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Three
Rivers
More than just a place to gas up the car before heading into Sequoia
National Park, Three Rivers has long attracted artists, writers, and other
free spirits. A group called the Kaweah Colony settled here in 1885 (six
years after the town's founding), hoping to create an egalitarian, self-sustaining
community based on harvesting timber from the giant redwoods nearby. For
six years they met with some success, but the shift in public mood toward
preservation of the mountains' scenic resources (rather than more plundering)
doomed the Kaweahans' venture. Now with a population of about 3,000, Three
Rivers has become a resort town at the con- fluence of the north, middle,
and south forks of the Kaweah River. It's a good place to stretch your
legs and spend the night, for lodging, always limited in national parks,
is quite possibly unavailable if you venture into Sequoia-Kings without
a hotel reservation. Three Rivers' lodg-
ings, on the other hand, are numerous and vary from comfortable bed and
breakfasts to sizable chain motels. ART GALLERIES and shops in town are
few, but you might stop in at Gallery 198 (42268 Sierra Drive; 559/561-4716),
featuring glass, ceramics, wood, and unusual copper
baskets. Spring wildflowers are another attraction, and in early May the
RED BUD ARTS AND CRAFTS FESTIVAL (at the Lions Club Roping Arena on N
Fork Drive, about 1.5 miles up-canyon from Highway 198) cele- brates their
return before the 90-plus temperatures of summer—and the waves of
park-bound tourists—arrive once more. A business association
called the RESERVATION CENTER (559/561-0410) can provide you with local
event and lodging information.
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