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Visiting Hospital Rock AKA Pah-Din in Sequoia National Park

by Laurie Schwaller

Hospital Rock is an excellent stop along Sequoia National Park’s Generals Highway. “Pah-Din” provides panoramic foothill, mountain, and river views; short trails leading to Native American pictographs, bedrock mortars, and cupules; the huge Rock’s “hospital”; a captivating beach and seasonal waterfall beside the rushing Kaweah River; informative interpretive panels; bird and wildlife watching; and picnic facilities, restrooms, and drinking water. For many hundreds of years, Yokuts, Mono, and Tubatulabal people met, gathered, and lived in the large village on this site. Savor, learn from, and remember this beautiful “place to go through.”

November, 2025

NOTE: The Project Team will be conducting research for a full article as volunteer time allows. Contact us if you’d like to help research, write about, and/or illustrate this Treasure!

Maps & Directions:

From Visalia, go east on Hwy 198 through Three Rivers to the Sequoia National Park entrance station (fee), where Hwy 198 becomes the Generals Highway. Hospital Rock is about 6 scenic miles farther up on the Generals Highway.

Site Details & Activities:

Environment: Foothills, abundant oak woodland, Kaweah River, long a large Native American village site (later a Sequoia National Park campground – with store, dining, and ranger station, and a Civilian Conservation Corps work site), Kaweah River access, scenic views, interpretive panels, picnic area, restroom and water fountain, short trails to pictographs, bedrock mortars, cupules; abundant wildlife and diverse plant life; nearby campground (seasonal) and hiking and backpacking trail to Redwood Meadow giant sequoia grove

Activities: birding, botanizing, camping (nearby), fishing (license required), hiking, history, interpretive panels, Native American artifacts, photography, picnicking, river access, wildflower and wildlife viewing (NOTE: this is a bear area; store all food securely and dispose of all waste properly; never feed wildlife – keep wild animals wild for your safety and theirs. The Kaweah River’s current can be deceptively fast and strong and nearby rocks extremely slippery; use great caution near, on, and in this river, and never leave children unattended near the river.)

Open: daily, weather permitting, except in emergency conditions; park entrance fee

Site Steward: National Park Service, Sequoia National Park, 559-565-3341

Opportunities for Involvement: donate , volunteer, Sequoia Parks Conservancy

Links: Sequoia Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS Site); Visit Sequoia.com; Plan Your Visit, Permits, Current Conditions; Sequoia Park Shuttle

Books: 1) Challenge of the Big Trees -The Updated History of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, rev. edition, by William C. Tweed and Lary M. Dilsaver (University of Virginia Press, 2017)

2) A Guide to the Sequoia Groves of California, by Dwight Willard (Yosemite Association, 2000)

3) King Sequoia: The Tree That Inspired a Nation, Created Our National Park System, and Changed the Way We Think About Nature, by William C. Tweed (Heyday, 2016)

4) Images of America Sequoia National Park, by Ward Eldredge (Arcadia Publishing, 2008)