The best stops on your day trip in Sequoia National Park!
Sequoia is one of nine National Parks in California, and is an extremely diverse park. Rising from foothills and forests at 1300 feet of elevation to alpine landscapes over 14,000 feet high, with rivers, canyons and caves mixed in, there is so much to see in the park! Most of the park is wilderness, over 95% actually. Luckily for us it is easy to spend a day in Sequoia National Park by driving the Generals Highway, which winds all through Sequoia and connects to Kings Canyon park.
Itinerary for One Day at Sequoia National Park
Getting There
To enter Sequoia you can take the southern entrance via CA-198 coming through Three Rivers, or from the north on CA-180 from Kings Canyon. There are no east-west roads through the park.
Since we were coming from Death Valley National Park the day before on our 8 day California road trip, we entered Sequoia from the south right before the Foothills Visitor Center. On this route you can stop in Three Rivers to gas up your vehicle and fill your cooler with ice before getting into the park! There are two gas station/ convenience stores in the town, and they were both very busy with travelers doing the same preparations as us. There are no gas stations inside the park.
FYI: In Three Rivers the only public restroom we could find that was open before 9 in the morning was at the Three Rivers Historical Museum. The gas stations and convenience stores we stopped at did not have restrooms open to the public.
Driving the Generals Highway
The Generals Highway is named so because it connects General Sherman in Sequoia to its slightly smaller brother General Grant, located in Kings Canyon. Yes, these are names of trees- two of the largest and most famous trees in the world! The Generals Highway begins as soon as you enter the park.
The road is notoriously steep, narrow, winding, and difficult to drive. There are numerous switchbacks and the speed limit is 10-15 MPH in most parts. Pay attention to signage, there are some sections with vehicle length limits of 22 feet. We did not find the driving difficult, but at the end of the day we were ready for some flat and straight roads for sure!
Tip: If you are traveling with kids in the backseat or anyone with motion sickness, take Dramamine before starting out! This was one of the more twisty roads we’ve been on in a long time.
Hike to Moro Rock
We headed straight towards Moro Rock once we entered the park because it gets pretty crowded. From the south entrance of the park it takes about an hour to get to the Moro Rock turnoff. Be sure to take advantage of some of the breathtaking overlooks along the way!
Moro Rock is in the Crescent Meadow area of the Giant Forest. Turn right onto Crescent Meadow Road off of the Generals Highway. The Crescent Meadow was our favorite part of the park, there is so much to see here! Crescent Meadow Road is a 3 mile dead end road, and the parking lot at Moro Rock is typically full. There is parking allowed in some parts along the right side of the road leading up to the lot.
The “hike” to Moro Rock is used loosely. It is only half a mile out and back trail, but it is almost all stairs. Over 350 stone steps to be clear. Some parts have rails, some only very low rock ledges. David went 3/4 of the way up and decided he was done, between crowds and very little buffers on the sides his slight fear of heights was getting to him. Me being stubborn, I did the whole thing. I was sweating but the panoramic views on top of the rock are so worth it!
Moro Rock rises 6,725 feet above sea level and overlooks the San Joaquin Valley, the winding Generals Highway, and the Sierra Nevada mountain range beyond. The views are magnificent. However, there are signs posted to warn visitors of the sudden intense storms that can roll through bringing deadly lightning… when in doubt, get to lower ground!
Travel Recommendation
One thing we could not have lived without on this road trip is this awesome portable GPS navigation. Not only was it a life saver when we found ourselves in the middle of a National Park with ZERO cell phone or car GPS services, but you can type in basically anything you want to see and it will direct you there. No more trying to look up coordinates or trailheads, or Googling addresses to landmarks on my phone. For this trip, all we had to do was type in anything we wanted to see like “Moro Rock” and this GPS would show us directions. We definitely recommend it if you are travelers like us!
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Drive through Tunnel Log
After leaving Moro Rock, turn right to continue on Crescent Meadow Road. You will pass Tunnel Log, a giant Sequoia that fell across Crescent Meadow Road in 1937 that you can drive through. The tree is believed to have been over 2,000 years old when it fell. There is a bypass road for larger vehicles, the tunnel is only 17 feet wide and 8 feet high.
Parker Group and the Giant Forest
The Parker Group is a cluster of giant Sequoias, named for the second acting superintendent of the park Captain James Parker. Photos really don’t show the enormity of these trees, especially when you are standing underneath a group of them. There are hiking trails all around these trees if you have time to explore more!
Just driving through the Giant Forest makes you realize how small you really are! Among these gigantic trees, it is shady and quiet. We could have spent hours here, exploring and relaxing. But we knew we had more to see!
Hike to General Sherman
One of the most famous, and most popular, stops in the park is to see General Sherman. The world’s largest living tree by volume, General Sherman is over 2,300 years old, 275 feet high, and has a 36 foot diameter at the base. It is not the tallest tree (that is in Redwoods National Park), or the widest (both the largest cypress and largest baobab have a greater diameter). It isn’t even the oldest tree in the world. But when you are standing at the base, you can really feel how massive and impressive it is!
Just to get a sense of the enormousness of this tree, in 2006 a branch broke off and smashed part of the perimeter fence and cratered the pavement of the surrounding walkway. Every year it grows enough wood to make another 60 foot tall tree!
There are a few tiers of parking areas to get to the trail to General Sherman. The trail is a half mile paved walkway, which is nice, but the way back is straight uphill. Take your time on the walk back and you’ll be fine!
When we started on the trail I was expecting one big tree, most likely with a glowing sun ray shining down on it, illuminating the way. But General Sherman is in a grove filled with huge trees, so we had to figure out which one it was (until we saw the line of people waiting to get their pictures in front of the “General Sherman” sign). You can’t touch or climb General Sherman, it is fenced off to remain protected. Instead of waiting in the line to view the sign, we took some photos from a different side of the tree and continued exploring the grove.
Muir Grove
Muir Grove is a giant Sequoia grove off of the Generals Highway before you reach Kings Canyon. The hike to get there is two miles (each way) through shaded woodlands. We didn’t do this hike because we spent so much time exploring in the Giant Forest, but I’m sure it would be beautiful!
Wildlife in Sequoia
In stark contrast to our travels the previous day in Death Valley National Park, Sequoia was very lush, cool, shaded, and had tons of wildlife. This bear was foraging right on the side of the Generals Highway! Not to worry, the photo was taken from inside our car as we drove by. We also saw deer and more bears as we drove through the park.
Continue on to Kings Canyon
You can definitely visit both Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in the same day, just continue driving the Generals Highway past Muir Grove. Adding Kings Canyon brings an entirely new viewpoint and landscape into your trip. Click to read all about Kings Canyon National Park and driving the scenic byway!
Tip: Once you enter Kings Canyon from Sequoia, stop at the Grant Grove Village. There is a small market where you can re-supply with snacks, drinks, and other travel essentials. They also have the Grant Grove Restaurant offering local and organic dining, a small post office (we sent our kids a postcard from the gift shop), and a Visitor’s Center. Now you are ready to check out Kings Canyon!
Tips for visiting Sequoia National Park
- Pack a cooler before you head into the park. Stock it with ice, waters, and cold drinks for the day because amenities are few and far between.
- Wear sunscreen, and remember to reapply. The sun is strong at higher elevations, and not all hikes are shaded.
- Wear UPF clothing, and a good hat.
- I brought a UPF car blanket like this one that really helped keep the sun off my legs during the day.
- Bring a good GPS, there is no cell phone service in the park. We loved having this one on this trip!
- Pack some sandwiches in your cooler and snacks for the car. Then you can eat whenever and wherever you want.
- Fill up your gas tank before you enter the park in Three Rivers outside of Sequoia or Hume Lake outside Kings Canyon. There are no gas stations inside either park. If you need to refill there is a gas station between the parks in Stony Creek Village, only open during the summer months.
- Drink plenty of water! Parts of the park are at higher elevations and you can easily become dehydrated.
See how easy it is to spend one day at Sequoia National Park? If you start early you can even do two parks in one day driving through Kings Canyon and the scenic byway like we did. It was a long day of driving but I don’t feel like we missed out on anything! Even in June the temperatures in the park were cool, staying in the low 70’s most of the day.
If you liked these ideas for a great day in Sequoia, check out our other trip guides like Grand Teton National Park, and our road trip through Utah’s Mighty Five National Parks!
Happy Travels!
Sequoia National Park is a gorgeous place to visit in California. I visited the park several years ago and was blown away by the natural beauty.
I agree, Sequoia and Kings Canyon really blew my mind as well!
Wow, this place looks incredible. I would absolutely love to see a bear, scary but so cute haha
It definitely stopped us in our tracks, especially with how quiet he was walking through the trees! But he stayed a safe distance from the trail 🙂