Sequoia National Park

Sequoia sits on the west slope of the southern Sierra Nevada, and the drive up it feels like passing through several countries in one afternoon. Near the entrance the land is warm and golden, dotted with oaks and the boulder-strewn Kaweah River. As the road climbs the air cools, pines take over, and then, without much warning, the first giant sequoias appear. These are not the same as the coast redwoods farther north. Sequoias are shorter but far more massive, with trunks so wide that a group of people can stand along one and still not reach around it.

The heart of the park is the Giant Forest, a grove of some of the largest trees on the planet. Winding among them are the General Sherman Tree, the biggest by volume, and quiet paths like the Congress Trail that thread between trunks the size of buildings. Nearby stands Moro Rock, a smooth granite dome with a stone stairway carved and built into its side; the climb is short but steep, and the reward at the top is a huge view out over the foothills and, on clear days, the wall of the High Sierra.

Beyond the groves the park keeps climbing into true high country, a world of granite, meadows, and thin cold air. On the far eastern boundary rises Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet the highest point in the lower forty-eight, reachable only on foot from the back side after a long approach. Most visitors never go that deep, but the sense of that wild upper country is always there, just past the trees, giving the giant forest below it a feeling of being tucked into the roots of something immense.

• Ash Mountain / Foothills Entrance, off CA-198 near Three Rivers, is the main way in and is open year-round. From here the Generals Highway climbs steeply up into the Giant Forest, and that mountain stretch may close temporarily during winter storms or require tire chains.
• Because Sequoia and Kings Canyon are managed together, you can also enter through the Big Stump Entrance on the Kings Canyon side, off CA-180 from Fresno, and reach the Giant Forest by way of the Generals Highway that links the two parks.
• From the west, Visalia and Three Rivers on CA-198 are the closest approach to the Ash Mountain entrance. From Fresno, take CA-180 east toward the Big Stump entrance. Both routes climb thousands of feet of narrow mountain road, so allow plenty of time and drive it in daylight.

• Visit the General Sherman Tree, the largest living thing on Earth by volume. A paved path leads down to its base from the main parking area, an easy walk out and a steeper climb back.
• Wander the Giant Forest and the Congress Trail, a gentle loop that winds among some of the biggest sequoias in the world, including named giants like the President and the two clustered groups called the House and the Senate.
• Climb Moro Rock, a granite dome with a built stone stairway of a few hundred steps to a sweeping view over the foothills and the High Sierra. The steps are steep and the drop-offs are real, so take your time.
• Drive through Tunnel Log, a fallen giant sequoia with a passage cut through it wide enough for a car, a classic photo stop on the Crescent Meadow Road.
• Stroll Crescent Meadow, a lush green clearing ringed by sequoias that the naturalist John Muir is said to have called the gem of the Sierra, with easy loop trails and frequent wildlife.
• Tour Crystal Cave, a marble cavern of formations open in the warmer months by guided tour only, reached by a separate winding road and a walk down to the entrance.
• Stop at the Giant Forest Museum to learn how these trees live for thousands of years, then step outside to the Big Trees Trail loop around a meadow.

Long before it was a park, this stretch of the Sierra Nevada was home and homeland to Native peoples who lived with the land through the seasons. The Western Mono, also known as the Monache, lived on the west slope among the oaks and pines, while the Tubatulabal held the country to the south around the Kern River, and the Yokuts lived in the great valley below. They gathered acorns, hunted, traded across the mountains, and knew the giant trees and high meadows long before any road reached them. Their descendants remain part of the region today.

The trees drew loggers as well as admirers in the late 1800s. Some of the giant sequoias were cut down, a slow and wasteful business given how brittle the huge trunks proved to be, and the destruction alarmed people who saw the groves as irreplaceable. A campaign to protect them succeeded in 1890, when Sequoia became the second national park in the country, right after Yellowstone, and the first set aside to guard living trees rather than a canyon or a geyser field. Kings Canyon was added as its own park later and the two have been run together ever since.

In the years that followed, soldiers of the United States Cavalry, including the Black regiments known as the Buffalo Soldiers, patrolled the young park in the summers to keep out poachers and illegal grazing, some of the earliest park rangers in the country. In the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps built trails, buildings, and much of the road system, including work around Moro Rock and the Giant Forest that visitors still use today.

Later generations came to understand the giant sequoias better and changed how the park cares for them. Scientists learned that the trees actually depend on fire, that their cones need heat to open and their seedlings need sunlight on cleared ground, so a century of stamping out every wildfire had quietly starved the groves of the flames they were built for. Today the park uses careful prescribed burning to help new sequoias take root the way they have for thousands of years.

• The General Sherman Tree is not the tallest or the widest tree in the world, but it is the largest by volume of wood, making it the biggest single living organism on the planet by that measure. It is estimated to be over two thousand years old.
• Giant sequoias actually need fire to reproduce. The heat opens their cones and clears competing brush, so the fires that look destructive are part of how the groves renew themselves.
• A sequoia's bark can grow more than a foot thick and is soft and fibrous, almost spongy to the touch. That thick bark helps protect the tree from fire and insects and is part of why they live so long.
• Sequoia was the second national park in the country, protected in 1890, and it was the first ever created to save a living thing rather than a landscape feature.
• The Buffalo Soldiers, Black regiments of the United States Army, were among the park's earliest guardians, patrolling the groves in the summers and building some of its first trails.
• Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet the highest peak in the lower forty-eight states, stands on the park's eastern boundary, yet it cannot be reached by road from inside the park; the popular trail climbs it from the far eastern side.
• Giant sequoias grow naturally in only one place on Earth, a narrow band of groves along the western slope of California's Sierra Nevada, and nowhere else in the wild.
• The sequoias are so massive that a single large one can contain enough wood to fill many freight cars, yet their seeds are tiny, about the size of a flake of oatmeal.

• An entrance fee applies, good for both Sequoia and Kings Canyon for seven days, and interagency annual passes are accepted. Check the park website for the current rate.
• The park is open year-round through the Ash Mountain entrance, but the Generals Highway up to the Giant Forest can close during snowstorms, and tire chains are often required in winter, so carry them and check road conditions before you climb.
• The road up from the foothills is narrow, steep, and full of tight curves, with posted length limits, so large RVs and trailers should check the vehicle-size rules and consider the recommended approach before driving it.
• Crystal Cave is open in the warmer months by guided tour only, and tickets should be arranged in advance rather than at the cave itself.
• Fuel and services inside the park are limited, so fill up in Three Rivers or Visalia on the way in, and remember that cell signal is spotty to nonexistent in the mountains.

For most visitors, yes. Sequoia and Kings Canyon are two separate national parks that share management, one combined entrance fee, and the Generals Highway that links them. You can drive between them in an hour or so, and many people see both on a single trip, starting in Sequoia's Giant Forest and continuing north into Kings Canyon.

The largest, the General Sherman Tree, stands about 275 feet tall with a base wider than a city street and is the biggest living thing on Earth by wood volume. Giant sequoias commonly live well over a thousand years, and General Sherman is estimated to be more than two thousand years old. They are the most massive trees on the planet, though not the tallest.

The park is open year-round through the Ash Mountain entrance near Three Rivers. The Generals Highway that climbs up to the Giant Forest can close temporarily during winter snowstorms, and chains are often required when there is snow. Some higher roads and Crystal Cave are seasonal, so check current conditions before a winter visit.

The road from the foothills up to the Giant Forest is narrow, steep, and very winding, with posted vehicle length limits. Large RVs and trailers may not be allowed on the steepest stretch and should check the park's vehicle-size rules and recommended routes before setting out. If in doubt, the Kings Canyon side offers a longer but gentler approach to the sequoias.

Timed-entry or reservation systems may apply at busy times or for popular areas and tours, so it is worth checking the National Park Service website before you go. Crystal Cave in particular is by guided tour only and tickets should be arranged ahead of time rather than at the cave.

You can see the General Sherman Tree, walk part of the Giant Forest, and climb Moro Rock in a single busy day. To take your time among the groves, visit Crescent Meadow and Tunnel Log, and add Kings Canyon next door, give it two days or more. Remember the mountain roads are slow, so build in extra driving time.

Late spring through early fall is the easiest window, with the higher roads open and mild weather in the groves. Summer is the busiest. Fall is quieter and lovely. Winter turns the sequoias into a snowy wonderland, but you will need chains and should be ready for road closures, and Crystal Cave and some roads are closed.

Yes, black bears live throughout the park and are very good at finding food, so proper food storage is required. Use the metal food-storage lockers at campgrounds and trailheads, and never leave food, coolers, or scented items in your car, where bears can and do break in. Keep your distance from any wildlife and follow the current guidance posted in the park.

It can be. The Giant Forest sits around 6,400 feet, and trails and viewpoints climb higher, so some visitors feel short of breath or tired more easily than at home. Take the walks at an easy pace, drink plenty of water, and give yourself time to adjust, especially if you are heading to higher elevations in the park.

There is lodging and there are campgrounds inside the park in the Giant Forest and foothills areas, which fill up in summer and should be booked ahead. The gateway town of Three Rivers just outside the Ash Mountain entrance has additional places to stay, and Visalia sits farther down in the valley with the fullest range of options.