Sequoia Natonal Park

What visit to the west coast would be complete without a visit to see the largest trees on earth, the giants of Sequoia National Park. We parked up in the main parking lot for the trailhead for the Sherman Tree trail. This trail is not very long but we linked it with the Congress Trail. We chose to do this as apparently no other trail has so many giant Sequoias in such a short distance and once you pass the General Sherman, which is the largest tree by volume on earth, the crowds thin out and the forest becomes quiet. This trail is just off the Generals Highway, the main highway through both the Sequoia National Park, Sequoia National forest and Kings Canyon National Park, a steep and winding highway that cuts through the mountains. 

entrance to the General Sherman Tree trail, sequoia national park
entrance to the General Sherman Tree trail, sequoia national park
a woman sitting on a bench in a wooded area along General Sherman Tree trail, sequoia national park
a woman sitting on a bench in a wooded area along General Sherman Tree trail, sequoia national park
General Sherman Tree trail, sequoia national park
General Sherman Tree trail, sequoia national park

We visited in August, so the trail was busy down to the General Sherman tree. The General Sherman tree is huge, but there are many trees along this trail that at least appear as big. Once you have passed the General Sherman tree the crowds thin out as most visitors are only interested in seeing this tree. So we followed the trail along to the Congress trail, this is a looped trail just short of 3 miles long.

a woman standing in front of General Sherman tree General Sherman Tree in sequoia national park
a woman standing in front of General Sherman tree General Sherman Tree in sequoia national park
a giant tree in the middle of a forest in, sequoia national park
a giant tree in the middle of a forest in, sequoia national park
a woman standing in front of a large group of trees in sequoia national par
a woman standing in front of a large group of trees in sequoia national par

Its a while after the Sherman tree, around a mile, but then you come across the President, this is the third largest Sequoia on earth. Following the President you will find the Chief Sequoyah Tree, a baby at only 69m tall! Just a bit further on you will find the Senate and then the House which are impressive groups of Giant Sequoia clustered together. These trees are not as big as the others but make up an impressive sight when all clustered together.

a sign that says, this sign is for president tree
a sign that says, this sign is for president tree
a woman standing in front of a giant tree
a woman standing in front of a giant tree
a man standing in front of a group of giant sequoia trees
a man standing in front of a group of giant sequoia trees
Sequoia national park
Sequoia national park
a sign that says chief sequoyah
a sign that says chief sequoyah

Following on from the House you will come across the McKinley Tree another stunning giant. There is another notable tree that we also saw that is definitely worth finding, but this was off on a slight detour down the Alta Trail which is at a junction just after the McKinley Tree. Its only a few hundred meters along the trail where you come across the Lincoln Tree, this is the fourth largest tree on earth and another giant.

a man standing in front of a giant sequoia tree
a man standing in front of a giant sequoia tree
a woman in a pink shirt and a hat is standing in front of a giant sequoia tree
a woman in a pink shirt and a hat is standing in front of a giant sequoia tree
a tree trunk trunk trunk trunk of a giant redwood tree
a tree trunk trunk trunk trunk of a giant redwood tree
a woman sitting in a hollow in a giant sequoia tree
a woman sitting in a hollow in a giant sequoia tree
two large giant sequoia trees in a forest with a blue sky
two large giant sequoia trees in a forest with a blue sky

Returning back to the congress trail, and then up to the car park again by the Sherman trial is a great walk back, all a little up hill, but the path meanders through some smaller pine tree forest with the occasional interesting feature, a tunnel through a felled Sequoia, a seat and some giant Sequoia roots.

a woman standing in front of a tunnel through a giant sequoia
a woman standing in front of a tunnel through a giant sequoia
a forest scene with a bench and a bench in the foreground
a forest scene with a bench and a bench in the foreground
a large tree stump in the giant sequoia forest
a large tree stump in the giant sequoia forest

The day here was absolutely brilliant, I had always wanted to see the giant sequoias and was not disappointed. If you are heading this way I would thoroughly recommend these trails as there are so many Giants within such a short walking distance. We also visited the Giant Forest Museum where you can see the Sentinel Tree right outside the museum.

Contacts

Under-one-sun@hotmail.com
Divenick@hotmail.co.uk

Subscribe to our newsletter