The roads in red, it's written Open summer only. What do they mean by summer? We will be staying at the Wuksachi Lodge April 21-23 and we're hoping to see as many things in the area as possible.
I read many reviews on Trip Advisor on Wuksachi Lodge and many stayed there in December so I guess there's some areas open all year long?!?
I've had lunch at Wuksachi Lodge. It was quite nice but rather pricey. It was allowed after the former Giant Forest Village was removed. Here's a better map from the NPS website:
https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/upload/SEKImap3_2015.pdf
The way it works is that a lot of the smaller roads are listed as "Roads open summer only". Also the road from Hume Lake Junction to Roads End (Kings Canyon Scenic Byway) is closed for winter. The roads that are "open summer only" are mostly spurs coming off of Generals Highway. That's stuff like gravel roads (Chicago Stump, Redwood Mountain Grove) as well as some of the side roads to Crystal Cave, Panoramic Point, and Tunnel Log. For example, Crystal Cave's tour operating season is May 25 to September 30.
http://www.explorecrystalcave.com
If Redwood Mountain Grove is open, I would say go there if you can handle the fairly reasonable, but long hiking. I did it with my wife - she wasn't really in great shape and handled it well. That's the biggest sequoia grove anywhere, and it has a less developed feel than Giant Forest or Grant Grove. The trails are completely unpaved, and none of the trees have any kind of identification. The tallest known sequoia tree is located there.
Mineral King might be open. That place has quite a controversial history, where Walt Disney was looking to build a ski resort there when it was under Forest Service control. They never did it, and the Walt Disney Company gave up about a decade after Walt died. Country Bear Jamboree was originally developed for Mineral King, with the idea that it would be a dinner show for visitors.
There is that part of the map that says "no gasoline sold in parks". Technically true, but that doesn't tell the entire story. There are still gas pumps inside the park (I remember they were Chevron back when I visited as a kid) but now they're only available for NPS/Forest Service/concessioner use. There is fuel sold in the area, but it's all in the Forest Service areas (aka Giant Sequoia National Monument). There is fuel sold at Stony Creek Village. The Hume Lake Christian Camp has fuel too, but the last time I was there I only saw regular and mid grade. It was also difficult to find someone to start the pumps, which at the time needed a key. I don't know if they've upgraded since to more modern pumps. There may also be fuel at Kings Canyon Lodge, but I'm not sure after the lodge burned down. I heard their fuel pump (antique gravity fed pumps) survived. When I was there I remember fuel was only sold at a 5 gallon price, where they have to hand pump the fuel into graduated glass vials, and then gravity feeds the fuel to the nozzle.