2016 May. Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

From San Luis Obispo, we headed straight to Sequoia National Parks via Visalia and Three Rivers. The drive was several hours, but you will get to see varying terrain and farmland which are quite scenic along the way.

General Sherman Tree, the world’s largest living tree.

The original plan was to spend 2 nights at an airbnb just outside Sequoia National Park at Three Rivers, but after driving into the park’s Giant Forest Grove and experiencing the long, windy and tiring mountainous drive on the first day, we decided to forfeit the second night and drive out from the other park entrance on the north side instead after visiting the General Grant Grove and Kings Canyon NP. Learning my mistake due to insufficient road and terrain knowledge during planning, I would strongly suggest you drive in from one park entrance and exit from the other. There is not a lot to see or do in Sequoia, and a night stay outside or inside the park more than suffice, unless you want to camp and spend more time with the trees.

Hiking the Moro Rock Trail in the morning fog.

General Grant Tree has a volume estimated at 46,608 cubic feet, weighs over 1,250 tons, is 267 feet tall (approx. height of a 27 story building), and has a diameter at base height of 29 feet. The General Grant Tree is young by sequoia standards at around 1,700 years old and is still growing thicker. The General Grant Tree is the world’s third largest tree (General Sherman Tree is the largest) with the broadest base diameter of any sequoia at 40.3 feet.

I must admit, after the first few hours of initial excitement seeing these magnificent trees, I got a little bored with the views. Trees. More trees. Lots of trees. Big trees. Super big trees. World biggest tree. Fallen trees. Burnt trees. Majestic trees. Everywhere is trees. 🙂 Even my point-and-shoot iPhone photos are no longer as inspired, as you can see. So, we moved on to Kings Canyon NP at the north of the park, which had more varied scenic views and hiking options.