A Short Visit to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Overview

After a few days in Yosemite National Park in California we drove south through Fresno and then east, climbing the hills up into Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks via Highway 180 that enters Kings Canyon National Park from the northwest. These two Parks adjoin one another. We spent two nights in Sequoia National Park and that was just enough time to see the major sights. Sequoia National Park felt very quiet compared to Yosemite, even with pretty full campgrounds and regular shuttle buses operating. It’s all relative!

Map of Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.

The giant sequoias are unique to this area, with climate conditions that are perfect for their growth over thousands of years. These trees are also naturally resistant to fire, disease and insects due to the high concentration of tannin in the sequoia’s bark. In the Parks, you will see evidence of fire and how the trees have survived.

Below are a few highlights of our visit.

General Grant Tree (Kings Canyon NP)

The General Grant tree was not far from the entrance to Kings Canyon and we made this our first stop. General Grant is 40 feet wide at its base, the widest-known sequoia tree and “just” 1,700 years old (some sequoias are 1,000 years older!). It was proclaimed to be the Nation’s Christmas tree in 1926. Good thing they didn’t cut it down! Other fun facts are shown in an image below.

The General Grant Tree in Kings Canyon National Park is the 2nd (or 3rd, depending on which literature you read) largest tree by volume in the world.
A few facts about the General Grant Tree.

Left and Middle Images – Fallen sequoia trees near General Grant. Right – near General Sherman.

Since we arrived late in the afternoon, after visiting General Grant we drove to Lodgepole Village and Campground in Sequoia National Park, passing through a small burn area at the entrance.

The Northwest entrance to Sequoia National Park, on the Generals Highway.

After getting settled in camp, we enjoyed a great park ranger talk that evening at the nearby amphitheater where we learned a great deal about the local black bear population (we learned that that black bears can be white, brown as well as black!).

General Sherman Tree

During the summer, shuttles operate between Lodgepole Village/Visitors Center and Moro Rock, so rather than drive and try to find parking at each stop, we took the shuttle, a very convenient way to go.

Our first stop was the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree in the world by volume, it’s 2,200 years old. A half-mile trail from the shuttle stop leads to General Sherman and provides access to other nearby trails.

A few fun facts about the General Sherman tree.

Big Trees Trail

A short distance south of General Sherman is the Big Trees Trail, a 1/2 mile loop that will take you on a tour of some of the other massive sequoias in the Park. Everywhere you look are these giant trees, making you feel very small! Also, along another 1/4 mile path, you can visit the Giant Forest Museum where the geology and history of these trees and area is explained.

Examples of the giant sequoias, note in the right image how the tree has swallowed up part of the huge boulder!

Additional images of the Big Trees trail. On the right – Robyn is standing next to a very young sequoia that will probably outlive me by 2,000 years or more!

Near the Big Trees trail we saw a couple bears – we were a little way off and they didn’t pay much attention to us.

Moro Rock & Tunnel Log

Continuing south from Big Trees Trail, and a short drive off the main road is Moro Rock. You can climb to the top via a 1/4 mile stairway taking you 300 feet up this granite dome for some amazing views of the surrounding mountains.

View of Moro Rock.
Stairway up Moro Rock.
View from the top of Moro Rock, looking east. Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental U.S., is at the eastern edge of Sequoia National Park (not quite visible here).
The shuttle also travels past “Tunnel Log” near Moro Rock. Our camper van is too tall to take this tunnel, but if you have a car, go for it!

We camped at Lodgepole Campground in Sequoia NP, a good location for visiting the primary sights in the Park. Lodgepole Village has showers (although they are not the cleanest showers I’ve seen), laundry facilities and a small cafe and convenience store. As with Yosemite, we planned ahead (3-4 months) to ensure we got our campsite reservations.

Entrance to Lodgepole Campground.

Unfortunately we did not have time to really explore Kings Canyon National Park, I wish we could have. Please note there is really only one road into the primary area of Kings Canyon National Park (north of Sequoia NP) and it’s a pretty long drive. My recommendation would be to spend a least one night in Kings Canyon and then two nights in Sequoia National Park. Plan enough time for your visit, the roads are not fast, as with other roads in the area, they are windy, narrow and slow. We exited the Park on the southwest corner via Highway 198 towards Visalia and Bakersfield.