Sequoia National Park (California)
A Sanctuary of Giants — Thousands of Years Old
Sequoia National Park, established in 1890 as California’s first national park and America’s second after Yellowstone, is part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range — the same range containing Yosemite National Park to the north. Sequoia has been jointly administered with its neighbor — Kings Canyon National Park, established in 1940 — since 1943 and together Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park measures over 60 miles from north to south and over 30 miles across for a total of ~865,000 acres. The park is home to immense mountains, including Mount Whitney (14,494’) — the tallest peak in the contiguous 48 states — rugged foothills, and the world’s largest trees, not to mention over 800 miles of hiking trails.
This post focuses primarily on the area in and around “Lodgepole Visitor Center and Village” in Sequoia National Park:
Prepare to completely lose reception.
Seriously. There is no cell phone service.
Lodgepole Campground
We arrived on a midweek morning in late June 2022 and pitched our tent at Lodgepole Campground for two nights. Driving north from Los Angeles took us about 4.5 hours with favorable traffic. Reservations for this campground can be made online at Recreation.gov up to one month in advance.
Site #174 was idyllic with ample space, privacy, and wildlife
Below are some of the most memorable hikes and suggestions on how to make the most of your time here:
Tokopah Falls Hike
3.8 miles, 625ft elevation gain AllTrails
This modest hike starts from within Lodgepole Campground and wanders along some campsites and the Kaweah River before heading across wooden bridges and through granite boulder fields to the falls that are its namesake. The falls were flowing at a gentler rate than perhaps they would in the early spring, but hanging out in the presence of The Watchtower, the large, pointed granite monolith topping out at 8,973ft on the south wall of the valley, and taking an (unadvised but) glorious dip in the cold, crystal clear water beneath the falls was a peaceful and restorative experience on our first day after setting camp, especially as the golden hour approached and the light began its symphony. We saw a couple of marmots close up near the falls and a young buck on the hike back to the trailhead. The mosquitos were out after the sunset as usual, so plan accordingly.
Photo By Eliot Brusman (@mudpeach)
Sunrise at Moro Rock
0.5 mile, 350+ steps All Trails
We woke up at 4:30am and set out from our campsite while it was still dark to drive to the granite dome called Moro Rock (6,720ft elevation). The trail is a steep 350+ stone staircase that takes approximately 20 minutes. We started hiking around 5am in the early morning light for a 5:40am sunrise. When we reached the top we discovered some young hikers in hammocks who had made the ascent at 3am and caught a few hours of sleep before waking up to the majestic view. I was so happy for them and wondered if they were fully aware of how amazing their lives were in that moment. The sunrise was pretty special and the hike down was as peaceful as it gets.
Discovering the Sequoias:
Moro Rock is situated near the southernmost boundary of the Giant Forest sequoia grove, one of several sequoia groves found throughout Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park.
Giant Forest Grove is known for having the largest specimens of the largest tree on the planet, and contains popular, paved, and highly accessible hiking trails such as General Sherman & The Congress Trail, which is discussed later in this post. However, the most highlighted trails sometimes lack the tranquility that allows one to discover their majesty. In fact, the secret is that sequoias are found elsewhere in the groves, and the more remote and off the beaten path you seek them out, the richer your experience. One example is the Muir Grove Trail, also explored later in this post, but assuming you have just finished climbing Moro Rock at sunrise, there is something you must do before getting back into your car:
The Sugar Pine Trail, whose trailhead has an unassuming sign inside the Moro Rock Parking Lot adjacent to the trailhead for Moro Rock, is named for containing the world’s largest species of pine trees — the sugar pine — which reaches heights of 270ft, nearly equal to the sequoia, and has the largest pine cone of any conifer. Sugar pine cones are the size of a loaf of bread or a Nalgene water bottle, like they came from another planet, and you will see these trees and their cones on this trail and on your approach to other groves, such as the Muir Grove.
However, the reason I bring up the Sugar Pine Trail is because if you wander no more than 0.3 of a mile down this trail from the Moro Rock parking lot, you will discover breathtaking sequoias, not far from the parallel Moro Loop Road, yet somehow unnoticed and remote, that will fill your mind and soul with awe. If this is not sacred ground I don’t know what is.
Crescent & Log Meadows
2.3 miles All Trails
John Muir called the Crescent Meadow the “gem of the Sierras.” This loop trail is especially pleasant in the early morning, and there is a high chance of seeing wildlife at the edges of the forest.
The trail passes Tharp’s Log — a cabin built into a fallen sequoia tree that had been hollowed out by fire in the early 1860s by a man named Hale Tharp, who was perhaps the first non-Native American to live in the Giant Forest. Additional details on this site can be found on Atlas Obscura:
In 1875, John Muir wrote about an unexpected encounter with a man who is believed to be Hale Tharp while meandering through the Crescent Meadow:
…I stood fixed in silent wonder or sauntered about shifting my points of view. . . exulting in Nature's wild immortal vigor and beauty, never dreaming any other human being was near.
Suddenly the spell was broken by dull bumping, thudding sounds, and a man and horse came in sight at the farther end of the meadow, where they seemed sadly out of place. A good big bear or mastodon or megatherium would have been more in keeping with the old mammoth forest. Nevertheless, it is always pleasant to meet one of our own species after solitary rambles, and I stepped out where I could be seen and shouted, when the rider reined in his galloping mustang and waited my approach. He seemed too much surprised to speak until, laughing in his puzzled face, I said I was glad to meet a fellow mountaineer in so lonely a place. Then he abruptly asked, "What are you doing? How did you get here?" I explained that I came across the cañons from Yosemite and was only looking at the trees. "Oh then, I know," he said, greatly to my surprise, "you must be John Muir."
He was herding a band of horses that had been driven up a rough trail from the lowlands to feed on these forest meadows. A few handfuls of crumb detritus was all that was left in my bread sack, so I told him that I was nearly out of provision and asked whether he could spare me a little flour. "Oh yes, of course you can have anything I've got," he said. "Just take my track and it will lead you to my camp in a big hollow log on the side of a meadow two or three miles from here. I must ride after some strayed horses, but I'll be back before night; in the mean time make yourself at home.
He galloped away to the northward, I returned to my own camp, saddled Brownie, and by the middle of the afternoon discovered his noble den in a fallen Sequoia hollowed by fire-a spacious loghouse of one log, carbon-lined, centuries old yet sweet and fresh, weather proof, earthquake proof, likely to outlast the most durable stone castle, and commanding views of garden and grove grander far than the richest king ever enjoyed. Brownie found plenty of grass and I found bread, which I ate with views from the big round, ever-open door. Soon the good Samaritan mountaineer came in, and I enjoyed a famous rest listening to his observations on trees, animals, adventures, etc., while he was busily preparing supper. In answer to inquiries concerning the distribution of the Big Trees he gave a good deal of particular information of the forest we were in, and he had heard that the species extended a long way south, he knew not now far.
I wandered about for several days within a radius of six or seven miles of the camp, surveying boundaries, measuring trees, and climbing the highest points for general views. From the south side of the divide I saw telling ranks of Sequoia-crowned headlands stretching far into the hazy distance, and plunging vaguely down into profound cañon depths foreshadowing weeks of good work. I had now been out on the trip more than a month, and I began to fear my studies would be interrupted by snow, for winter was drawing nigh. "Where there isn't a way make a way," is easily said when no way at the time is needed, but to the Sierra explorer with a mule traveling across the cañon lines of drainage the brave old phrase becomes heavy with meaning. There are ways across the Sierra graded by glaciers, well marked, and followed by men and beasts and birds, and one of them even by locomotives; but none natural or artificial along the range, and the explorer who would thus travel at right angles to the glacial ways must traverse cañons and ridges extending side by side in endless succession, roughened by side gorges and gulches and stubborn chaparral, and defended by innumerable sheer-fronted precipices....
Bidding good-by to the kind Sequoia cave-dweller, we vanished again in the wilderness, drifting slowly southward, Sequoias on every ridge-top beckoning and pointing the way.”
General Sherman & The Congress Trail
2.9 miles AllTrails
A popular, paved, and highly accessible trail featuring both an abundance of sequoias and American nationalism. Here, the largest trees on earth, colossal masterpieces of nature thousands of years old, have all been named after American presidents, generals and parts of government that are no more than hundreds of years old. Perhaps such naming of the trees helped muster political support for the creation of Sequoia National Park in 1890, when concepts of conservation and protection of certain species from logging were still such new and radical ideas. That would have been a small concession for such an important cause. Who knows.
The Congress Trail can be crowded, especially at the beginning, and the paved path can make the experience feel more like a tourist attraction, but the trees are spectacular and worth seeing.
Muir Grove Trail
4 miles AllTrails (6 miles if campground is closed)
This special trail originates from the Dorst Creek Campground which is 20 minutes north of Lodgepole Campground. The campground was closed in late June 2022 which might have made the trail all that much more special. We parked (as directed from a ranger) in a small parking area on the opposite side of the road from the gated entrance to the campground and walked about 1 additional mile into the campground to the start of the trailhead at the rear boundary of Campsite E. On the way, we detoured into the campground’s amphitheater where we saw more massive sugar pine cones on the ground.
The trailhead sign is unassuming and can be difficult to locate. The first mile leads to the high point of a granite dome with views of Big Baldy and the east face of Chimney Rock. You can also see the very tops of the sequoias of Muir Grove, this hike’s destination, on the ridge to the west. After descending from the dome and crossing a tributary, you will soon reach Muir Grove, where you are free to explore in solitude. A highlight of the trip.
Sequoias & Fire
A Message from the National Park Service
Giant sequoias have coexisted with fire for thousands of years. Their thick, spongy bark insulates most trees from heat injury, and the branches of large sequoias grow high enough to avoid the flames of most fires. Also, fire’s heat releases large numbers of seeds from cones, and seedlings take root in the open, sunny patches where fire clears away fuels and kills smaller trees. But starting in 2015, higher-severity fires have killed large giant sequoias (those 4 feet or greater in diameter, or >1.2 m) in much greater numbers than has ever been recorded. We have reached a tipping point — lack of frequent fire for the past century in most groves, combined with the impacts of a warming climate — have made some wildfires much more deadly for sequoias.
The unprecedented number of giant sequoias lost to fire serves as a call to action. We know that climate change is increasing the length and severity of our fire seasons due to hotter temperatures and drought. To combat these emerging threats to our forests, we must come together across agencies. Actions that are good for protecting our forests are also good for protecting our communities.
You can learn more about this complicated issue here.
People Who Came Before Us
Hospital Rock
In the foothills towards the southern boundary of Sequoia National Park, a National Park Service Exhibit at Hospital Rock gives us a glimpse into the lives of those who called this land home for generations before the mid-19th century, when new settlers arrived bringing disease and conflict to the area:
(Mobile users tilt to landscape mode)
Signs that Pah-din (Hospital Rock) was once a vibrant village are all around us. Pictographs, bedrock mortars, historic fire pits, and obsidian artifacts all tell a story of a way of life.
Imagine a time when a community of hundreds of people lived here. Picture a village with dwellings, children playing, women preparing food, and men getting ready for a hunt. This location inspired a way of life and created traditions and practices that continue today. Village women processed acorns into a flour that was a staple food. They made depressions in flat bedrock to create grinding holes, or mortars, and used cylindrical stones as pestles. Redbud shrubs provide strong, flexible shoots that were split or kept whole to weave into baskets. Elderberry shrubs were used for food, cultural uses, medicine, or ceremonial use…
It does not take much of an imagination to see Hospital Rock as an ideal location for a thriving village plentiful in natural resources. The position is elevated with clear views of people, plants, and animals in the surrounding area and a vista of the adjacent and easily accessible Kaweah River. The depressions in the bedrock used to create grinding holes to make acorn flour are still present and likewise situated in a beautiful and peaceful location. The underside of the rock provides excellent shelter while the upper part of the rock is basked in sunlight.
This is sacred ground to the descendants of those who once lived here. Photos cannot capture the feelings and thoughts one has walking around this small but significant historic site.
As you can see from the mere handful of experiences contained in this post, there is so much to learn about and explore in Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park. I hope that your visit is rewarding and enlightening.