GIANT SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK: THE WORLD’S LARGEST TREES

Have you ever imagined passing through the tallest trees in the world? Have you ever thought about what the world would look like if you were very small and surrounded by giant trees? We have to tell you that there is a place where the trees reach as far as the eye can see and without a doubt, you will be impressed by the size of these giants. Find out everything about the Giant Sequoia National Park!

Sequoia National Park in California

There is a park in the United States and specifically in the state of California where the trees are much larger than multi-story buildings, first you need to understand what we are referring to, the largest trees in the world are of the species of sequoias, this species of trees not only makes them the most massive but also tend to be the longest-lived.

The Sequoiadendron giganteum or giant sequoias have a favorite place to live in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California because it is in this place where the climatic conditions and terrain conditions are ideal for you to find specimens of more than 2 thousand years and up to 100 meters high.

Where is Sequoia National Park located?

Sequoia National Park is the second-oldest national park in the United States of America, only behind the popularly known Yellowstone Park.

This is a park located south of the Sierra Nevada in Tulare County in the state of California, to access this place you’ll have two possibilities:

• The first is if you’re traveling from the north, such as San Francisco or Yosemite National Park.
• The second is if you’re traveling from the south, either from Las Vegas or Los Angeles, you can enter through the visitor center Kings Canyon.

The approximate travel time to Sequoia National Park is between 4 and 6 hours from cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, or San Francisco. A popular road you can make is taking the Generals Highway, which goes through Sequoia National Park, Sequoia National Forest, Giant Sequoia National Monument, and Kings Canyon National Park in California.

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The best time of year to visit the tallest trees in the world

If you’re looking for the best times to visit the home of the colossal trees, we can assure you that the park is open year-round, but we recommend visiting when temperatures are milder and more pleasant, that is, between April and June.

Although the summer season tends to have a good amount of people and an influx of people, you’ll have access to Crescent Meadow Road, which is a route for walks inside the park and where you can appreciate the redwood forests in the best way.

On the other hand, if you wish to visit in the winter months or during the snowy season, probably, you will not be able to access certain areas and you may even need to carry equipment for your vehicle to enter the park, such as tire chains.

What to See in Sequoia National Park

As you may have already imagined, the national park has places you can’t miss, and yes, indeed, we’re talking about the gigantic trees found here.
We couldn’t stop recommending that you visit this place full of massive sequoias because here you can find yourself with beautiful photographic postcards, plus there are areas for trekking for long hours, either guided or independently, you may even be able to meet several animal species such as:

• Foxes.
• Lynxes.
• Skunks or skunks.
• Black bears.
• Rats and various rodents.
• Quail.
• Woodpeckers.
• Snakes.
• Newts.
• Lizards.

The local fauna will offer you a perspective of a closer approach to nature like no other, but the most important reason why this has become a true tourist destination, is the sequoias that reside here, so I will give you some information about which are the most emblematic places of the moment:

Giant Forest

As you have probably already imagined, this is one of the most striking areas and places of the forest, and not only that but has become a focal point where people often spend time watching the grandeur of the place.

I invite you to consider spending a good amount of time here since this is where the main attraction is concentrated and not visiting it would be like not attending the park practically.

Besides the fact that here you’ll find the star of the place, the famous and popularly known General Sherman tree, that if you don’t visit it, you would be leaving one of the most relevant places of the place without your presence, since the enormous sequoia offers a spectacle just by facing it and appreciating the gigantic size of the species.

Now I will explain why the famous sequoia named General Sherman is so well known worldwide and why so many people decide to travel just to see it.

General Sherman

The fame of this tree isn’t exaggerated, because it’s the largest known tree in the world.

Although it isn’t the tallest or the longest-lived, it’s an impressive tree because of its volume. Here is some extra information so you can learn a little more about why you should visit the star of the place:

• It’s almost 84 meters high, which to put it in comparison, is as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
• It’s 11 meters in diameter, as long as a school truck.
• It’s 31 meters in circumference.
• Studies show that it may have 1487 cubic meters of wood.

Moro Rock

Once you have arrived at Crescent Meadow Road, you’ll only need to follow the road until you reach Moro Rock, which is, among other words, a natural dome made entirely of granite and has about 400 steps shaped by the passage of time and nature.

When you reach the top, the views that you’ll find are impressive to make some good photographic postcards or just to enjoy the moment, since you’ll have the possibility to see the panorama at 4000 meters above sea level.

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Tunnel Log

Surely you have already heard of this particular place and you have even found images on the net where the famous photograph of a huge log fallen in the middle of the forest and that has a space for traffic to move naturally, damaging as little as possible to the flora and fauna found in the forest.

So, yes, this is one of the favorite places for tourists to spend time and take hundreds of pictures, but the place has a particularity or negative point. Make sure you have enough time to get to the tunnel, this is because being a highly popular place to take pictures, you’ll have to wait a certain amount of time because of the huge lines that are formed by the emblematic place.

Crystal Cave

Another of the park’s tourist attractions is these particular natural caves made of crystal that are located north of Sequoia National Park. Although they are located inside the park, they aren’t considered part of your entrance fee to the national park, so if you plan to visit Crystal Cave, you’ll have to pay $16 for adults and $8 for children.

We recommend that if you are going to visit Crystal Cave, you have at least a couple of hours to make the tour so you can enjoy the natural beauty of the place, plus you should consider the transfer to the area which takes about an hour.

Trekking in Sequoia National Park

This is one of the favorite places for trekking lovers to hike and traverse trails throughout the park:

• Moro Rock: as we mentioned before, if you want to visit this place, you’ll only have to walk along the trail until you reach the top where you can appreciate a panoramic view of Sequoia National Park.
• Congress Trail: this trail is located right next to the star, the “General Sherman”, it’s approximately 4 kilometers long, but the most impressive part of this trail is that you’ll find other giant sequoias such as The Senate, Pillars of Hercules, Black Arch, and The Room, plus the entire trail is paved that will allow you to move in the easiest and fastest way.
• Crescent Meadow: If you decide to cross this trail, you’ll only have to go through the meadow until you reach Thap’s Log, which is a particular cabin that was built inside a sequoia.
• Big Trees Trail: this is one of the easiest trails in the park it’s only one kilometer long and you can start at Giant Forest.
• General Sherman Tree Trail: This trail starts practically from the moment you arrive at the parking lot, passing through the sequoia tunnel to the arrival of General Sherman himself.

Tips for visiting Sequoia National Park in California.

Here are some tips that could be useful before and during your visit to Sequoia National Park:

• In case you plan to stay or spend the night there, you’ll have two options to do so, i.e., you can do it either outside the park or inside the park.
• If you decide to stay inside the park, there are two hotels: Wuksachi Lodge and Grant Grove Village.
• If you decide to stay outside the park, your recommended options are Stony Creek Lodge, Montecito Sequoia Lodge, Visalia Lodges, Three Rivers Lodges, and Fresno Lodges.
• Remember that you cannot camp or picnic in the park.
• You’ll be able to use the green and gray lines to move to the most emblematic places, such as General Sherman on the green line and the visit to Crescent Meadows on the gray line.
• If you decide to park in the Sherman Parking Garage, which is only open during the summer, you can take the tour to General Sherman and the Congress Trail.
• To move freely around the California Sequoias National Park, take into account that public transportation is free when you pay your entrance fee to the national park, so you can use the 5 bus routes that exist in the interior of the park.
• If you decide to park in the Giant Forest parking lot, you’ll have the advantage of being able to visit the Giant Forest Museum and hike the Big Trees trail.

Here are some restaurants you can enjoy to mitigate hunger:

• Silver City Resort.
• Stony Creek Lodge.
• Lodgepole Deli.
• Cedar Groove Snack Bar.
• Montecito Sequoia Lodge.
• The peaks restaurants.

Avoid feeding wild animals or getting close to them, as they could cause an injury or illness, so the park authorities have asked you to follow certain recommendations and rules to avoid the danger of an encounter with an animal, here we leave you their advice:

• Don’t carry food.
• Don’t use cologne or perfume.
• It isn’t a good idea to go in complete silence, since it’s preferable to advance making noise so that the animals know that we are there.