The ULTIMATE Sequoia National Park Travel Guide

Welcome to the land of the giants, Sequoia National Park, and this the ultimate travel guide to Sequoia National Park. In this video, I'll show you how to get here, how to get around, where to stay, where to eat, where to get coffee, and what there is to do and see in this very special place. Sequoia National Park was established on September 25th, 1890, making it the second, yes the second, national park in the entire country. The park was created to protect the giant sequoia trees from logging, making it the very first national park formed specifically to protect a living organism. Getting to Sequoia can be a challenge. The closest airport is in Fresno, or you can fly in to San Francisco or Oakland, but they're still about a four-hour drive away. The park can be entered through one of two entrances, the Ash Mountain Entrance and the Big Stump Entrance. If you have a vehicle, the park is easy to get around. Be sure though you have a full tank of gas, as there are no gas stations in the park. If you're driving a motor home, there is a 12-mile section of the General's Highway between Potwisha Campground and Giant Forest Museum, where there is a vehicle length limit of 22 feet. Sequoia does offer a free shuttle connecting the attractions in the Giant Forest and Lodge Pole areas. If you need information while in the park, there is the Foothills Visitor Center near the Ash Mountain Entrance, and also check out the Giant Forest Museum for information. Sequoia has lodging of course, and it's open all year round. Well, the The lodge is located in the Giant Forest area of the park and has 102 guest rooms. Now, this is a high elevation lodge at over 7,000 feet, and it does tend to snow quite a bit in the winter, so be sure you have your chains on your vehicle so you can make it here. While Sequoia may only have one lodge, neighboring Kings Canyon National Park has three. The John Muir Lodge, Grand Grove Caverns, and Cedar Grove Lodge. If you prefer rustic and somewhat inconvenient, there are two wilderness lodges, Bears Paw High Sierra Camp and Pear Lake Winter Hut. Of course, there is accommodation just outside of the park, with three rivers offering a few different options that are perhaps more budget friendly. Sequoia National Park has seven campgrounds which are spread evenly across different regions of the park. The Lodgepole area has two campgrounds near popular attractions, the Lodgepole and Dorst Creek Campgrounds. The Foothills area contains the highest number of campgrounds in Sequoia, including Buckeye Flat, Potwisha, and South Fork Campgrounds. This region's lower elevation makes it more suitable for winter camping if you want to freeze your sequoias off. Mineral King, which is less visited than the other areas, has two campgrounds, Cold Springs and Atwell Mill. Of course, there's also camping and cabin rentals in neighboring Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Forest. All reservations can be made through recreation.gov, and please don't forget to book your site many months ahead of time. Sequoia does offer food services, of course, although it is, shall we say, a little bit limited. You will find food at the Wasatchee Lodge and also at the Lodgepole area. There are also some restaurants in Sequoia National Forest, which is on the drive between Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. These include the Montecito Sequoia Lodge and Stony Creek Lodge, and finally there is the Silver City Resort, which is on private land in the Mineral King area of the park. Okay, you can get coffee in the restaurants in the park, but good coffee? Not so much. So here's a tip. If you can, take or make your own. Sequoia offers some of the country's great wilderness areas. Here are the top things to see and do in this great park. A great place to start your visit in Sequoia is the beating heart of the park, the Giant Forest. The large sequoia grove is home to more than 8,000 sequoias. Don't forget to check out the Giant Forest Museum when you're in the area. The Giant Forest is also home to General Sherman, the largest tree on earth. This area also boasts several hiking trails, including the Congress Trail, which is a two-mile loop showcasing many of the park's most remarkable trees. Not only is Sequoia home to the largest tree in the world, it's also home to the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states, the amazing Mount Whitney. Speaking of heights, for panoramic views of the park, hike up the granite dome of Moro Rock. The moderately strenuous trail has a pot of gold at the end, and that is a breathtaking view of the Great Western Divide, the San Joaquin Valley, and on clear days, even the distant Sierra Nevada peaks. Located near Moro Rock is Tunnel Log. Tunnel Log is a car tunnel that was carved in 1938 out of the trunk of a sequoia that fell over the road the previous year. If you're driving an RV or taller vehicle, you'll need to use a bypass, as the Tunnel Log is eight feet in height. Also near Moro Rock is Crescent Meadow, which is a small meadow surrounded by, you guessed it, sequoia trees. The Takapo Falls are 1,200 feet high and are wildest in the early summer months. If you don't mind tunneling under the earth, then exploring Crystal Cave might be up your alley. This marble cavern involves a steep half-mile walk, and once you arrive, you can take a guided tour of the cave. Remember to make reservations well in advance, as the cave tours are very popular. And of course, there's so much more to see, including Tunnel Rock, Hanging Rock, Farps Log, Alta Peak, Jenny Lakes Wilderness, Round Meadow, Beetle Rock, and the McKinley Tree. Hiking is one of the more popular activities in Sequoia. There are over 1,000 miles of hiking between Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, so there's plenty of options available. Although you do need a permit if you plan on hiking Mount Whitney, which I'm not going to do. Like almost every national park, wildlife is one of the main attractions, and protecting them a high priority. The park boasts more than 200 bird species, a wide variety of amphibians, fish, and reptiles, including turtle and snakes, 72 different mammals, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, and black bears. There are no grizzly bears in the park, and curiously, you're not permitted to have bear spray while in the park. Sequoia shares a boundary with Kings Canyon National Park, and both parks are jointly managed. No visit to Sequoia is complete without also visiting neighboring Kings Canyon National Park. Sequoia National Forest is another neighbor of the park, and it is huge. The national forest is over 1.1 million acres in size, covers three counties in Southern California, and has over 1,100 miles of hiking trails and more than 50 campgrounds. About 140 miles away is the epic and far more busy but amazing Yosemite National Park. And if you like this video, please consider subscribing to the channel. So there you go, the very special and perhaps underrated Sequoia National Park.