Best Cabin Camping near Hanford, CA

Somewhere up near the starry night a pinecone the size of a cat begins its descent to the soft, needle laden ground below. It softly thumps against a branch, and then another, and still another. What seems like minutes, indeed enough time to walk a ways down a path, or find the restroom, or toss a ball many times with kids, the soft thumping grows a little louder, and boldly becomes a clunk…clunk…thunk…until the pinecone emerges from the cover of limbs and lands…bouncing…on the ground at my feet. This is the mighty sugar pine; a tree whose girth is so large in its own right that our family of five cannot manage to stretch our arms, hand-in-hand, around the whole of the tree. And yet, like the small dog that mercilessly barks, the giant sugar pine displays its fantastically large pinecones as a means to say, "I am here", rather than get lost among the biggest trees in the world by volume---the giant sequoias.

This isn't just a land of giant trees. Sequoia and King's Canyon boast some of the most grandiose monuments in all of the continental United States: the deepest canyon, the tallest mountain, incredible caves, the view from Morro Rock, a collection of some of the highest mountain passes, and an expansive backcountry wilderness. Despite the many wonderful park visual aids to teach visitors about the size of these great sequoias, and even standing at the foot of these great trees, I found it impossible to comprehend their size. The extremes of this beautiful place bring with them a sense of humility, much like standing at the edge of the ocean, and all that remains is peace and serenity. While we found this park to be far more awe-inspiring than Yosemite, really than any of the any parks we've visited, it is far less touristed and crowded.

And then there is the wildlife. California Black Bears were resting in every meadow that we walked by, usually making a meal of grubs in the rotting logs. We stopped to let a mama Quail pass with all her babies in a row behind her. Marmots greeted us from the hidden nooks, running here and there to find something to nibble.

With a national park like this, I'd be willing to sleep in my car! But I didn't have to, fortunately. We stayed in a cabin in Grant Grove, centrally located in the park. The cabin was furnished perfectly, and included all that we needed for bedding. There was a lovely fire fueled stove outside on the covered patio. The showers were good enough and there was a place to wash dishes. Grant Village has a large market for groceries, a restaurant and a visitor center. There is a free shuttle that runs through the park to alleviate any concerns about parking. This review is for General Grant Cabins, which are reservable from a separate entity via the National Parks system. However, it is alongside a campground area where tents and RVs can be parked. This is marked cabins only due to the NPS divisions--search for the campground to learn how to set up a tent or park an RV at the very same location.

This campground/RV park saved us when all of Sequoia was either full or closed due to COVID. The host was nice and helpful. It’s accurately described in other reviews — basically providing a dirt parking lot and toilet/shower facilities. No privacy, but still much more than most RV shared landing pads. We were in the tent section at the site closest to the water. There were trees on one side. We LOVED the little dammed up swimming hole in the river. We did not love that several huge trailers were parked in the other site flanking the water entrance. They didn’t belong in the tent area and they ran generators through most of the day. Seemed like long-term or permanent residents. Oh well, we came for Sequoia National Park. It was a real bummer to lose so much time just driving in and out of the park (as opposed to camping in the center of it), but we were grateful to find this one and only available option in July with no reservation.

Absolutely the worst human beings on the planet. A man flashed my son in the bathroom and blamed my son for it.

We camped in a non-electric tent site for $30, I was charged $68 but she (the manager) used up all my points to pay for it, and pocketed the $30 I already dropped in the overnight box.

They only want you to come, sleep, and leave. Don't even think about enjoying the property or cabin.

They have cameras watching you and will nit pick you to death. They will tell you where to park, then get mad at you for parking there.

The employees drive around, obviously under the influence. I once witnessed the maintenance man running over the fire pit. Smh.

It’s hot!! In the summer this place is very hot. However, there are full hookups to run your AC and there are two saltwater pools to jump into. We stopped at this park for one night, twice as a halfway point between southern and northern California. Right off the I-5 freeway next to a Shell and Valero gas station. All sites are pull throughs and we found the gravel to be very level. We did not unhitch for a early morning exit. Bathrooms and showers are cleaned regularly. A rain and windstorm came through in the middle of the night and palm and almond tree leaves were in the pool but by 9am it was cleaned up. The staff is friendly and responsive, and they have a little store that includes some RV supplies such as hoses. Want a quick meal? There is a Baja Fresh and Subway in the Shell gas station next store. Great park to get some shuteye and be refreshed for your next adventure.

First the pros: It’s perfectly located to Sequoias, fairly easy to get in and out and spots are large. Nice for an overnight. The description said they had pull through but they are all back in’s which if I had known that we would have never booked there! Cons: The grounds are small, nothing to be excited about and they have all these little stubby trees that seem to be strategically placed just in the way as sites are all back in. They have full timers as they all seem to have anymore. As we were unloading the jeep a guy parked right in the way so as we pulled around him to get to our site we clipped a fire ring. It appears we weren’t the first to hit it as it was already bent to start with as well as many of the others. The fire rings were rusted metal with an iron grill on top attached to the ground with a chain. To be honest my husband went to the office to confess that we ran over it. The lady thanked him for owning up to it but then charged us over $50 for the ring! I’m sure it won’t be replaced as none of the others that are all bent have never been replaced. It’s not like this park is pristine! I don’t disagree that we ran over it but if it was in perfect shape and not bent to start with then yes!! we should be charged for it. But one that’s already mangled and we get charged…for the cost of a new one- just ridiculous.