28 Things to See in Sequoia National Park

(Last Updated On: April 9, 2021)

Sequoia National Park is within the southern part of the Sierra Nevada, and there are many things to see in the Sequoia National Park. This park is stuffed with lovely big Sequoias. This experience is simply unbelievable and we had been excited to be spending a complete day exploring this superb park!

This article will give a guideline with a list of things to see in Sequoia National Park

This particular place has all kinds of wonderful issues to see and do, so whether or not you’re going for the primary time or the hundredth you can see loads of new locations to discover. However that being stated, there are some things that actually stand out on this park and that you simply won’t wish to miss seeing!

Things to see in Sequoia National Park

So for those who’re questioning what are the perfect issues to do in Sequoia National Park, right here is my record of tried-and-true favorites which are positive that can assist you to have an unforgettable time!

When you can lease an RV to take and keep IN the park on the Azalea campground! It was so superior to be parked properly underneath these attractive giants and to have the ability to hike on superb trails proper out our door.

1. Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

The Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is the consolidated administration construction for Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park in California, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

The 2 parks have been collectively administered since 1943. They have got a mixed dimension of 1,353 sq. miles. It was designated the UNESCO Sequoia-Kings Canyon Biosphere Reserve in 1976. It’s open 24 hours a day, on a daily basis of the 12 months.

The Parks function all kinds of animals that embrace over 200 species of birds, gregarious slender salamander, western toad, western spadefoot toad, rainbow trout, coyote, wolverine, Mexican free-tailed bat, rubber boa, widespread kingsnake, and lots of extra.

2. Giant Forest

The Giant Forest, famed for its giant sequoia trees, is inside the US’ Sequoia National Park, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

This montane forest, located at over 6,000 feet above imply sea degree within the western Sierra Nevada of California, covers a space of 1,880 acres.

The Big Forest is essentially the most accessible of all big sequoia groves because it has over 40 miles of mountaineering trails. 5 of the ten most huge timber on the planet are positioned throughout the Big Forest. The biggest of those, the Basic Sherman tree, measures 36.5 feet throughout the bottom.

The enormous sequoia tree is essentially the most huge species of tree on earth, and one in every of simply 5 tree species documented to develop to 300 feet in peak. It is usually among the many longest-lived of all timber on the planet.

3. Big Trees Trail

One of many greatest attracts of Sequoia National Park is, after all, the BIG TREES, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park!

Simply a few enjoyable information for you: the enormous sequoia is essentially the most huge tree on the planet and the biggest sequoias are as tall as a 26 story constructing!

Though they aren’t the tallest timber on the planet (that’s the coast redwood), these sequoia timbers are the biggest timber on the planet by quantity.

While you do lastly see them you’ll lastly begin to understand simply how huge they’re! You’ll be able to hear the stats and see them in the footage, however till you’re standing subsequent to one in every one of these giants you won’t really comprehend their dimension.

They’re even within the identity of the park! However for those who’re in search of probably the greatest locations to see them right here, then you need to go to Huge Timber Path.

This path definitely lives as much as its identity and is a superb place to see quite a lot of big sequoia timber in a brief period of time.

Its a 1.2-mile loop path and takes you thru lovely forest areas on a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk.

Whereas any time of day is an efficient time to go, this path is particularly good with the afternoon solar shimmering by the timber!

To get right here, you’ll park your automobile close by on the Big Forest Museum after which take a brief hike to get to the path. Strolling right here will definitely offer you a better appreciation for simply how large these timber actually are!

4. Mount Whitney

Mount Whitney is the tallest mountain within the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of 14,505 feet, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

It’s positioned in East-Central California, on the boundary between California’s Inyo and Tulare counties, 84.6 miles west-northwest of the bottom level in North America at Badwater Basin in Demise Valley National Park at 282 ft beneath sea degree.

The west slope of the mountain is in Sequoia National Park and the summit is the southern terminus of the John Muir Path which runs 211.9 mi from Completely happy Isles in Yosemite Valley.

The east slope is within the Inyo National Forest in Inyo County.

5. General Grant Tree

This can be a quick hike from our campground (about half a mile there) and it was lovely, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

The Sequoia timber is simply unreal how large they’re after which those which have fallen down have these humongous roots and one in every one of them had the proper slide space on it. Ultimately we made it to Basic Grant.

Basic Grant is the third largest tree on the planet by the quantity and it was HUGE. It’s surreal to face underneath this timber and lookup. Basic Grant has a 40-foot diameter at floor degree which might take about 20 folks holding fingers to circle round it.

Surrounding the Basic Grant tree space number of different giant Sequoias to have a look at together with one which had fallen down and the within was carved out so we might stroll proper by it!

6. Crystal Cave (Sequoia National Park)

Crystal Cave is a marble karst cave inside Sequoia National Park, within the western Sierra Nevada of California, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

It’s one in every of at the least 240 recognized caves in Sequoia National Park. Crystal Cave is within the Big Forest space, between the Ash Mountain entrance of the park and the Big Forest museum.

The cave is a continuing 48 °F. It’s accessible by Park Service guided excursions solely. Tickets usually are not bought on-site, however, they should be purchased on the Foothills or Lodgepole Customer Heart.

7. Walk inside Chimney Tree

One of many extra distinctive and strange issues to do on this record—Chimney Tree is an enchanting place to cease throughout your time in Sequoia, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

As a result of it was burnt in a hearth some years in the past, it’s hollowed out from the within and open on the prime…which supplies it the looks of a chimney.

Though this tree was sadly killed within the fireplace that turned it into Chimney Tree, it’s nonetheless an extremely enjoyable place to go to as a result of it’s nonetheless standing and you may stroll inside it!

If you wish to know what it feels prefer to be inside a Sequoia tree then that is the place to go. Truthfully, it’s turned into one in every of my favorite Sequoia National Park points of interest as a result of it’s simply so totally different!

8. Crescent Meadow Road

Moro Rock/Crescent Meadow Street is a paved slender mountain highway positioned within the southern a part of Sequoia National Park, within the U.S. state of California. This highway is mostly closed in winter and spring, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

This highway is mostly closed in winter and spring. Might open earlier or stay open later if climate situations permit, however it may be closed anytime when the entry will not be cleared of snow. This drive offers a real style of Sierran forest and meadow.

Wildlife can typically be seen Spring by Fall, and Spring to early summer season flowers will be spectacular.

The Moro Rock-Crescent Meadow Street leaves the Basic’s Freeway from Big Forest Village and travels for three miles by the southwest portion of the Big Forest. It dead-ends at a trailhead and picnic space.

This highway will not be really useful for trailers or RV’s. Within the winter, the highway is closed to autos, however open to cross-country snowboarding. A number of well-known points of interest are positioned alongside this highway.

You may also go to:

Tokopah Falls
Muir Grove
Congress Trail

9. Buck Rock Lookout

This fireplace lookout provides you superb views of the realm. Climb the 172 steel steps and chat with the oldsters up prime. Make sure to maintain onto your stuff as it could possibly get fairly windy up there, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

10. Moro Rock

The Ranger really use this one. . . it’s 390 steps as much as the highest of rock. It was actually cool but additionally scary, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park!

You’re going up on steps with no railing on quite a lot of it and it’s a straight drop on the aspect! Our youngest Knox is to not positive about heights and he made it up and down however he cried the entire means down.

This hike is brief, however, it takes you straight up the rock by a collection of steps (some with handrails, some without).

It’s a straightforward sufficient hike for a kid to do, however, simply watch out on the components without railings particularly if you’re mountaineering with children.

Climbing Moro Rock is indubitably probably the greatest issues to do at Sequoia National Park, and when you’ve got a free night and need someplace to observe the sundown it is an excellent place to go.

With 360° panoramic views, there actually is not any higher place for watching the sky flip to sensible shades of pink and orange!

In case your children aren’t positive about heights otherwise you don’t like them then you definitely would possibly wish to skip this one.

Or for those who take your children be VERY cautious! It was actually cool up prime and nicely well worth the stroll up however it is advisable to be prepared for it.

11. Lodgepole Visitor Center

Like we’ve got talked about earlier than we take pleasure in stopping on the Visitor Facilities to discover the small free museums they normally have together with speaking to a Ranger about what they advocate we must always try whereas we’re there. This time across the Ranger actually modified up our entire schedule with what she really useful!

Grant Visitor Center picks up some park stickers (we like to purchase them and put them on our RV or van) and to get Junior Ranger books for the youngsters, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

We additionally prefer to cease on the Customer Heart to ask for any suggestions and to make certain there aren’t any sudden highway closures or trails closed.

The customer facilities normally have a pleasant little museum and possibly a film we will watch to study extra in regards to the park.

Grant Customer Heart and village (it has a small common retailer, cabins and a lodge) is tremendous near Azalea campground, most likely a 10-15 minute stroll alongside the path that connects them.

Rising from the forest to see Kings Canyon was superb. The scenic byway is unquestionably one thing to do whereas in Kings Canyon National Park

12. Mount Whitney Trail

The Mount Whitney Path is a path that climbs Mount Whitney. It begins at Crystal Portal, 13 miles west of the city of Lone Pine, California.

The hike is about 22 mi spherical-journey, with an elevation achieve of over 6,100 feet. It’s a particularly well-liked path, and its entry is restricted by quotas from Might to October, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

13. Hume Lake

This lovely lake between Grant Grove and Kings Canyon was initially constructed as water provides for a flume. Now it’s a recreation space the place you’ll be able to swim or paddleboat, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

14. Roaring River Falls

Subsequent we headed to the Roaring River Falls which was a brief paved hike to a wonderful waterfall. We recommend because it was such a straightforward path and the waterfall was actually cool, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

15. Zumwalt Meadow

The final cease of the day was for a 1.eight mile loop hike around Zumwalt Meadow, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

It was a extremely enjoyable hike that took us alongside the river after which up and thru rocks and boulders with the large canyon partitions surrounding us.

It didn’t really feel like 1.eight miles and all the youngsters did nice! The entire path was fairly degree with only a few granite steps at one space.

16. High Sierra Trail

For severe hikers, Sequoia National Park is the beginning of the Excessive Sierra Path, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

If you wish to make the trek to Mount Whitney, the park suggests taking 6 days (10 miles a day) to take pleasure in all of the views.

17. High Sierra Trailhead

The Excessive Sierra Path is a mountaineering path in Sequoia National Park, California, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

The path crosses the Sierra Nevada from west to east. Based on the Yosemite Decimal System, the HST is a Class 1/Class 2 path, which implies easy scrambling, with the opportunity of occasional use of the fingers for steadiness.

From the plateau of the Big Forest at Crescent Meadow the path travels excessive on the northern wall of the canyon of the Center Fork of the Kaweah River to Bearpaw Meadow. This primary 11.four miles of the path is a well-liked although strenuous two-day spherical-journey hike.

The Bearpaw Meadow Excessive Sierra Camp positioned right here dates again to 1934. Leaving the meadow, the path climbs by the Hamilton Lakes Basin to Kaweah Hole which, at 10,700 feet, is among the lowest passes over the Nice Western Divide throughout the park.

From this cross, the route descends into Huge Arroyo after which climbs to the Chagoopa Plateau, solely to drop once more to six,700 feet within the Kern River Canyon.

After following alongside the Kern River, it turns east and climbs parallel to Wallace Creek to the junction with the John Muir Path and Pacific Crest Path 48.9 miles from Crescent Meadow. That is the tip of the Excessive Sierra Path. Wikipedia

18. General Sherman Tree

General Sherman is a big sequoia tree positioned within the Big Forest of Sequoia National Park in Tulare County, within the U.S. state of California, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

By quantity, it’s the largest recognized dwelling single-stem tree on Earth. Whereas General Sherman is the biggest presently dwelling tree, it isn’t the biggest traditionally recorded tree.

The Crannell Creek Big, a coast redwood close to Trinidad, California, is estimated to have been 15 to 25% bigger than the General Sherman tree by quantity.

That tree was lower down within the mid-1940s. One other bigger coast redwood, the Lindsey Creek tree with greater than 90,000 cubic feet was reported felled by a storm in 1905 Humboldt Instances Normal article.

The one drawback with being right here was all of the folks. . . it was tremendously busy and there have been a ton of individuals right here to see Basic Sherman (the biggest tree on the planet) and all the opposite timber. It’s nice that so many individuals are out exploring the parks however will be irritating when it’s so busy.

The hike again up was uphill the entire time, however, was no drawback for all 6 children. It’s paved and has stepped all through most of it.

Additionally, they have one other car parking zone that’s a lot nearer to the tree for handicap entry. When you park there, it’s fairly flat and shut (a few hundred yards or so) to get to Basic Sherman.

19. Cedar Grove Visitor Center

This visitor center was closed, however, the lodge and market space were open so we stopped there to have a beer and get the youngsters an ice cream cone whereas we sat subsequent to the roaring river.

It was an excellent place to cease for a minute to chill out, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

The children are taking in the fantastic thing about Roaring River Falls in King’s Canyon National Park close to Sequoia National Park

20. Boyden Cavern

This can be a privately-owned cavern however gives excursions that go away each hour. When you’re in search of the extra journey, in addition, they have canyoneering and rappelling excursions, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

21. Junction View

This was upon the prime and gave you a tremendous view down into Kings Canyon the place you can see the river roaring and in addition, look out over the towering mountains.

It seemed like a portray, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park!

22. Grizzly Falls

This cease got here as soon as we had been down on the canyon flooring and was a straightforward cease with a one minute stroll to an enormous waterfall, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

We have now heard for those who come in the summertime there will not be a waterfall right here because it dries up. We had been there on the finish of Might and it was flowing robustly.

23. Giant Forest Museum

After testing Basic Sherman, we headed to the Big Forest Museum which was surrounded by lovely Sequoia timber and in hindsight.

The museum was good with a handful of small reveals to study extra in regards to the Sequoia timber, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

That they had an enjoyable spinning wheel the place the youngsters might spin it and discover out if their Sequoia seedling made it into an enormous tree!

24. Mineral King

Solely open in the summertime, that is the one car-accessible backcountry within the park.

There are many hikes to select from, and it’s well worth the 28-mile windy highway trek, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

25. Sequoia National Park’s Tunnel Log

The tunnel by Yosemite’s well-known Wawona Tree was lower in 1881 as a vacationer attraction, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

It was the second standing sequoia to be tunneled (the primary, a lifeless tree, nonetheless stands within the Tuolumne Grove in Yosemite).

The Wawona Tree stood for 88 summers earlier than it fell in the course of the extreme winter of 1968-69. Elements resulting in its failure embrace heavy snow, moist soil, and, after all, the weakening impact of the tunnel.

When it fell, the Wawona Tree was roughly 2,100 years previous, 234 feet excessive (71.three meters), and 26 feet in diameter on the base (7.9 meters).

The well-known tunnel was 7 feet vast, 9 feet excessive, and 26 feet lengthy on the base (2.1 meters by 2.7 meters by 7.9 meters).

26. Kings Canyon Scenic Byway

Our subsequent cease was to journey on the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway and soak up the fantastic thing about the canyon from up above after which from down beneath, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

There have been a couple of scary roads in the best way however the magnificence was nicely priced it. It was loopy to come back out of the attractive Sequoia forest and see this awe-inspiring canyon.

27. REAL Log Cabin

Lastly, for those who assume you’ve seen a log cabin earlier than, assume once more! With a daily cabin on the entrance and an enormous sequoia log within the again, this cabin is certain to impress!

This cabin was named for its proprietor, Hale Tharp, who was the primary non-Native American settler in what’s now Sequoia National Park, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

He constructed his house on this hollowed out Sequoia log, which you’ll be able to step inside to see how he lived. Would you reside in a hollowed-out Sequoia log for those who might?

It takes a fascinating sort of particular person to wish to reside in a spot like this, however, it’s so cool to get to see this historic web site in a particular person! It’s nicely well worth the quick hike it takes to achieve this web site.

28. Road’s End

That is the place to begin for those who’re trying to cross the Sierra and in addition the tip level for those who’re doing the scenic bypass. You may also benefit from the river, and there’s a spot the place you’ll be able to soar in, which is one of the interesting things to see in the Sequoia National Park.

What You Have to Know Before You Go

Choose up an America the Lovely National Park Move to economize on park visits.

There are 5 totally different areas with customer companies. Grant Grove, Big Forest, and Foothills areas are open all 12 months. Cedar Grove and Mineral King are open from late spring to early fall.

There are black bears within the park they usually can break into automobiles that have meals in them. When you’re uncertain the way to correctly retailer meals, try this web page.

In the course of the summer season, free shuttles run by the Big Forest and Lodgepole areas.

Deliver layers so you’ll be able to add or take off layers based mostly on what you want.

Ticks are widespread within the foothill and Kings Canyon grasses. Make sure to test your self after exploring these areas.

Mobile service is restricted within the park. You’ll find free public WiFi at two customer facilities: Kings Canyon

Customer Heart and Foothills Customer Heart.

Elevation and climate range significantly all through the park. Whilst you might discover flowers blooming within the foothills, there could be snow at increased elevations limiting entry to sure components of the park. Test the park’s web site earlier than visiting to see what present situations are.

You might be required to have tire chains in sure components of the park within the cooler seasons.

Poison Oak is widespread as much as 5000 feet elevation. When you contact any a part of it, wash your pores and skin and garments immediately.

When you see darkish clouds or lightning, don’t stand underneath timber, in shallow caves, or on excessive factors like Moro Rock. Keep inside a big construction or car.

Finest Locations to Stay in Sequoia National Park + Kings Canyon

Wuksachi Lodge, Sequoia NP (mid – luxurious) – positioned simply across the bend from the Basic Sherman Tree.

Silver City Mountain Resort, Sequoia NP (mid-range) – an excellent place to remain if you wish to hike around Mineral King.

Dow Villa Motel, Lone Pine (finances) – 31.5 mi away.

What’s Nearby

Yosemite National Park (138 mi NW, 3 h 5 min drive, map)
Alabama Hills Recreation Area, Lone Pine (251 mi, 4 h 35 min drive, map)
Manzanar National Historic Site (259 mi, 4 h 40 min drive, map)
Death Valley National Park (268 mi, 4 h 45 min drive, map)
Mojave National Preserve (287 mi, 4 h 50 min drive, map)

About Me

Dashy

28 Things to See in Sequoia National Park