A lot of the time when people think about California's forests, the state's behemoth Sequoia tees immediately stand out in people's minds and for good reason. These majestic giants are some of the world's largest trees and are simply epic to behold in person. On our trip out to California this past summer, we spent a couple days in Yosemite, then decided to head out to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. In the photo above you can see Melanie posing for a picture with one of the fallen giants (yes, you can walk all the way through this one. Continue to the end to see what it looks like.) just a short distance up the trail from the countries largest tree, the General Grant.
From the second you enter Sequoia National Park, to the moment you leave, one is immediately overcome by the outstanding beauty which towers over and around you. Lush greens mix with hues of red and brown inside the impressive forest with countless hours of fun family adventures to be had.
Our first stop inside Sequoia was the General Grant Tree trail inside the Grant Grove of giant Sequoias which leads to the famous General Grant Tree, the second largest tree in the world. This spot was very crowded and at first, we had a little trouble finding a parking spot since a school was there on a field trip. There are no shuttles which run to this trail and there are absolutely no pets allowed. However, after waiting patiently for a few short minutes, we were able to snag a spot close to the trail.
The trail up to the General grant Sequoia is really easy and paved making it accessible to those using wheelchairs and families utilizing strollers (like us). Along the way are many huge trees, including this behemoth above known as the Fallen Monarch, which you can walk through.
It's also a perfect tree for snapping some family photos.
Couldn't resist including another one of Mel and Jake posing with this tree. As you can see, this fallen Sequoia is really spectacular.
A view from inside the fallen Sequoia. You can see that this giant has also survived what looks to be a number of wildfires.
Just a short walk from the downed Sequoia is the highlight of this short 1/3 of a mile hike, is the huge General Grant Tree. As I side above, the Grant Tree is the second largest tree in the world at 267.4 ft and is believed to be around 1650 years old.
Here is a photo of the Fun Family Adventure crew (Mel, Jake and Phil) posing with the General Grant Tree to show the immense scale of the Sequoia. The tree was also named the nation's Christmas tree by President Calvin Coolidge in 1926. The tree has quite history and on March 29th, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared the tree a national shrine, a memorial to those who died in war. The General Grant Tree is the only living object to be so declared.
Bobo (Jake) posing for a photo with the General Grant, he makes the tree look small ;).
The forest surrounding the General Grant is also something to behold. While the Genera Grant is huge, the amount of beautiful forest which abounds near it is outstanding and worth a million pictures.
Jake and Mel posing for a photo on the trail just a few feet away from the General Grant.
A short walk through the woods just off the General Grant loop will bring you to a whole bunch of Sequoias to explore. Even this broken Sequoia was huge.
These three Sequoias just up the hill from the General Grant share a base but grow into three separate trees as they reach towards the heavens. We highly encourage you to not climb into the trees but to enjoy their beauty from the ground. Please leave nothing and damage nothing and take only photos. This will ensure that these beauties will be around for thousands more years
13 miles away (about a half hour drive) from the General Grant Tree, sits the glorious Hume Lake, which is well worth the drive.
There was virtually no one at the lake when we visited and ended being the perfect way to cap off an excellent day of adventure in Kings Canyon National Park. The water is crystal clear, has white sandy beaches and is surrounded by gorgeous mountains off in the distance.
Thought I'd end this post with the most epic picture of this little fun family adventure. Just a short distance from the General Grant Tree is an unmarked fallen Sequoia slightly off the trail that has been hallowed by countless years of wildfire. The tree is seriously immense, bigger than the fallen monarch. It is ripe for photos and extremely fun to climb through. If you can find this beauty, definitely go for a climb through and take some time to ponder her glorious splendor. For more information about this hike and more follow the link to visitsequoia.com.
