The biggest trees on Earth, a granite-dome staircase, and the General Sherman.
Photo: Roman Tokman · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Sequoia exists to protect the largest living things that have ever stood: giant sequoias, the most massive trees on the planet. The headliner is the General Sherman Tree — not the tallest tree, but the biggest by volume, a 2,200-year-old, 275-foot giant so large the numbers stop meaning anything until you're standing at its base, neck craned, feeling very small. Around it the Giant Forest holds thousands more, a cathedral grove laced with easy trails.
America's second-oldest national park (1890) shares one $35 ticket and a single management with Kings Canyon next door, but Sequoia has its own signature sights. Moro Rock is a granite dome you climb by 350 steps carved into the stone, ending on a knife-edge summit with the whole Great Western Divide laid out before you. You can drive your car through the Tunnel Log, wander the wildflower expanse of Crescent Meadow that John Muir called the 'Gem of the Sierra,' and tour the marble chambers of Crystal Cave on a timed ticket booked well ahead.
Getting in is part of the experience — and a thing to plan. The Generals Highway climbs steeply from the hot foothills through tight 1920s switchbacks, with a vehicle-length advisory that sends RVs around via the Kings Canyon entrance from Fresno. The reward for the climb is a different world: while the foothills bake near 100°F, the sequoia belt at 6,500 feet stays cool and, in winter, deep under snow. There's no gas in the park and spotty cell service, so come up prepared — and give yourself time to drive slowly.
Sequoia has a driving problem that catches out more visitors than anything else in the park: the road up from Three Rivers is not recommended for anything over 22 feet. If your vehicle is longer than that — and a lot of rental RVs are — you do not drive into Sequoia the obvious way. You come in through Kings Canyon instead, which most people only discover at the bottom of the hill.
Twenty-three miles from Three Rivers up to Giant Forest, and it takes over an hour because of what the road does — climbing several thousand feet in tight switchbacks. The park advises against vehicles 22 feet and over between Potwisha Campground and the Giant Forest Museum, and that is advice worth taking literally.
The eastern route out of Fresno into Kings Canyon, then south down the Generals Highway. Longer on the map and far easier on the vehicle, and the answer for anything towing or over the length limit.
Runs between Giant Forest and Grant Grove — 31 miles, about an hour, through the sequoia belt the whole way. It is the reason the two parks are visited as one, and it is where the length restriction bites.
The spine of both parks, winding through big trees for its whole length with the General Sherman and General Grant at either end. Speeds are low and the corners are constant, so the hour it takes is an hour whatever you drive.
TipThe advisory covers the stretch between Potwisha Campground and the Giant Forest Museum. If you are over the limit, approach from Fresno on CA-180 through Grant Grove and come at Giant Forest from the north instead.
Open about the Wednesday before Memorial Day to late October; weekday delays and closures for a multi-year rebuild, including from 17 August 2026
A dead-end road into a high glacial valley, and one of the most demanding pieces of pavement in any national park — the park's own description is extremely narrow, steep and winding, unpaved in places. Twenty-five miles an hour is a good average and that is not a criticism of the driver.
TipNot for trailers or large RVs under any circumstances. Marmots chew brake lines and radiator hoses here in early summer — locals wrap the underside of the car, and the park will tell you the same.
The side road out to Moro Rock and the Tunnel Log, and the densest concentration of things worth stopping for in the park. Narrow, with very little parking at either end.
TipOn summer weekends and holidays it closes to private vehicles from morning to late afternoon and the shuttle takes over, which is easier than it sounds — parking out there is minimal and the shuttle runs often.
The largest tree on Earth by volume — a 2,200-year-old, 275-foot giant. The numbers don't land until you're standing under it.
Insider tipA half-mile paved trail descends from the lot (you climb ~200 ft back, at 7,000 ft — that's the hard part). Ride the summer shuttle from the Giant Forest Museum rather than fight for parking; an accessible trailhead is closer.
Plan a trip to this spot →A granite dome climbed by ~350 steps carved into the rock to a 6,725-foot summit with a 360° view across the Great Western Divide.
Insider tipGo early morning or near sunset for cooler steps; descend before afternoon thunderstorms (lightning on the exposed dome). On summer weekends and holidays the road out to it is shuttle-only, and it closes for the winter once snow shuts Crescent Meadow Road.
Plan a trip to this spot →A marble cavern of glittering formations, open by guided tour only — one of the few Sequoia attractions that genuinely sells out.
Insider tipTickets are online only (Sequoia Parks Conservancy), no walk-ups, and the 2026 season runs 22 May to 1 November. Book the moment your dates are set. A steep half-mile walk reaches the entrance; vehicles over 22 ft combined length are barred from Crystal Cave Road, and summer 2026 construction on that road adds travel time.
Plan a trip to this spot →A lush, sequoia-ringed meadow John Muir called the 'Gem of the Sierra,' with summer wildflowers, deer, and a trail past an 1858 cabin built into a fallen sequoia.
Insider tipA ~1.8-mile loop; come at sunrise for wildlife. Pair it with Moro Rock and Tunnel Log as one loop off Crescent Meadow Road.
Plan a trip to this spot →A fallen sequoia with a drive-through tunnel cut in 1938 — the classic Sequoia photo op.
Insider tipVehicles over 8 feet tall take the bypass beside it. Aim for a weekday; on summer weekends and holidays the road is shuttle-only.
Plan a trip to this spot →The orientation hub and summer shuttle center, with sequoia-and-fire exhibits and the easy paved Big Trees Trail out the door.
Insider tipMake it your first stop for current road, closure, and Crystal Cave info before heading to General Sherman.
Plan a trip to this spot →Two climates in one park. The Giant Forest at ~6,700 feet is mild in summer (highs in the mid-70s) and buried in snow in winter (200+ inches a year, lows near 17°F). The foothills at ~1,700 feet are a different world — July highs near 97°F, 20–30°F warmer than the sequoia belt up the road. Most of the high country's precipitation falls as winter snow, which is why the Generals Highway needs chains and seasonal roads close.
Two entrances reach the Giant Forest; which you use depends mostly on how big your vehicle is.
The foothills entrance from Visalia and Three Rivers, then the steep, switchbacking Generals Highway. The park advises against vehicles 22 ft and over between Potwisha Campground and the Giant Forest Museum.
The preferred route for RVs and longer vehicles — enter on the Kings Canyon side from Fresno and reach the Giant Forest via the Generals Highway from the north, avoiding the tightest switchbacks.
One lodge sits up in the sequoia belt; campgrounds and the gateway town of Three Rivers fill out the rest. There's no gas in the park.
The only hotel inside Sequoia — 102 rooms with a full-service restaurant near the Giant Forest at ~7,000 feet, open year-round (chains may be required in winter).
Booking tipBook ahead for summer; it's the only in-park roof and the closest beds to General Sherman.
Lodgepole is the main Giant Forest campground (~214 sites, fills in minutes); Potwisha (foothills) and Azalea (Grant Grove) stay open year-round. Reservations on Recreation.gov.
Booking tipDorst Creek, Buckeye Flat and South Fork campgrounds are all closed for 2026. Lodgepole reservation dates vary — check Recreation.gov, and store all food in the bear lockers.
The gateway town just outside the Ash Mountain entrance — riverfront cabins, motels, real restaurants, and fuel; the practical basecamp. Visalia and Fresno are the larger hubs.
Booking tipFuel up in Three Rivers — there's no gas inside the park.
Does my ticket cover Kings Canyon too?
Yes. One $35 vehicle pass (good for 7 days) covers both Sequoia and Kings Canyon plus the Hume Lake district — they're managed as a single unit. It's $30 for a motorcycle, $20 per person on foot or bike (under 16 free), and a park annual pass is $70. The $80 America the Beautiful pass also works. Non-U.S. residents aged 16 and over pay an extra $100 per person on top of the entrance fee; the $250 America the Beautiful Non-Resident Annual Pass covers that surcharge.
Is there timed entry? What needs reserving?
No park timed-entry in 2026 — pay at the gate. The one attraction that must be reserved is Crystal Cave (online tickets, sells out); lodging and campgrounds also book ahead.
Can I bring an RV or trailer up the Generals Highway?
Use caution. The park advises against vehicles 22 feet and over on the Generals Highway between Potwisha Campground and the Giant Forest Museum — the steep SR-198 switchbacks. Longer rigs should enter via SR-180/Big Stump from Fresno instead. Vehicles over 22 ft combined length are also barred from Crystal Cave Road, RVs and trailers are banned on Panoramic Point Road, and neither belongs on Mineral King Road.
When do the roads and Crystal Cave open, and what about winter?
The Generals Highway is open year-round but chains are often required fall through spring (California chain control applies to all vehicles, even 4WD). Crescent Meadow Road and the Mineral King Road open around the Wednesday before Memorial Day and close for the winter with the first real snow. Crystal Cave tours run 22 May to 1 November in 2026 — book ahead.
Is there gas or cell service in the park?
No gas inside the park — fuel in Three Rivers, Dunlap, or at Hume Lake. Cell service is spotty, so download offline maps before you drive up.
What about bears?
Black bears are common. Food-storage lockers are required at campsites and trailheads — store all food, trash, and scented items around the clock, and never leave food visible in a car.
Pick your vehicle, line up the stops on the way in and out, and carry the whole route in your pocket.
