Mineral King

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Mineral King
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Mineral King Valley from Timber Gap
Mineral King Valley from Timber Gap
Location: Tulare County, California
Coordinates: 36°27′03″N 118°35′41″W / 36.45083, -118.59472Coordinates: 36°27′03″N 118°35′41″W / 36.45083, -118.59472
Added to NRHP: October 24, 2003
Governing body: Sequoia National Park

Mineral King is a subalpine valley in southern Sequoia National Park, USA, carved out by the East Fork Kaweah River. It is also the name of the community of historic cabins in and near the valley, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Mineral King Road Cultural Landscape.

The valley lies at an elevation of over 7,500 feet (2,300 m), and is bounded by notable landmarks such as Sawtooth Peak, Timber Gap, Empire Mountain, Farewell Gap, and Sawtooth Pass. The valley is a popular destination for hikers. Many trails lead out from the valley, including one to Eagle Lake.

Mineral King is located 25 miles off of Highway 198 in Tulare County, California. The winding, mostly-paved road starts in Three Rivers and climbs to the end of the valley, which is 7,800 feet (2,400 m) feet above sea level. The road is usually open to public travel between Memorial Day and early to mid November.

In the late 19th Century, rumors of precious metals in White Chief Canyon and on Empire Mountain created the short-lived boomtown of Beulah. In the end, the rumors proved to be false, but the valley nonetheless achieved its name: Mineral King.

Sawtooth Peak visible over the Mineral King Valley
Sawtooth Peak visible over the Mineral King Valley

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[edit] Cabin groups

Mineral King is one of the oldest communities in the High Sierra, with many families owning cabins for six or seven generations.[1]

One mile before reaching the Mineral King cabins is another grouping of 30 or so cabins in an area named Faculty Flat. The Faculty Flat cabins were mostly built in the 1920s and many are listed in the National Historic Register. The name Faculty Flat derives from a group of Los Angeles educators that originally populated the area. There are no commercial services available anywhere in the Mineral King Valley and visitors bring virtually all their food, camping supplies, firewood, and other essentials with them. None of the cabins have electricity and most utilize propane for lighting and cooking with fireplaces providing heating. There are a few public telephones scattered throughout the Mineral King Valley, notably at the Cold Springs campground, a trail head parking lot, and at the very end of the road. Cell phones do not work in the MK Valley because of the remoteness of the area and the steep terrain. There are at least two webcams [2]that provide year-round visibility into the the Mineral King Valley.

Another group of about 50 cabins is about 4 miles down the road from Mineral King in a community called Silver City. Silver City has the only commercial services available anywhere in the region and is the site of the Silver City Resort. Whereas it is neither a city nor a resort there are cabin rentals available, a restaurant, and a small general store with camping and souvenir items for sale. However, no gasoline or fuel of any kind is available anywhere after leaving State Route 198, 25 miles down the winding Mineral King road (a 90 minute drive).[3]

Just down the road from Silver City is an even smaller community of about a dozen cabins, called Cabin Cove. Nearby is the Atwell Mill public campground whose name relates to a sawmill facility dating back to one hundred or more years ago. The National Park Service charges fees for utilizing campsites both at Cold Springs and Atwell Mill. Bears, marmots and other wild animals abound so campers take precautions to protect their food and vehicles. Suggested precautions are posted by the Park Service at the public campgrounds. Camping is not permitted in any location along the road except in the public campgrounds.

[edit] Walt Disney ski resort

Disney's Mineral King Ski Resort was a project developed by Walt Disney and Company in the late 1950s and 1960s. Disney had become interested in skiing around this time, and decided to build a ski resort in Mineral King Valley. At the time, many skiers believed this to be the largest potential resort in all of California. Disney's bid won out over those of other developers, with plans made to build 27 ski lifts, serving an expected 2 million annual visitors, by 1973.

The ski resort was never built though, due to environmental concerns raised by a coalition of preservationists, led by the Sierra Club[4]. After years of legal battles between pro-development and preservationist groups, the Mineral King Valley was annexed into Sequoia National Park in 1978 by an act of Congress. That legislation effectively stopped the plan to ever develop the area into a ski resort.

[edit] Preservation groups

There are two groups devoted to preserving Mineral King:

  • The Mineral King District Association, whose main focus is on attaining recognition of Mineral King as a living historic community.[1]
  • The Mineral King Preservation Society, which is nonprofit, public benefit corporation dedicated to preserving the natural and historic assets of the Mineral King area. Since its inception in 1986, the society has engaged in research, restoration, and preservation planning. Among its other activities is a new partnership with Sequoia National Park to insure preservation of all historic resources in the National Register listed area and assist in volunteer projects and educational activities.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Mineral King District Association.
  2. ^ Mineral King Webcam.
  3. ^ Silver City Mountain Resort.
  4. ^ Dilsaver, L.M.; Tweed, W.C. (1990). "New Directions and a Second Century (1972-1990)", Challenge of the Big Trees. Sequoia Natural History Association. 
  5. ^ The Mineral King Preservation Society.

[edit] External links

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