Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park is one of the most popular parks in the United States, with 1.15million visitors for the 2022 calendar year. Sequoia National Park is in Northern California and approximately 140miles south (~2.5hour drive) of Yosemite. The primary difference to Yosemite is the large number of Giant Sequoia Trees or Giant Redwood Trees within the Sequoia National Park. Seeing the Giant Sequoias in-person is such a disconnect to ones perception of trees that they do not seem to be real!

Main Topics

Hiking Trails

Difficulty: Easy

General Sherman Trail: 1.2miles / 1.9 km
Congress Trail: 2.9miles / 4.7km

General Sherman Trail

Congress Trail

Difficulty: Moderate

Tokopah Falls: 3.8miles / 6.1km
Moro Tock: 0.5miles / 0.8km

Tokopah Trail

Moro Rock Trail

Sequoia Hiking Trails, references & details

Shuttles

Sequoia National Park offers shuttles among the major hiking trails & attractions within the park.
- Summer 2023 Schedule: June to Early September: Daily
- Winter 2023-204: November 23-26, December 23 to January 1, January 13-14, February 17-18
- Time: 10am to 4pm
Shuttle Service Details, National Park Service, Sequoia National Park

Accommodations / Where to Stay

Staying within Sequoia National Park is the best option, however due to this, rooms typically need to be booked ~6months to a 1year in advance, for the more popular Spring & Summer months. Wuksachi Lodge is the only hotel located within the park.
- Wuksachi Lodge

Wuksachi Lodge

Lodging Outside Sequoia National Park

There are hotels outside Sequoia National Park, in Three Rivers, CA & Big Stump, CA. However, it comes with the disadvantage of having an ~1hour drive to the main / central area of the park.

Three Rivers, CA to General Sherman Tree

Big Stump, CA to General Sherman Tree

Weather, When to Visit

For the best weather, cool climate and low chances of rain fall, April to May & September and October months are the best times to visit Sequoia National Park. If the heat does not bother you, the summer months are also an option.
More details and information sourced from www.weather-us.com, Sequoia National Park Weather

Sequoia National Park Weather, Temperature

Sequoia Weather, Temperature, source weather-us.com

Sequoia Weather, Rain Fall, source weather-us.com

Interesting / Fun Fact

The General Sherman Tree, located within the park is the largest single stem tree in the world, by volume (pictured at the top of the page).
More details and information sourced from Guinness World Records

Directions

Airport Flyers: The closest international airport to Sequoia National Park is Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT).
- South Entrance, Three Rivers, CA: It will take approximately a 1.5hour drive from Fresno Airport to the south entrance Sequoia National Park. Note that it will take ~1hour to get the the main trails from the entrance of the park. It takes time to drive to the main trails due to the windy roads up the mountain. If you want to avoid the the curvy & steeper mountain roads, the Big Stump entrance to the east is the route for you.

Fresno Airport to Sequoia South Entrance

Directions

East Entrance, Big Stump, CA: It will take approximately a 1.5hour drive from Fresno Airport to the east entrance at Big Stump, CA. The route goes through the Kings Canyon National Park and the advantage is avoiding the windy mountain roads of the south entrance. Sequoia National Park.

Fresno Airport to Sequoia National Park, East Entrance

General Sherman Tree, Central Ara of Sequoia National Park

Summary

Sequoia National Park is a great choice to view the rare giant Sequoia Trees, also known as Giant Redwoods. A good second choice if you've already visited Yosemite National Park.