OVERVIEW
Yellowstone may have claimed the title of the world's first national park, but Sequoia wasn't far behind. Just 8 years later, Sequoia became the 2nd US National Park. The park is named for the famous giant trees, including the largest in the world, but that's not all there is to see here. In addition to the General Sherman Tree, Sequoia is home to another record-setter, Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48.
While Sequoia is fairly well-known, and the name provides a strong hint for what to expect, King's Canyon is lesser-known but equally if not more beautiful. King's Canyon actually beats out the Grand Canyon for the title of the deepest canyon in the US at 1.5 miles deep! John Muir even called this place "a rival to Yosemite," and we could see why.
If you aren't sold yet, the twin parks have more to offer still! Perhaps you'd like to adventure underground - the park is home to over 35 miles of caverns. Maybe hiking above ground is more your cup of tea - the park contains 108 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail and 87 miles of the John Muir Trail as a part of its 866-mile total. If you're a history buff, the park is home to 23 official historic sites, dating back to the Pre-Colombian era. Last but not least, the park is home to many animals including fan favorites like black bears and endangered species like the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep and the California condor.
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BEFORE YOU GO | ITINERARY PLANNING | IN THE MOMENT
KEY SIGHTS | LAY OF THE LAND | ITINERARY
VISITED: June 2020
BEST FOR
Everyone. There's lots of adventure to be had here, but there are also plenty of accessible trails and sights to see by car for kids & those who are less agile.
KNOWN FOR
The namesake giant Sequoia trees - of course! Don't forget the beautiful drives, glacier-carved canyon, Native American artifacts, and Mt. Whitney.
POPULARITY
Sequoia & King's Canyon don't quite crack the top 10 most visited national parks but are still popular and well-trafficked.
SUMMER
The park is fully open, the streams run swiftly as the snow melts, and the weather is beautiful. All these pros don't go unnoticed and crowds are at their peak. Plan ahead for lodging and parking in the park.
IDEAL STAY
A long weekend is just about the perfect amount of time to spend here for most people.
WINTER
Winter brings a blanket of snow to the high Sierras. While beautiful, this makes parts of the park in-accessible due to necessary road closures & other parts open for snow play. Consider this in your plans.
SPEED
This park can be as active as you want it to be - ranging from an expedition to the highest peak in the lower US to gentle, handicap-accessible trails.
GETTING THERE
Flying into Fresno is an option, but the parks are also about 3 hours from both Los Angeles and San Francisco by car. Visalia is the closest town with plenty of restaurants and hotels.
BEFORE YOU GO
TICKETS:
Needed? Yes, but you can get a pass at the park entrance, which is good for a week. Alternatively, you can buy an AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL PASS, which gives you access to all National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands for a full year.
Cost: $35 per car for one week of access or $80 (+$5 fees) for America the Beautiful Pass (also good for one car)
GETTING THERE:
The closest town is Visalia, which is about 45 - 60 minutes away from both the Sequoia and King's Canyon entrances. Fresno is an additional 30 - 40 minutes in the rough direction of Yosemite and has a small airport with commercial flights. If you're looking to drive in from a larger destination, LA is at least a 3-hour drive, and San Francisco is at least 3.5 hours, all depending on traffic and your specific destination.
You might be looking to string this trip together with Yosemite, which is another 2.5 - 3 hours from Visalia. Death Valley may also cross your mind since it's quite close as the crow flies. However, there are no roads crossing the Sierras, so you're looking at, at least 5 hours from park to park.
GETTING AROUND:
Under normal conditions, the park offers a shuttle. I imagine this is a great option during peak popularity for the park. A shuttle helps cut down on traffic, limits the struggle to find parking (which can get limited), and also lets you focus on the views instead of the road.
That said, the shuttle may not take you everywhere that you are wanting to go, so driving yourself might provide flexibility for those who want it. Be aware the roads are windy and often perched on the edge of the mountain, with sporadic guard rails, so some might find the drive quite beautiful - others less so! Keep this in mind when driving campers / RVs (as well as the 22-foot length restriction), and make sure you have plenty of gas before you enter the park.
LODGING & CAMPING:
Reservation needed? Given the state of COVID when we visited, we booked rather last minute. But, I'd highly recommend reservations well in advance for any other conditions, especially during peak season. Camping was not available in the Park at all when we visited, but you could reserve campgrounds in the National Forest and those were largely booked.
Best options: Visalia is a much larger town than I expected and there were a number of hotel options to choose from.
As far as camping goes, I can't give you a first-hand account here. I would definitely consider camping somewhere close to Cedar Grove so that you can make the most of the area. That said, I'd plan to camp elsewhere for your first night so that you aren't driving the cliffside drive into the canyon late at night. Also, keep in mind that the National Forest intertwines with the parks and offers additional options for camping beyond those offered by the park. When we visited, the only camping options open were those in the Forest.
Chandelier Tree
Grant Grove
Chandelier Tree
ITINERARY PLANNING
Moro Rock
Moro Rock
SEASON:
We went in June, and it was pretty awesome. The temperature was great, the streams were beautiful because of the ongoing snowmelt, and all-around things seemed to be pretty ideal. That said, we went right as the park was opening up after being shut down for COVID-19, so the crowds were much lighter than I imagine they usually are in June.
I can't say much about the other seasons, but I would warn that while there may be some pros to visiting in winter, much of the park is going to be closed. The roads in the park mostly wind along the side of the mountains and would be quite hairy in the winter, so naturally, the park closes them seasonally, making large portions of the park inaccessible.
DAYS TO SPEND:
Minimum: If you are just interested in seeing the big trees, you can hit the highlights of this park in a day. The major groves are both located along the General's Highway and don't take any major hiking to access.
Our Trip: Though you can hit some highlights quickly, there's a lot more to the park once you venture off the paved trail. We were quite comfortable with our 2-day itinerary, spending day one in Sequoia and day two in King's Canyon.
For the Adventurous: If you are comfortable with camping and venturing into the backcountry, you could spend much, much longer here - especially those on a quest to reach the summit of Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the continental US, which requires a 1- to 2-day hike from the East and 6 to 10 days from the West.
Ideal: I think the true ideal for someone who is not a seasoned outdoorsman would be about 3 days. I'd spend one full day in Sequoia, the second seeing the General Grant tree and driving into the depths of King's Canyon where you would stay the night, and the third exploring some of the longer trails in the Canyon.
Summary: If you only have one day, you can knock out some of the biggest highlights, but I'd say 3 days is probably the ideal for an average group.
TIME EACH DAY:
Long answer: I think any way you slice it, you are going to spend at least a full day in the park. It takes a while to reach the entrance of the park from Visalia (45 - 60 minutes), and once you enter the park (at the Sequoia entrance), it's at least another 45 minutes to the Big Trees Grove. The road is windy and fairly narrow, so there's really no cutting this time down - plus you'll probably want to make a few stops along the way!
Because of the nature of driving here, I'd advise planning accordingly to be back before sundown (unless, of course, you're staying overnight.) If you have a long hit list for the day and aren't staying overnight, you'll want to get up as early as possible to get started and beat the crowds.
Short answer: Plan a full day (or multiple full days), and be aware of how the drive time can eat into your day (despite it being a highlight of the park itself).
IN THE MOMENT
DON'T FORGET:
It gets chilly - even in summer! We went in June, and it was 80* in town but only in the 50s once we got up in the park. The elevation changes quite quickly, and you lose about 3.5* in temperature for every 1,000 ft. you climb. There's also a good chance of shade in the forest or a breeze on the vistas that add to the chill.
Good shoes! The trails here are really impressive. Many of the major sights are paved, and lots of the natural trails still have well-formed "steps" made of intentionally placed rocks, but you'll still want to be prepared. You'll be on your feet a lot, so at least aim for a good pair of tennis shoes to stay comfortable, but if you're looking to venture off further, hiking boots are very useful here.
DON'T MISS:
Some of the smaller sights! Spend some time looking at a map ahead of time so you can be prepared to stop at all the places you'll want to see. The winding road forces you to focus on the driving, and you won't have GPS signal, so it's important to have a game plan - especially since there's a lot here beyond the absolute best-known sights. For example, we didn't really know what hospital rock was, and we almost passed it up. But we happened to catch the turn, and it ended up being a top spot of our trip.
The peace and quiet. Though some of the most popular trails are popular for good reason. Try to find at least one less-trodden trail to take in the tranquil solitude here. All parts of the park are really beautiful, so you really can't go wrong.
The animals! Bring a pair of binoculars or a good camera to help catch a glimpse of a variety of animals that call the park home, ranging from bears to bobcats, mountain lions to condors, bighorn sheep to pika. Just be sure to follow park guidelines and rules to keep yourself and the animals safe.
STAY SAFE:
This is bear country. Make sure to secure your food properly and keep a safe distance. Park documents provide good information for keeping you and the animals safe. Bears, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, and animal-borne diseases are all threats here.
Save your brakes! While it may be tempting to hold your foot on the brake on the steep mountain roads, doing so can eventually cause your brakes to overheat and fail entirely. Instead, shift into a lower gear to help slow down your car and take advantage of the pullouts to take a break now and then. The park notes the importance of using paved pullouts to prevent hot brakes from starting a fire in the grasses.
Understand the danger of the rivers. The rivers here are beautiful, but they are also extremely dangerous. Snowmelt from the mountains feeds these waterways leading to dangerously swift and cold waters, especially in spring and early summer.
King's Canyon
King's Canyon
LEAVE NO TRACE
"LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS, TAKE ONLY PHOTOGRAPHS"
While the national parks can feel more like an amusement park or zoo at times, it's important to remember their purpose is to protect extraordinary and often fragile ecological, geographical, and cultural wonders. To ensure we disturb as little as possible and preserve as much as possible, you should follow 7 key principles. As an experienced outdoorsman, these should be old hat, but for new park visitors it's easy to think these principles only apply to those in the backcountry. Don’t make that mistake!
CLICK HERE to learn more about how you can do your part.
1.
PLAN AHEAD & PREPARE
Planning ahead helps you accomplish the other 6 principles. With a plan you are less likely to run out of water, get stuck camping in an unsafe spot, need a fire during a fire ban, carry unnecessary waste, etc.
5.
MINIMIZE CAMPFIRE IMPACTS
A camp stove offers much lower environmental impact vs. a fire. Determine if you even can build a fire without damage by evaluating fire danger (and restrictions), fuel sufficiency, and your own skills. If you do opt for a fire instead of a stove, select a site with sufficient wood and an existing fire ring. Then carefully gather wood with the least impact, monitor the fire, and clean up like you were never there.
2.
TRAVEL & CAMP ON DURABLE SURFACES
Staying on the trail and in established campsites helps minimize damage to fragile landscapes and vegetation. Where that is not possible, understand the impact of walking on different types of surfaces.
6.
RESPECT WILDLIFE
Think of respecting wildlife as not altering their behavior with your own. This means not getting too close or too loud so that they feel frightened, potentially fleeing or worse, attacking you. It also means not trying to get their attention or feeding them. Animal behavior will alter over time if "trained" by humans. Touching animals can also harm either you or the animal through disease, abandonment, or injury.
3.
DISPOSE OF WASTE PROPERLY
Basic idea: "pack it in, pack it out." No matter what you bring, it comes back with you, including leftovers, feminine products, etc. Be sure to dig catholes for human waste and dispose of wastewater (with minimal biodegradable soap) 200+ ft. from water sources.
7.
BE CONSIDERATE OF OTHERS
Many people come to the outdoors to get away from it all - respect that! Take care to keep noise levels down, pets under control (including their mess), and nature preserved for others. Be aware of your use of technology (e.g. music and drones). Also practice good trail etiquette. Uphill travelers and those on horseback have the right of way. Cyclists should yield to both hikers and equestrians.
4.
LEAVE WHAT YOU FIND
This seems easy, but is also easy to break. Leaving what you find applies to EVERYTHING including arrowheads, flowers, fallen trees, even seashells at the beach. Avoid disturbing the ground or trees, including hammering hooks for hammocks or carving initials. It's easier to throw off nature's balance than you might think, especially if everyone "just does a little."
KEY SIGHTS & TRAILS
LAY OF THE LAND
Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park
SEQUOIA | GENERAL'S HIGHWAY:
The Sequoia entrance serves as the start (or end) of the General's Highway, where many of the park's highlights are located. Just driving along this road will essentially build an itinerary for you - it's just a matter of which stops you pick!
Key highlights:
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Tunnel Rock: Fallen boulders that create - you guessed it - a tunnel!
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Hospital Rock: View Native American pictographs and walk a short trail to a beautiful waterfall and river overlook
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Crystal Cave: Expected to re-open in 2021 due to COVID
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Crescent Meadow Road:
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Moro Rock: Lookout point where you can see sweeping views of the foothills and the Sierras
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Tunnel Log: Large fallen log with a hole carved in it that's big enough to drive through
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Crescent Meadow: Beautiful open meadow with great wildlife spotting and many trailheads
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Tharp's Log: Historic fallen tree turned log cabin, located on a trail from Crescent Meadow
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Chandelier Tree: Tree you can stand in and see the sky, located on a trail from Crescent Meadow
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Giant Forest: General Sherman Tree, Congress Trail
Select hikes:
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General Sherman Tree & Congress Trail: The popular Main Trail involves a decent number of stairs, but there is specific handicap access. From the Sherman tree, venture on to the 2-mile Congress Trail through the Giant Forest.
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Big Trees Trail: This popular loop trail follows a handicap-accessible boardwalk lined with informational cards about the large trees in the grove. Located by the Giant Forest Museum.
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Moro Rock: This trail lets you "climb" up Moro Rock to see the views without really having to climb. There are stairs and "ramps" carved into the rock as well as occasional railings - though some are very low - that you can hold onto. If you're terrified of heights or toting small children, this might not be your favorite.
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Several hikes originate from the Crescent Meadow. I recommend exploring here - it was a highlight of our day!
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Not a hike, but the drive itself is gorgeous. It takes about 45 - 60 minutes to get from the Sequoia entrance to Cresent Meadow Road and the Giant Forest Museum and then another 60 - 90 minutes to get from there to the King's Canyon entrance.
SEQUOIA | MINERAL KING:
We did not explore here, but I didn't want to ignore that Sequoia has another entire ranger district to the south. The area almost became a Disney ski resort but was preserved and annexed by the park. My understanding is that this region is a bit more rugged and a great option for those looking for a backpacking trip.
SEQUOIA | MT. WHITNEY:
Though Mt. Whitney is in the park, this area is not nearly as readily accessible as the parts to the west. To get to the portal by car, you'd actually need to go completely around the park to the eastern side. You'd also have to head to the east to even catch a glimpse of Whitney, as the rest of the Sierra range is high enough to block the view.
NOTE: All hikers entering the Mt. Whitney Zone must obtain a permit
Key highlights:
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Mt. Whitney: The highest peak in the lower 48!
Select hikes:
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Hike to peak from Whitney Portal: This trail is 10.7 miles one-way from the eastern entrance accomplished either as a day hike or an overnight trip
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Hike to peak via High Sierra Trail: This trail departs from the Giant Forest in the west and covers 60 miles one-way, which takes at least 6 days to complete (10 for a round-trip)
KING'S CANYON | GRANT GROVE:
You can also start your General's Highway journey here. Depending on your trip plans, I might actually recommend this. We found this entrance to be much less crowded than the Sequoia entrance. (Take that with a grain of salt given when we visited.) This is the gateway to King's Canyon and home to the General Grant Tree - the 2nd largest in the world.
Key highlights:
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General Grant Tree: Dubbed the nation's Christmas Tree, this is the 2nd largest tree in the world despite being up to 2,000 years younger than the General Sherman Tree
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Chicago Stump: Felled as proof against the "California Hoax," the Chicago Stump was cut, transported to Chicago, and reassembled to help show the true size of the mythical giant Sequoias at the 1893 World's Fair
Select hikes:
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Grant Tree Trail: This loop trail passes by several highlights of the Grant Grove including the General Grant Tree, the Fallen Monarch, and the Gamlin Cabin.
KING'S CANYON | CEDAR GROVE:
This area of the park is in the depths of King's Canyon, and arguably, was our favorite part of the park. The views of the canyon and the roaring King's River were truly stunning. The vertigo-inducing drive seemed to be enough to keep some people away, so this part of the park felt more secluded than the rest.
Key highlights:
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Roaring River Falls: A small, powerful waterfall surrounded by granite boulders that's just a short and sweet hike along a rock stream
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King's River: A real stunner, this swift, boulder-sprinkled river runs along much of the drive into the canyon
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Grizzly Falls: Located just off the road with a great spot for a picnic, this 80-ft waterfall is a great pitstop on the drive
Select hikes:
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Mist Falls Trail: We wished we had more time to hike this trail before we had to head back. The 4-5 hour, 8-mile trip offers great waterfall views and is frequented by wildlife, including bears.
Roaring River Falls
Roaring River Falls
ITINERARY
01
SEQUOIA
Explore the sights along the General's Highway including the largest tree in the world
02
KING'S CANYON
Start at Grant Grove to see even more giant trees, then continue on a drive into the depths of the canyon to stay the night
03
KING'S CANYON
Explore the beauty of the canyon and tackle some longer hikes leading to vistas and waterfalls
MORE TO SEE
US National Parks: PTO Travel Pro* | 2 Days in Sequoia & King's Canyon: PTO Travel Pro* | Telluride Destination Guide: PTO Travel Pro*
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