Sequoia, King's Canyon and Yosemite National Parks

Our National Parks

 

The world’s largest tree, deepest canyon in the US, tallest mountain in the lower 48 states, 3 rivers, a National Forest, National Monument, all in one county! Sound too good to be true? Stay in Visalia and visit Sequoia National Park and see the world famous General Sherman Tree or the museum at Giant Forest. Drive into the country’s deepest canyon through Giant Sequoia National Monument and Kings Canyon National Park. Go south and take a trek along the trail off 100 giants or visit a working fire lookout in the Giant Sequoia National Monument within Sequoia National Forest.

Get to Sequoia National park by riding the seasonal Sequoia Shuttle.

For a unique camping experience, check out the Sequoia High Sierra Camp, a secluded camping resort that combines a wilderness adventure with the furnishings and guest amenities of a deluxe hotel.

It is possible to see both Sequoia National Park and King's Canyon National Park in the same day. It just takes some planning.
To help you plan your visit to these two parks, first stop at a visitor center to get an overview, then decide what region you would like to visit first...

Sequoia National Park

It is a "must" that you visit Giant Forest, where you can see some of the famed Big Trees, including the General Sherman Tree. The big tree, a thirty-minute walk from the parking area, is more than 2,000 years old and has the distinction of being the largest living tree in the world. The two-mile, two-hour Congress Trail starts at the Sherman Tree and loops around a grove of sequoias. Accessible parking is just off the Generals Highway. Parking permits are required to use that parking lot during the summer. Ask at the visitor centers for more information.

The 1.5-mile, one-hour Big Tree Trail features trailside exhibits and is fully accessible to those with disabilities. The trail begins at the Giant Forest Museum, an interesting and informative stop before you begin your hike that features exhibits on Sequoia ecology.

You can drive the Moro Rock - Crescent Meadow Road. You will see Moro Rock, a large granite dome; Tunnel Log, a fallen sequoia that you can drive through; and Crescent Meadow, a lovely mid-elevation meadow. Add 30 minutes to climb Moro Rock and 60 minutes to walk around the meadow. Parking is limited, so we recommend you use the free shuttle from Giant Forest Museum to visit these features during the summer months.

King's Canyon National Park

Just to the north of Sequoia, at Grant Grove, in Kings Canyon National Park, you'll have more than enough time to see the General Grant Tree. The General Grant Tree is the third-largest tree on earth and the Nation’s Christmas tree. It is also the only living National Shrine. From the parking area, take a gently graded, half-mile, half-hour, self-guided trail that passes by other impressive giant sequoias, the historic Gamlin Cabin, and the Fallen Monarch Tree, in which the cavalry guarding the parks in the 1890s stabled their horses.

If you decide to visit Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon, you will be treated to a blossoming place of tumbling waterfalls, meadows, and miles of quiet trails. Half the excitement is getting there on Highway 180, which zigzags down into the canyon through Sequoia National Forest. Be sure to stop at Junction View on the way. Sheer canyon walls seem to close in around you as the wild South Fork of the Kings River surges over rapids far below.

Yosemite National Park

Just a 2 1/2 hour drive from Visalia is...Yosemite National Park!

 Not just a great Valley...but a shrine to human foresight, strength of granite, power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra.

Yosemite National Park, one of the first wilderness parks in the United States, is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more.

Writers, artists, and photographers spread the fame of "the Incomparable Valley" throughout the world. A steadily increasing stream of visitors came on foot and horseback, and later by stage.

In the early 1970s, the National Park Service established one-way road traffic patterns, eliminated cars in the far east end of the Valley, offered free shuttle bus transportation in the Valley, converted the parking lot in front of the Valley Visitor Center to a pedestrian mall, and generally encouraged visitors to enjoy the park by walking or using public transportation.