Most Beautiful Day Hikes in Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park, California

Home to the largest tree in the world, the General Sherman Tree, Sequoia National Park has some of the most amazing Giant Sequoia trees you’ll ever see. The Giant Forest that’s a part of Sequoia National Park also includes five of the ten largest trees in the world. The age of these trees can be over 2,000 years old. Don’t let the burn marks on the trees worry you - forest fires can actually be good for the Sequoias, as they allow the trees’ cones to drop their seeds in the fresh ash bed below to create a whole new generation of giants. While the Sequoias are the main draw for this park, don’t forget about the gorgeous waterfalls here - they are well worth the trip on their own. This guide provides general travel tips for visiting Sequoia National Park as well as a list of the most beautiful day hikes there.

General Travel Tips

• A map of the park can be found HERE. Find the map called “Park Map (Driving Map) - Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks” using the search button on linked page.

• Don’t leave any food or items with a scent in your vehicle - bears live in the park and can cause significant damage.

• For lodging, we recommend staying at Wuksachi Lodge if you’d like a bed and restaurant or Lodgepole Campground if you’d like to camp. Both are down the street from the Congress Trail and Tokopah Falls.

• Tips for visiting in the winter: Make sure to bring snow chains for your vehicle. The authorities require that you have chains with you if there’s any risk of ice/snow and will turn you around if you don’t have a set. You can buy them in town before heading up the mountain to the park. If you can swing it, bring either microspikes or snowshoes for your boots. While you can get by without them, it’ll make hiking through the snow that much easier.

• If you’d like to see the waterfalls at their full strength while avoiding snow on the trails, we recommend visiting in late May.

Most Beautiful Day Hikes

Congress Trail: The best trail to see the most magnificent Giant Sequoias is the Congress Trail. The trailhead is along the path that goes around the General Sherman Tree. While you can see the General Sherman Tree on the park map linked in the general travel tips section above, you won’t see the Congress Trail on the map. When you hike the path around the General Sherman Tree, you’ll come across a sign that will direct you to the Congress Trail. There’s Giant Sequoias everywhere along this trail, but the two most impressive groups of trees are called the Senate and Congress. There will be signs in front of each group of trees letting you know you’ve reached them. In the summer, there’s a large parking area available, but in the winter, the alternate parking area is quite small, so plan accordingly. 3 mile roundtrip hike, 230 feet of elevation gain.

Tokopah Falls: You’ll be amazed when see you how far this waterfall cascades down the mountain. With such a short hike to reach it, there’s no reason not to visit. The trailhead starts at the Lodgepole Campground right after crossing the bridge that leads to campsites 151 to 214. Keep an eye out for the cute locals (Marmots), they’re everywhere if the season is right. To see the falls at their strongest, visit in late May. 4 mile roundtrip hike, 600 feet of elevation gain.

Mist Falls: While this trail is technically part of Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia and Kings Canyon are located directly next to each other, so we’ve added this hike here because of its proximity to Sequoia National Park. This is one of those trails where the hike there is just as beautiful as the final destination - there’s tons of places to stop and take in the beautiful views as you hike alongside the river and various smaller waterfalls. The trail starts out on a sandy path and turns into a more rocky, but well maintained path near the end. Most of the elevation gain happens towards the end of the trail. The trailhead starts at the Road’s End Permit Station which is 1 hour and 45 minutes from the Lodgepole Campground. Take care not to slip around the falls, the rocks here are super slick when wet. To see the falls at their strongest, visit in late May. 8.7 mile roundtrip hike, 800 feet of elevation gain.