SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK & KINGS CANYON
Walk through a land of jaw-dropping, massive sequoia trees in Sequoia National Park & Kings Canyon, in California. Find amazing things to do, top family-friendly trails and discover where to find the most impressive trees in these parks.
Sequoias are the largest trees by volume in the entire world and standing next to one is a completely awe-inspiring experience. Sequoia National Park & Kings Canyon are spectacular places to walk among these massive trees and I would love to share with you our favorite spots.
Update 2022: Extensive fires burned in Sequoia National Park in the Fall of 2021, drastically changing the landscape. Grant Grove and Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon luckily escaped the fires, yet there are burned landscapes just south of Grant Grove, along the Generals Highway and throughout various trails of Sequoia National Park.
Please check current conditions/closures here before visiting.
WHERE IS KINGS CANYON & SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK?
Kings Canyon is located in eastern California, and its entrance is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes south of Yosemite National Park’s south entrance.
Sequoia National Park is located just south of Kings Canyon National Park, connected by the Generals Highway which exits the park near the city of Three Rivers, California.
Our family visited Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park in June, prior to the fires of 2021. Here we entered Kings Canyon first, in the north, and drove south on the Generals Highway through Sequoia National Park before exiting near Three Rivers, CA.
Our first stop in Kings Canyon National Park was General Grant Grove.
GENERAL GRANT GROVE
Grant Grove Trail is a fantastic and easy trail that is paved and wanders through a spectacular grove of sequoia trees.
One of the main highlights on this trail is the impressive General Grant Tree. This sequoia is the second largest living tree in the world! It is 267 feet tall and it’s base is 33 feet in diameter. That’s massive!
But don’t stop there. On Grant Grove Trail you’ll also find many unique and fun tree features that you won’t want to miss. One of our family’s favorites was getting to walk through the center of a fallen sequoia!
After Grant Grove Trail, we drove down the Generals Highway to the General Sherman Trailhead.
SHERMAN TREE TRAIL
Visit the Largest Tree in the World by Volume – The General Sherman.
This awe-inspiring tree is 275 feet tall and 36 feet in diameter at the base according to the national park service website. It’s absolutely enormous!
To reach the General Sherman Tree, it is a 1.2 mile out-and-back walk on a paved trail. This trail goes down a hill on the way to the tree, so remember that you’ll have to climb back up it on the way out.
Hiking Tip: The General Sherman Trail is at an elevation of 7,000 feet, so you may find yourself getting more out of breath while walking it.
We really enjoyed walking the General Sherman Trail and there are some really great photo spots, like the one above, along this path. (Look how little the people are to the left of these trees! The size difference is insane!)
After seeing the General Sherman Tree, we highly recommend walking the attached 2 mile Congress Trail Loop. This was our favorite trail in the park!
On the Congress Trail Loop, you will leave the crowds behind and wander on an easy path through a spectacular forest of giant sequoias.
CONGRESS TRAIL LOOP
As you wander on this spectacular trail, and get towards the bottom of the loop, you will find a seriously impressive sequoia on your left, called The President.
The President is my favorite sequoia in the entire park!
Our family of 5, with arms stretched wide, could just barely demonstrate the enormous diameter of this massive sequoia. That’s insane!
As you continue to walk, not far past The President, is a grouping of trees known as The Senate. This was by far my favorite grouping of trees in the park.
(Look how tiny I look, in the picture above, compared to these massive trees!)
It’s hard to express just how beautiful and impressive Congress Trail Loop is.
It’s simply breathtaking.
Aside from the immense beauty of this sequoia forest, you will also see the damage of past fires left in the form of severe scars on many of the trees. Some of these scars reached high up on the trees and left them hollowed out, yet still miraculously thriving.
This struggle and determination to live, by the Sequoia, is overwhelmingly impressive. And before visiting, I had no idea. It was a humbling experience to realize all that many of these giant sequoia trees have overcome to continue to thrive.
On Congress Trail you’ll also pass by this enormous fallen sequoia where you can see its artistically beautiful root structure.
As a side note, don’t forget to keep an eye out for animals along the trail. On Congress Trail Loop we saw this cute marmot and some deer.
But of course the main attraction on Congrees Trail Loop is still these impressive, giant sequoia trees!
MORO ROCK
Less than 20 minutes south of the General Sherman Trail, is a unique trail that climbs up Moro Rock to a sweeping panoramic view of the valley.
At Moro Rock, we climbed the 350-400 steps (my kids lost count) up this narrow 0.3 mile path to the top for this fantastic view. (shown below)
After Moro Rock, we headed to the nearby Tunnel Log.
TUNNEL LOG
This huge Sequoia fell in 1937 and in 1938 they carved this tunnel for cars to pass under. Definitely a fun quick stop to check out.
CRESCENT MEADOW
Our final stop in Sequoia National Park was Crescent Meadow. We chose to have a picnic dinner here at their picnic tables and then walk the 1.6 mile Crescent Meadow Loop.
Crescent Meadow was called the “Gem of the Sierras” by John Muir, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s gorgeous!
Now maybe it was because we visited in the late afternoon/early evening, but the sunlight just seemed to dance through the trees and across the emerald colored ferns that lined the ground. Did I mention that it was gorgeous!
Now I will say, there weren’t that many huge sequoias along this trail, so if that’s what you’re looking for, I would check out some of the other trails I mentioned above. But if you are looking for a beautiful forest walk, this is definitely a trail you should check out.
But aside from the beauty and peacefulness of this trail, Crescent Meadow Loop had another highlight in store for us. As we were walking along, my son saw something move down in the valley below. He asked us to stop and we all began to look. What was it? What had he seen?
A BEAR!
It was a bear! Now luckily it was far away, down in the valley. (The picture above is zoomed in and cropped so you can see it better.) But the bear was there, just meandering through the field below.
So if you are thinking about hiking Crescent Meadow Loop, keep your eyes peeled for any bears that might be wandering near. (It’s also good to be prepared with some bear spray when hiking through any places that bears are known to roam.)
After our exciting viewing of our first bear in the wild, we headed back to the parking lot where we found several deer roaming around.
This was a fantastic ending to our time in Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Park!
After Crescent Meadow, we made our way out of the park on the extremely windy road that heads towards Three Rivers, California.
(Note: If you are prone to motion sickness, please take precautions for traveling this road out of the park, or into the park if you did this trip in reverse. There are a lot of switchbacks along this route.)
Family Lodging near Sequoia National Park:
Comfort Inn & Suites Sequoia Kings Canyon – Three Rivers
- Less than 5 miles from Sequoia National Park!
- Free National Park Shuttle Service Available (May-August) + Free Breakfast
- For Larger Families – offers 2 queen beds + sofa, sleeps up to 6
Unique Lodging near Sequoia National Park:
Matanah Meadows Farm – Great for 2 Families, near Sequoia National Park
- On a Working Farm, animal interactions and on site nature trails
- For Larger Families – This is a 4 bedroom vacation home that sleeps up to 8
Home2 Suites by Hilton Clovis Fresno Airport – offers rooms that sleeps up to 6
Holiday Inn Express Fresno South – offers rooms that sleeps up to 6
Hampton Inn & Suites Fresno – offers rooms that sleeps up to 6
Unique Lodging near Kings Canyon National Park:
Wonder Valley Ranch Resort – 50 minutes from General Grant Grove
- Rustic-styled rooms, pool/ hot tub, continental breakfast, canoes & fishing gear available.
- For Larger Families – can sleep up to 6 in the three bedroom suite or sleep up to 10 in the 5 bedroom house.
I hope this information for Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon was able to help you better plan your visit. And hopefully you found a few things to do & fun trails that you or your family would like to hike. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions below.
Have a Great Trip with Your Traveling Feet!
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