierra Nevada mountain adventure mostly includes blue-jeans, hiking books or tennis shoes in the summer, snow shoes or snow boots in the winter, and sightings of the wild such as coyotes, bears, deer, and maybe even a mountain lion, though they like to hide away from sight. The highlight of this vacation is the towering trees--the biggest in the world!

While the Sierra Nevada Mountains stretch in California 400 miles from Fredonyer Pass in the north to Tehachapi Pass in the south affording many vacations and mountain getaways for Californians, you can drive from the beach at Morro Bay, 186 miles or 4.25 hours by car away, and be in these glorious mountains enjoying nature's splendor amongst the biggest sequoia redwood trees in the world.

Before you go, you should know that summers are absolutely busy in these mountains. With only a few accommodations inside the park, you may end up staying at the base of the mountain in places such as Three Rivers. National parks and state parks are notorious for keeping their parks as close to the original state as possible and doing that means limiting the amount of hotels within their bounds. What does this mean? If you plan to stay overnight either camping or in a hotel, you better book ahead.

Winter vacations and weekend getaways are filled with snow, and planning for a trip means checking the roads to see if chains are required on your car. If you don't have chains, you simply won't get in the park. Chains are sold in Three Rivers and other lowland areas and prices are around $75-150 for chains you generally must put on your tires yourself, and remove as conditions require.

What can you expect on a weekend mountain getaway to Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park? Expect beauty beyond compare. Expect trees so huge, you can't believe how big they are. Expect to stop at a visitors center to learn about the region, the ecology, the trees and there you can get maps, ask questions and even buy souvenir items such as books, toys, clothing and some essentials.

A weekend getaway to the mountains is not the same sort of weekend getaway you'd experience at California beaches, or at its caves, lakes and other unique attractions. But in our book and many world travelers who visit California annually, perhaps the most eye-opening and meaningful vacation is that trip to the Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon!