Sequoia National Forest is a vast wilderness, and one of the few places on earth where you can see the giant trees for which it is named. Spanning more than a million ares in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, it can take years to explore the Sequoia National Forest in its entirety. However, if you only have a single day, it helps to plan ahead if you'd like to see as many of the highlights as possible.
On the Road
- Several scenic roads wind through Sequoia National Forest, and choosing the right route can help you pack as much as possible into your day trip. Generals Highway, Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, Sherman Pass Road and Western Divide Highway are among the most frequently traveled and easily navigable routes through the forest. From your window you can see lush forests, towering mountains, unusual rock formations and a variety of wildlife, including mule deer and black bears. You can also pause at numerous picnic areas, lakes, trails, recreation areas and scenic overlooks along the way. Maps are available through the National Park Service website.
Into the Wild
- To really immerse yourself in the wilderness of Sequoia National Park, it helps to get off the road. You can go deeper into the woods on foot, and many trails are short and easy enough to explore in an afternoon or even just an hour or two. Short hikes in the forest include the Grizzly Falls Trail, which begins at the Grizzly Falls picnic area and leads hikers on an easy 0.1-mile stroll to an 80-foot waterfall. Another popular short hike starts at the parking area on Lloyd Meadow Road, 5.7 miles north of Parker Pass Road, and leads to a natural water slide where you can cool off after the 1-mile hike. The Dome Rock Trail is another easy 0.5-mile hike. You could also hike the more ambitious 5-mile trail to Needles Lookout, a mountaintop fire tower with a panoramic view.
Through the Trees
- No trip to Sequoia National Forest is complete without seeing its namesake trees. Unfortunately, giant sequoias don't grow everywhere in the forest, but are instead clustered in groves, greatly reduced in number by logging during the years before the land was preserved as a national forest in 1908. One of the most often visited and, arguably, the most impressive is the Long Meadow Grove, which includes 268 giant sequoias, including 125 that are 10 feet in diameter or greater. This grove is accessible along the Trail of 100 Giants, a paved 0.5-mile footpath that begins on Western Divide Highway about 2.5 miles north of Parker Pass Road. You can also visit the Converse Basin Grove which is home to a 2,000-year-old, 269-foot giant known as the Boole Tree.
Considerations
- You can pack quite a few additional activities into a day trip. Dozens of lakes and streams offer fishing opportunities, and with a current California fishing license you can catch bass, trout and various other game fish. You can pack a lunch at dozens of picnic areas, book a whitewater rafting trip on the Kern National Scenic River, climb several rock faces near Needles Lookout or take a dip at Remington Hot Springs. The forest is open year-round, and winter visitors can take advantage of sledding, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and a unique snowy view of the sequoia trees in winter.
