Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park

Our springtime fun continued with a trip into Sequoia National Park, in California. It's nicknamed the land of the giants.
View Larger MapWe entered through Highway 180 coming from the Fresno area. Our first stop was to see one of the giants, General Grant Tree, which is a national shrine commemorating those American’s who lost their lives in war and the national Christmas tree. Along a 1/3 mile hike through the Sequoia forest we got to see many cool historical points, like this tree called the Fallen Monarch, which we learned has been used as a stable, shelter and even a saloon. About half way around the hike we got to General Grant Tree, the 3rd largest tree by volume in the world. WOW! (It's so big we couldn't even get the whole thing in one picutre.) It is 268 feet tall, and is 40 feet in diameter at its base. The whole hike is filled with giant trees, and interesting facts.
An AK adventure wouldn’t be complete without some off roading. So while we new the road down to Kings Canyon was closed we found this other detour to take. The road gave us a great view of Kings Canyon from above as well as we discovered a beautiful mountain lake called Hume Lake. According to our map there are 2 ways back to the main road in Sequoia park, the road we took, and the one with this sign. Of course we took the road with the sign, at least for a while. Our trusty Rover got us over a few good snow patches with only a bit of light sliding, (Dad loves to make Mom a bit nervous), but finally the snow stopped our adventure. By our calculations we were less then a mile from our destination. A little frustrating but fun none the less, especially going back over all the harrowing spots. It was a beautiful road along side a river.
We continued down the Generals Hwy, and stopped to see the largest tree by volume, The General Sherman tree. It measures 1487 cubic meters, and is 275 feet tall. To get to the tree there is a ½ mile descending walk. Going down isn’t that bad, but going back up that ½ mile is a bit taxing, especially since you’re already at 7000 feet in altitude. Tip if you keep driving past the main entrance there is a handicap parking area where you can pick up and drop off people and not have to do the strenuous hike.
Our favorite part of the park was continuing along the Generals Highway on the way out of the park towards the Ash Mountain Entrance. The road is descending, long and winding with plenty of switchbacks. As you descend you get an amazing view of the valley below, and the river heading into Lake Kaweah, absolutely beautiful. The old road even let you drive through a rock, now you can only walk it.
This is a place we definitely have to visit again. The caves in King’s Canyon sound especially exciting, during a summer trip there. If you want to learn more about Kings’ Canyon and Sequoia National Park, and plan your own trip, check out: http://www.nps.gov/SEKI/index.htm