A first-timer's guide to Sequoia National Park

13.07.2024 - 06:57 / lonelyplanet.com

Jul 2, 2024 • 9 min read

There’s no mistaking the main attraction of Sequoia National Park – giant Sierra redwood trees as tall as they are ancient. But even beyond the famous, towering sequoias, this park in California’s Sierra Nevada has mind-boggling dimensions.

The peaks of the Great Western Divide soar higher than 12,000ft, creating a skyscraping backdrop to the park’s 631 sq miles of woodlands, meadows and granite domes. It’s a grand setting for every level of adventure – easy strolls through sequoia groves, whitewater rafting and going off-grid in remote glacier-carved valleys.

Despite its proximity to A-list national park Yosemite, more than 1.2 million people come to this rugged realm of the Sierra annually. If you’re one of them, well done on your excellent choice; you even have the option of Kings Canyon National Park right next door. Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Sequoia’s huge peaks and titanic trees for the first time.

The best time to go to Sequoia National Park is between June and September, especially if you plan to hike. July and August are the busiest months of the peak summer season – book lodges and campsites well in advance and seek shade in the middle of the day as the mercury can soar to 105°F. June or September are fine choices for mellower temperatures and quieter hiking trails.

Springtime is a roll of the dice – stubborn snow hangs around in April and May, making higher-elevation trails impassable. Stick to lowland areas like the Sequoia Foothills and the Giant Forest, which is even more enchanting with a dusting of snow. But for river rafting just outside the park, spring is paradise; crystalline snowmelt fills the Kaweah River from late March, and waterways are at their swift-running best in late May and June.

Many areas of Sequoia National Park are shuttered from October until the end of winter, which can be any time between late March and early June. Park lodges, campgrounds and shuttles don’t operate. Still, the Giant Forest Museum stays open and it’s a great time to visit with kids – check out the Wolverton Snowplay Area (or, in neighboring Kings Canyon National Park, toss snowballs around the Big Stump Grove picnic ground). Ensure your car has winter tires or carry chains (and know how to put them on!) and note that snow generally closes the Generals Highway, which connects Sequoia and Kings Canyon, from late December through March.

A day for a taste, a weekend to cover big forests and a couple of hikes, but ideally a week for some longer trails.

Some visitors alight in Sequoia National Park purely to see the Giant Forest; it only takes half a day to see goliaths like the General Sherman Tree (276ft), contemplate the beheaded Washington Tree (now 115ft),