National Park roads take us to and through some amazing sights to which we might not otherwise have access. The Generals Highway, dedicated in 1935 and connecting Sequoia National Park and then-named General Grant National Park (later incorporated into the newly-formed Kings Canyon National Park in 1940), is a steep, narrow, winding 32.5-mile (52.3-kilometer) route with numerous switchbacks leading from Sequoia National Park’s Ash Mountain Entrance to the Big Stump Entrance in Kings Canyon National Park.

A view of the Generals Highway from the top of Moro Rock, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks / NPS file

Roads into what are now park boundaries were originally dry, dusty (except when it rained), narrow and dangerous dirt affairs. Originally constructed more with logging and other economic purposes in mind during the late 1800s, and later repurposed for recreational use, these roads were unable to stand up to the influx of tourists desiring to drive to these Big Trees on their own thanks to the advent of the automobile around 1913. The National Park Service, which was then entertaining the idea of creating a single nationwide park-to-park highway, national road connecting park, saw the benefit of building a connecting road between Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

A 1933 view of switchbacks on the Generals Highway, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks / Frank Been via NPS

According to Park Staff:

Under the supervision of National Park Service Director Stephen T. Mather, a new road was surveyed to provide auto access to the Giant Forest. The Peters Survey, completed in 1919, first identified the route that would become the Generals Highway. The new road would connect the existing Mt. Whitney Power Company route at Hospital Rock with the Giant Forest by way of a switchback ascent on Deer Ridge. The original design specified a one-way road to the forest utilizing the Colony Mill route as the exit. Construction of the one-way highway began in 1921 but by 1923 a decision was made to widen the new route to a two-way road. The Colony Mill Road was closed to visitor use following the completion of the Generals Highway to Giant Forest in 1926.

The highway's extension from Giant Forest Village to the northern park boundary and on to General Grant National Park was begun by the Bureau of Public Roads in 1926. The National Park Service and the Bureau of Public Roads signed a joint agreement in January 1926 for the survey, construction, and improvement of major roads within national parks and monuments. Under this agreement, the Bureau of Public Roads supervised the extension of the highway from the Giant Forest Village to the park's northern boundary at Lost Grove, the construction of two bridges, many culverts, the reconstruction of the road below Hospital Rock, and the paving of the entire highway.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a program of the Emergency Conservation Works Act, was one of the New Deal programs initiated under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. The CCC provided work for unemployed young men through federal agencies, such as the Department of the Interior. The CCC played an important role in many state and national parks. In Sequoia National Park, the corps established ten camps between 1933 and 1942, contributing extensively to the development of Generals Highway. CCC enrollees improved conditions along the highway through the removal of fallen trees and boulders, eradication of construction scars, rounding and revegetation of slopes, and widening the road to eliminate blind curves. The CCC constructed much of the stonework located on the Generals Highway including gutters, culverts, guardwalls and retaining walls. The CCC also carved rustic signs for the highway including the Ash Mountain entrance sign (1936) and the northern park boundary sign (1937).

Dedicated on June 23, 1935, at a cost of $2.25 million, the newly named Generals Highway cemented a partnership between Sequoia National Park and General Grant National Park. On the day of the ceremony, 669 cars carried 2,488 people from both the Sequoia and General Grant entrances to create a convoy along the park-to-park highway and meet in the center. By 1940, General Grant National Park was incorporated into the newly-formed Kings Canyon National Park where the highway continued to multiply the visitation between the two parks. A major accomplishment with a beautiful scenic experience, the Generals Highway is a major feature of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

The 1935 ribbon cutting ceremony dedicating the Generals Highway, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks / NPS archives