Big Meadows Cabin (CA)
2Heads up2 fires, nearest 8 mi
- Right now
- Listed not openA database flag with no reason and no date
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 11 notices
In the agency’s own words
Big Meadows Guard Station is located 75 miles east of Fresno, California, in the Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument. The cabin sits at an elevation of 7,600 feet and has views of the meadow and surrounding mountains. The cabin was constructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a residence for Forest Service fire patrol men. The exterior is constructed of redwood board over diagonal sheeting nailed to a standard wooden frame. It was used as a guard station between the 1960s and the 1980s and was restored in 2001. The original features of the cabin were retained including the cabinets. Keep reading
Recreation
Hiking or horseback riding into the Jennie Lakes Wilderness and fly fishing in Big Meadows Creek are popular activities. Buck Rock Lookout is open for visitors. Several Giant sequoia groves are nearby and accessible by vehicle. Mountain bikes are allowed on roads and designated trails in the Giant Sequoia National Monument. Horse Corral Pack Station provides horses for rent and Horse Camp provides overnight camping with stock. Some roads are open to OHV. Numerous trailheads in the area provide access to popular wilderness areas including Jennie Lakes, Monarch and National Parks wildernesses. Hume Lake, only 15 miles away, offers fishing and non-motorized boating opportunities. The Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are near by.
Facilities
The one-story cabin measures 900 square feet and consists of one bedroom, one bathroom, a living room and a kitchen with a service porch. The original cabinets, living room and bedroom flooring and bath fixtures remain. The bedroom provides a queen size bed, twin bunk beds, a bookcase, a night stand and small closet. The kitchen is fully equipped with pots and pans, utensils, coffee maker, microwave, along with paper towels and cleaning supplies. There is a refrigerator with freezer, stove and oven, and a kitchen table with four chairs with four additional folding chairs. The living room has end tables, coffee table, bookcase, rocking chair, an overstuffed chair, a double sofa sleeper that sleeps two and a desk. There is also an outdoor fire ring/barbecue and picnic table. (Click here for a photo and details). Guests should plan on bringing bedding and linens.
Natural Features
The cabin sits across the road from Big Meadows, a large meadow surrounded by a forest of Lodgepole, Jeffery pines and Red fir. A creek runs through the meadow and the Big Meadows Trailhead provides access to the Jennie Lakes Wilderness. There are multiple Giant sequoia groves in the area. Buck Rock is a granite dome, topped with a fire lookout, only a short drive away and Hume Lake is approximately 15 miles from the cabin.
Nearby Attractions
This region has numerous activities and sightseeing adventures. There's Kings Canyon and the Wild and Scenic South Fork of the Kings River, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Boyden Cave, Hume Lake, and Kings Canyon Visitor's Center. There are also hiking trails in nearby Jennie Lakes and Monarch Wilderness areas.
What the agency tells you
Guests will be required to purchase a forest/park permit at the entry of the Kings Canyon National Forest
Guests may purchase a 7-day pass for $35 or an annual pass for $70
The cabin is locked with a combination lock. Guests should call 559-338-2251 five- seven days prior to their arrival for the combination
Everything else this campground posts · 8
Guest must bring their own linens and/or sleeping bags and pillows. Out-of-state or out-of-country guests call 559-338-2251 to make special arrangements
No pets are allowed on the premises
The cabin sleeps six people. Up to two additional guests may tent camp outside.
This cabin is not to be used for large groups or events. Reunions, meetings, wedding receptions, and similar gatherings are not permitted.
RV parking is limited to one RV. Additional RVs are strictly prohibited. RV hookups at the cabin are not allowed to be used or utilized under any circumstances.
Guests should contact the Ranger District before arrival to confirm that there are no conditions, such as fire or weather, that might affect their visit
This is bear country; food should be stored properly; (the Sequoia National Forest and Sequoia National Monument
Don't Move Firewood: Protect California's forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. For more information visit firewood.ca.gov.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- 1 electric
- Longest rig
- 22 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- Shower/Bath Type states a shower on all 1 of this campground's campsite records
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Creek, Meadow
- Backpacking
- Biking
- Birding
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Hunting
- Mountain biking
- OHV riding
- Off Highway Vehicle Trails
- Stargazing
- Wilderness access
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 640th darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 3
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
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Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 1 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA BIG MEADOWS CABIN | 001 | cabin electric | 22 ft | 1,309 ft | 625 ft | $125 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Big Meadow Campground - US Forest Service Sequoia National Forest (CA)Giant Sequoia National Monument · 0.3 miHorse Camp CampgroundGiant Sequoia National Monument · 0.8 mi
Upper Stony Creek CampgroundGiant Sequoia National Monument · 3.7 mi
Stony Creek SequoiaGiant Sequoia National Monument · 3.7 mi
Cove GroupGiant Sequoia National Monument · 3.7 mi
Fir GroupGiant Sequoia National Monument · 3.8 miTake Highway 180 east to the Kings Canyon National Park entrance, where you will be required to purchase a forest/park permit. After entering the park, continue 2 miles to the park Wye. At the Wye, turn right as though you were going to Sequoia National Park and continue on the General's Highway approximately 6 miles to the turn off to Big Meadows. The Big Meadows Road (Forest Road 14S11) is located on the left-hand side of the road. Follow this road approximately 4 miles, where you will find the Guard Station on the left side of the road. Please refer to the small scale map, or contact the Hume Lake District office for more specific directions.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Wilsonia, CA
Typical weather
Typical October night 31°F, day 59°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 17°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Big Meadows Cabin (CA) is in California’s 20th congressional district. Its representative, Vince Fong (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →