Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are two parks conjoined and operated as one unit by the National Park Service. Essentially, It’s the “buy one, get one free” deal from the National Park Service. Between the two parks there is an extreme diversity of terrain and climate conditions. The elevation in the park ranges from 1,300 feet to 14,494 feet, the highest elevation in the lower 48 states. In these parks you can see some of the largest and oldest trees in the world along with amazing mountains, canyons and caves. One thing that is consistent as you travel the parks is the steep and winding roads.

Sequoia National Park was established in 1890 as the second US national park in an effort to save the giant sequoia groves from logging. The park has been expanded over the years and Kings Canyon National Park was established in 1940. In addition to the generally accessible areas, there are over 800,000 acres of wilderness area within both parks. These parks share a common challenge that we have experienced with several national parks we’ve visited. It is just so spread out and full-service RV parks are few and far between, so you end up doing a lot of driving to see the entire park. We set up camp in Three Rivers at Sequoia RV Ranch which was only 8 miles from the Sequoia entrance but an hour and fifteen minutes to the Visitor Center and 2 1/2 hours to the far end of Kings Canyon. Plan accordingly, but by no means should this be a deterrent for visiting either park.

Because the parks are so spread out and the roads are a slow twisty drive, you will want to plan your days effectively to maximize your travel time. Although we spent two weeks in Three Rivers, we only went into Sequoia 3 days and Kings Canyon one day. There was a couple of things we missed but we were a bit tired of driving, especially since we had just come from Yosemite prior to this. Assuming others might have the same challenges, I will break this down into recommended day trips in each park to get the most bang for the buck… or mile.

Sequoia National Park: DAY ONE

Enter the park from Three Rivers and you will be on Generals Highway, a twisty beautiful drive. It’s a slow drive that’s meant to be enjoyed, so don’t get in a hurry, the journey is half the adventure. It’s worth stopping at any scenic overlook along the way, but it might be easier to hit some of them on the return.

STOP 1. The Foothills Visitor Center should be your first stop to get acclimated, pick up a map (if you didn’t do so at the entry booth) and ask the park ranger on duty any questions you might have. Our greeter outside of the visitor center was a large tarantula, apparently harmless but I gave it all the space it needed.

STOP 2. Tunnel Rock is your first attraction and is a fun quick stop right off the road. This large granite rock forms a tunnel under what was the original road through the park. It’s fun to walk underneath it or on top of it if you so dare.

STOP 3. Hospital Rock is a large rock with Native American petroglyphs that is quite interesting. It just a short walk from the parking area but consider taking the slightly longer walk on a trail to a beautiful little waterfall on the Kaweah River. Look for a small “Trail” sign to the right of the service road.

STOP 4. After a long twisty drive, you will be ready for a stop at the Giant Forest Museum. Here you can stretch your legs, use the restrooms and learn a lot more about the sequoia groves in a self-guided museum tour.

STOP 5. Accessed from the Giant Forest Museum is the Big Trees Trail. This 1.5-mile paved loop trail is your first introduction to the giant sequoia trees. You will really start to appreciate the size of these monsters on the pleasant trail. What separates these sequoias from other large trees such as redwoods, is the girth of the trunk from top to bottom. Absolutely enormous!

STOP 6. This stop takes you to the granddaddy of the forest, the General Sherman Tree. This 3,000-year-old tree stands 275 feet tall and 36 feet in diameter making it the world’s largest tree based on the volume of its trunk. It’s quite spectacular to see along with the other large sequoia’s along the short trail. Although the trail is paved and generally easy, there is a steep descent to get to the General Sherman Tree, which you’ll have to come back up. Consider combining this trail with the Congress Trail which stretches this to about a 3-mile hike.

Depending on how early of a start you got, this might be about all you can or want to do on the first day, especially if you’re driving back to Three Rivers. Speaking of Three Rivers, consider stopping at the River View Grill and Bar for a cocktail and a great burger while sitting out next to the river and watching the sun go down. A perfect end to day 1 in Sequoia National Park.

Sequoia National Park: DAY TWO

You’ll be entering the park the same way you did the previous day, but this time passing by some of the stops that you’ve already seen, unless you have a hankering for seconds.

STOP 1. Turn on Crescent Meadow Road just before the Giant Forest Museum, which will take you to your first stop, Moro Rock. This is the large dome rock that you had likely seen a few times now driving down Generals Highway. Well, there’s a half mile trail that takes you up 300 feet to the top of this rock. It’s steep, and a little hairy in some spots, but offers some amazing views up top. Extreme caution is required going up and down.

STOP 2. If you’ve ever wanted to drive through a tree, now’s your chance. Just a bit further down Crescent Meadow Road is the Sequoia National Park’s Tunnel Log, a large (huge) sequoia tree that had fallen across the road. Rather than cutting away the tree, a tunnel was bored through it that you can drive through. Check your clearance first, but this is a unique experience.

STOP 3. At the end of Crescent Meadow Road is the Crescent Meadow Loop trail. This is a beautiful hike around a meadow and through a sequoia grove. Apparently, there are often bears spotted in the meadow, but we had no such luck on this warm mid-day hike. This was really a pleasant hike with very few people.

STOP 4. Back out on Generals Highway a little further out is the Lodgepole Visitor Center. There are more exhibits, gifts and opportunities to speak with a park ranger, but we particularly liked the film about the history of black bears in the park. It’s safe to say, all of us, including the National Park Service, have learned a lot about proper bear etiquette over the years. It’s worth mentioning that there are no grizzly bears in the park and the black bears want nothing to do with you. So as long as you keep your distance and respect the bears, there shouldn’t be a problem.

STOP 5. Accessed from the Lodgepole Visitor Center is the Tokopah Falls trail. This is a 3.8-mile moderate hike that has a fair amount of incline. We did not do this hike because there was no water running in the falls when we were there in the late summer, but if you’re in Sequoia earlier in the year, this is supposed to be a great hike.

You’ve now covered all the highlights, and then some, along the Generals Highway in Sequoia National Park. It’s time to celebrate at Three Rivers best restaurant, The Gateway Restaurant and Lodge. It was my bride’s birthday, so the timing was perfect for a very nice dinner and a table with a view of the Kaweah River. Both the steak and the seafood dishes were surprisingly good. They even surprised Shannon with a festive desert, complete with sparklers.

Sequoia National Park: DAY THREE

Day three is a day to leave the crowds behind and explore a more remote area of the park. This may not be for everyone, but if you do opt for this adventure consider yourself one of the few who come to Sequoia National Park and experiences the serenity of the road less traveled.

STOP 1. Mineral King Road intersects Highway 198 just outside of Three Rivers. This 24-mile paved and gravel road winds up to 7,600 feet of elevation on a narrow mountain road. It can be intimidating at times, but I only remember passing one other vehicle on the way out. Nonetheless, extreme caution must be taken as there are many blind curves with nowhere to go other than over the mountains edge. It’s a very enjoyable up and back drive that should be enjoyed, not rushed.

STOP 2. Near the end of the road is the Mineral King Ranger Station. This is an extremely remote area that is only open in the summer and the ranger seasonally lives on location. It was good to get some insight on the area from the park ranger, including hiking options.

STOP 3. Just down from the Ranger Station is the Cold Springs Campground and access to the Cold Springs Nature Trail. Personally, I wouldn’t call this a “nature trail” but considering the other trails in the area are extremely difficult, I guess it makes sense. Anyway, this 2 1/2-mile hike was very nice and went along a small river and through an aspen forest. The trees were already in their autumn glory which made the hike extra special. The trail goes to the end of Mineral King Road and where there are several 100-year-old cabins. The options then are to backtrack on the trail or walk along the road. We opted for the latter, since it was a very remote area anyway.

The drive back was pleasant with opportunities to watch the setting sun as we drove westerly. If you get back into Three Rivers early enough and need a treat, Reimers Candies and Gifts is the place to go for all kinds of homemade candies and ice cream.

Sequoia National Park: DAY FOUR (optional)

Crystal Cave is a must see for many people visiting Sequoia National Park. Unfortunately, due to several years of fires and floods in the park, this area was closed in 2024. Hopefully this will reopen soon and if so, it should be a serious consideration when visiting the park.

Per the National Park Service website: Crystal Cave is an excellent example of a marble cavern. A half-mile loop trail leads through the cave, and there’s also a steep half mile walk to and from the cave parking area to the entrance. Because of fragile formations, the only way to visit the cave is on a guided tour. Tours are suitable for all ages. If you decide to see the cave, plan on spending about half a day traveling to the cave, walking to the entrance, and taking the 50-minute tour.

This National Park video provides an excellent description of the cave.

Kings Canyon National Park: DAY ONE

If you were to continue driving north on Generals Highway you will eventually arrive at the entrance of Kings Canyon National Park. We, however, opted for a slightly different, and somewhat shorter, path from Three Rivers. Dry Creek Road is a more remote (but equally twisty) road that runs just west of the parks and takes you into Kings Canyon. It was nice for a little different scenery but certainly wasn’t any easier of a drive than Generals Highway.

Kings Canyon Scenic Byway is the main road through Kings Canyon. Although Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park might get more attention, this road is equally spectacular – and those are high accolades. Again, take your time and enjoy this drive and stop at any overlook that is safe to do so.

STOP 1. Kings Canyon has its own Visitor Center and is always a great place to start the day and stretch your legs after the twisty drive to get there.

STOP 2. Just a mile up the road is the General Grant Tree, the third largest tree in the world, by volume. The General Grant tree is also the world widest sequoia in the world at 40 feet in diameter. It would take 20 people holding hands to encircle the tree! There is a short trail to get to the tree with many other beautiful trees along the way. There’s even a fallen tree that you can walk right through the center of.

STOP 3. On a side road across from General Grant tree is access to Panoramic Point Overlook. You can get to this amazing overlook in just about a half mile hike, or as we did, venture a little further on the trail that just keeps giving and giving with great views the entire way.

STOP 4. As you continue further along Generals Highway you actually leave the national park and enter the Sequoia National Forest. Cherry Gap OHV area is a section with several backroads to explore the wilderness of the national forest. We took the road that leads to Chicago Stump and found a nice little clearing where we had an enjoyable picnic lunch and refueled for the rest of the day.

STOP 5. You now start to enter the most amazing part of Generals Highway, still within the Sequoia National Forest, and finally reach Grizzly Falls. This is an easy to access stop just steps off the road and is a beautiful cascading waterfall, even in late summer.

STOP 6. The amazing drive continues as you enter back into Kings Canyon National Park and reach an incredible spot, Roaring River Falls. It’s not too often you can see such a beautiful waterfall with such little effort. A very short trail gets you to this picturesque waterfall, among rugged rocks, spilling down into a tranquil pool. It’s just calling you to go for a swim, or do like us and do some rock scrambling downstream along the river.

STOP 7. Nearing the end of Kings Canyon Scenic Byway brings you to Zumwalt Meadow trail. This 1.5 mile trail has a little bit of everything. A beautiful river (that you can walk across or take the bridge), more sequoia trees, granite cliffs, a magnificent meadow (potential bear sightings) and some rock scrambling along the trail.

STOP 8. Now you get to do the magnificent drive again, backtracking the way you came in, only this time it should be nearing the golden hour so the granite cliffs will really begin to light up. You can then take the Hume Lake Road cut through which goes through the canyon rather on top of it. The little village of Hume and Hume Lake are an unexpected surprise. The road (not technically a “stop”) will eventually intersect back into Generals Highway.

STOP 9. If you time it right, you will reach Redwood Mountain Overlook in time for a magnificent sunset. Note, the above photo is from Generals Highway, we were a little late making it back to Redwood Mountain Overlook for sunset.

Yeah, I know, this makes for a long day and you still have to navigate back to home base in the dark. But when you travel this far to get to the park you want to get the most out of it. From this point you can either go back the way you came in or take Generals Highway through Sequoia National Park.

Kings Canyon National Park: DAY TWO

It’s impossible to see it all in one day, so if you have an additional day to spend in Kings Canyon and are willing to take the drive again, consider these stops. I can’t speak for these stops personally because we did not go back for a second day, but my research tells me that these are some great options.

STOP 1. In the southern portion of Sequoia National Forest, in-between Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, is a backroads trail that leads to Buck Rock. An old fire lookout is perched on top of this large rock formation at 8,500 feet with some crazy stairs that can get you right to the lookout tower itself. I’m not sure what I was looking forward to more, climbing to the lookout tower, or the road itself.

STOP 2. Also in the southern section of Kings Canyon National Park is the Buena Vista Peak Trail. This two-mile hike, with a bit of elevation, leads to some panoramic views that take those roadside overlooks to the next level.

Since it’s in the same area, you could alternately combine this day’s itinerary with the Hume Lake Road drive and saving some time on day 1.

Kings Canyon National Park: DAY THREE (optional)

OK, I might as well throw this in for good measure. Since Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park is currently closed for renovation, there is an alternative cave adventure in Kings Canyon National Park. I understand, in talking to a Park Ranger, that Boyden Cavern is a very worthy second choice if you’re looking for a cave experience.

If you are looking for a more challenging hike, at the very end of Kings Canyon Scenic Byway are two options. Mist Falls Trail is an 8-mile moderate hike but note that the waterfalls is only a trickle in the summer. I would have been more inclined to do this hike if the falls were running more. And if you’re into something a bit more strenuous, Copper Creek Trail, located in the same area, gives you 27 miles of adventure opportunities. However, I’m told that if you simply take the trail up a mile or two the views are well worth the journey.

Our national parks are just so incredible and no two are alike. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks bring their own unique magnificent beauty and incredible diversity. It’s more than a two for one opportunity, rather more like visiting many different places within one managed park. Fill that gas tank up, buckle up and get ready for some twisty roads and everywhere they lead you to!

Check out all of our pictures from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.