A few years ago I had a travel dilemma. I had just finished a week filming commercials in Los Angeles, and had a meeting in San Francisco on Monday. Should I fly all the way across the country to be back in Ohio for a split second, or spend those days hiking two of America’s most spectacular national parks? When would I have a chance like this again?
A quick Google search helped me make up my mind. Sequoia National Park is about 200 miles north of Los Angeles and 260 miles east of San Francisco, in the beautiful southern Sierra Nevada mountains. Plus it’s a 2-for-1, as Kings Canyon National Park is right next door. (As I discovered, “right next door” means something different with our massive national parks; it was a colossal commute between the two.) I rented a car and started the drive from Santa Monica to Sequoia, excited for the opportunity to hike among the largest living things on Earth.
A few hours in, I saw the sign for Bakersfield, California. I’ve been a fan of “The Bakersfield Sound” for years. It’s a type of country music born in the 1950s right there in that modest little town in the middle of the Golden State. Known for its combo of rock n’ roll and honky-tonk, with a healthy dose of backbeats, the Bakersfield Sound was made famous by Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and my favorite, Dwight Yoakam. As I drove to and through Bakersfield I cranked up some Dwight and motored on toward the mountains.
Wandering amongst giants
Established in 1890, Sequoia National Park was created to protect these ancient forests from logging. It’s a testament to conservation efforts then (thank you John Muir) and efforts that continue today. One wander through these woods and you’ll appreciate the importance of preserving our natural wonders.
I arrived late Friday afternoon at the park entrance, with just a few hours of daylight left. But it was a great appetizer for my Saturday hikes. I was able to stretch my legs and stare up (and up and up) at these magnificent giants while I explored a few of the park’s world-famous trails.
First up, I had to see the biggest rock star celebrity of them all. The monster of the forest. The colossal conifer. The world’s largest living tree: The General Sherman. The General Sherman Trail is an easy 1.2 miles, but when you’re here it’s not about length, it’s about height. And weight. And width. That’s what makes the General Sherman the biggest on Earth. No other tree has the combined weight and width of this multi-limbed leviathan. It’s estimated to be 1,385 tons, 103 feet around, 275 feet high — and still growing. In fact, every year the old General (estimated to be over 2,500 years old) adds enough wood to make another 60-foot-tall tree. Mind blown yet? How about this? One branch of this tree is so enormous, a whopping 7 feet in diameter, that it’s larger than most trees in the Eastern U.S.
So yeah, it’s big.
Near the General Sherman Trail is the Congress Trail, an easy 2-mile loop that weaves and winds through towering sequoia groves and meadows, with some truly stunning views. I marveled at plenty of other titans of the forest as the sun set and the temperature dropped.
Saturday morning, fueled by an almost adequate free hotel breakfast and the promise of more giant sightings, I headed back to Sequoia. My first stop was the Giant Forest Museum. It’s a great way to learn about the history, geography and ecology of the park, with lots of cool interactive exhibits. The adjacent Big Trees Trail is not long but it is stunning, with educational trailside panels as you learn about the sequoias up close.
I had heard good things about the Little Baldy Trail and made that my next hike. The 3.3 mile out-and-back trail climbs along a meandering network of switchbacks to the top of a granite dome, with plenty of native wildflowers and ferns along the way. It’s listed as “moderately challenging” on AllTrails, with an 800-foot elevation gain, but it felt more strenuous than that being so high up in the mountains. While the views are said to be awesome, on this day it was cloudy and socked in, so I had to imagine the vistas below. What I also had to do was record a video message at the top of “Little Baldy” to my younger brother Chris, who happens to be a Little Baldy himself.
I explored a few other trails that afternoon as the weather turned wilder, before heading back to the warmth of the hotel.
Pro Tip: If you’re visiting Sequoia, do yourself a favor and spend some time at the awesome Three Rivers Brewing. It was right by my hotel just outside the gateway to the national park, in the village of Three Rivers. They have great beer, friendly people, and even live music around a campfire. What a happy, hoppy way to wind down your adventure.
The king of Kings Canyon
On the last day of my micro-adventure, I headed to the adjacent (but still took a while to get to) Kings Canyon National Park. This park is no slouch either when it comes to huge redwood trees. They’re everywhere. The big boy in this park is the famous General Grant tree, located in the tongue-twistery General Grant Grove. Not only is it the 2nd-largest tree in the world, it’s also affectionately nicknamed “The Nation’s Christmas Tree.” Good luck putting a star on top of that one.
I wandered a few amazing trails around the giants before heading to the park’s other masterpiece, Cedar Grove. With its towering cliffs and cascading waterfalls it’s breathtaking in its own right. So much so that John Muir once called this part of Kings Canyon, “a rival to Yosemite.” He oughta know.
Tips for visiting Sequoia & Kings Canyon
It’s best to plan ahead (unlike I did). As I had to schedule on the day of my arrival, I was lucky to get the last room at a small hotel just outside the park. Accommodations throughout the area and parking lots inside the parks fill up quickly, especially during peak season.
Be sure to dress in layers. The park’s elevation ranges from 6,000 to 8,000 feet, so temperatures can vary greatly depending on time of day and the trail you’re on. They sure did for me. Also, at that elevation you’re often hiking through the clouds themselves, so it can be misty and damp.
Bring water and snacks. You’re there for the remoteness and connection with nature, but that also means there aren’t convenience stores loaded with goodies every quarter mile. Plan ahead and pack that backpack.