2 Days in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

My friend, Camilla, and I spent 2 days exploring Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. We were on a roll and visited 4 national parks in the first half of 2024 (read my blog posts about our trips to Joshua Tree National Park and Death Valley National Park).

If you’re thinking of visiting Sequoia National Park, I’d recommend doing Kings Canyon National Park as well. According to the National Park Service website, “Sequoia National Park, America’s second-oldest national park was established on September 25, 1890. General Grant National Park was established on October 1, 1890. On March 4, 1940 General Grant National Park was abolished and its lands were added to newly established Kings Canyon National Park. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks has been jointly administered since 1943.”

I’m not exactly sure where the boundary is between them, but they’re right next to each other, linked by Generals Highway. I think Kings Canyon felt bigger and was actually more scenic, with a wider variety of scenery.

THINGS TO REMEMBER FOR KINGS CANYON AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK:

• Always check the road closures. Not all the attractions are accessible depending on the time of the year.
• Make sure you plan to get gas, as I didn’t really see any gas stations in the parks
• Check the weather! It was still only in the 50-60s in late May.
• Get into Sequoia National Park early to park and then use the shuttle service.

DAY 1: FRIDAY, 5/24

I left the house at 7 am, picked up Camilla, and started our road trip from Los Angeles to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.  We stopped at Costco for gas and hot dogs in Visalia around 10:15 am and then drove another 1.5 hours to Kings Canyon National Park. We were worried about it being super crowded because it was Memorial Day Weekend, but it didn’t feel too busy on Friday. 

We started with the Big Stump Loop, which was only 1.5 miles roundtrip. We were paranoid and scared of running into bears, but we didn’t see any the whole trip. We did see some big trees and massive stumps though!

Next, we stopped at the Kings Canyon Visitor Center. There was also a mini-mart with some food and camping supplies. From there, we tried to leave our car parked at the visitor center and walk to General Grant trail, but there weren’t sidewalks the whole way and we turned around and got back into the car. The trail was flat and paved and the trees were really pretty. The General Grant tree is the largest sequoia tree by width.

Next, we stopped at Panoramic Point Overlook on the way to Hume Lake. It felt like a one-way road, but sometimes you’d have to squeeze to the side to let another car pass. On the way up, we saw snow on the ground which was crazy. The parking lot was pretty small and could probably only handle 20 cars, but there weren’t too many other people up there. 

Hume Lake was another easy trail, but it wasn’t paved. There was a big Christian camp on one end, but overall it was very peaceful and we saw a deer! We didn’t go around the whole lake and probably walked for about 20 minutes before turning around.

From there, we drove an hour down Highway 180, a very scenic byway, to Grizzly Falls. The road wasn’t supposed to be open, so it wasn’t on my original itinerary, but I’m so glad we went! The drive was extremely twisty, definitely not good for people who get carsick, but it was probably one of the prettiest drives I’ve ever done, passing by cliffs and rivers. We periodically pulled off to the side of the road to take some photos.

We got to Grizzly Falls around 5:15 pm, and it was one of the largest waterfalls I’ve seen (besides Niagara Falls), and you didn’t even have to hike to it. There was a small picnic area, and the waterfall was right there. The spray was cold and we didn’t stay too long, but there was only one other family there, so we mostly had the place to ourselves. The parking lot is tiny though (holds maybe 5 cars?), so I could imagine this gets really crowded in the summer.

For dinner, there weren’t a ton of options, but we decided to drive back to the visitor center and eat at the Grant Grove Restaurant. We got there at 6:15 pm, and not even ten minutes later, there was a long line. The menu was simple, but the food was surprisingly good. I got half a sandwich and some chili. Camilla got a burger and some soup.

We stayed at St. Anna’s House, which was about 40 minutes outside the park. I don’t really know how to describe it. It wasn’t a bed and breakfast,  nor was it a motel. It did the job, but I think it’s probably best to stay somewhere in the park.

DAY 2: SATURDAY, 5/25

The next day, we left early, around 6:30 am to get into Sequoia National Park by 8 am. It got like 15 degrees colder as we gained 1000 feet of elevation as we drove into the park. My ears were popping with the elevation change! I had planned an itinerary, but we abandoned that after we realized the convenience of the free park shuttle service (which is only available in Sequoia National Park). We parked at the Sherman Tree parking lot, which was already starting to fill up. You could definitely tell Sequoia was the more popular park, just based on the size of the parking lot. 

The General Sherman Tree Trail was nicely paved, but kind of steep. You can take the shuttle at the bottom back up to the top if you want. It felt like Lincoln Logs, with the wood posts along the trail and the sequoia trees towering above. The General Sherman tree is the largest sequoia tree by weight and volume.

Next, we took the shuttle to the Giant Forest Museum and saw the Sentinel Tree.  Then, we walked across the street to the Big Trees Trail. It was an ADA-accessbile loop around a meadow. Part of it was paved concrete, and part was wooden boards. There were several benches placed around the trail, and it was serene and pretty.

We hopped back on the shuttle and took it to Moro Rock. At this time, the road was closed to cars, so the only way to get there was the shuttle. As someone with a fear of heights, this was probably one of the scariest trails I’ve done. It was basically just a staircase along the massive rock face to the top and would get pretty narrow at some points. It probably only took 15 minutes of walking up the stairs, but it was truly dizzying at the top. It was also very crowded and hard to climb up while people were coming down. 

From Moro Rock, we followed a trail that supposedly went to Tunnel Log and took some photos. Because the road was closed to cars, there weren’t that many people there, which was nice.  Then a shuttle showed up, and we took it to Lodgepole Visitor Center and transferred to another shuttle to get to Wuksachi Lodge & Restaurant where we got sandwiches and sat outside for a bit. It was crazy to see how full the park was. There were cars parked on the side of all the roads, even on the side of cliffs. 

Hopping on the shuttle, we got back to Lodgepole Visitor Center and found the trail for Tokopah Falls.  This was the longest hike of the trip, and it was around 4 miles. The trail was pretty easy until we got closer to the waterfall, where it turned to big rocks. There were a good amount of people around, so we weren’t worried about the bears.  

On the drive back, we went to Kings Canyon Overlook before heading to dinner at Gena’s Sierra Inn and Restaurant, which was closer to St. Anna’s.  The hospitality was great, but the food was pretty sad, and I wish we had gone back to Grant Grove from the day before.

The next morning, we woke up and grabbed coffee in Visalia at Component Coffee Lab, which was a trendy coffee shop with exposed brick. On our way back to LA, we stopped for lunch at Chutamas Thai Cuisine in Northridge.

Other things I wish we would’ve seen if we had more than two days in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park and the roads were open:

• Kings Canyon National Park: Boyden Cave, Buena Vista Peak Trail, Roaring River Falls, Zumwalt Meadow, Mist Falls
• Sequoia National Park: Amphitheater Point, Beetle Rock, Crystal Lake, Monarch Lakes Trail

Google Map of everywhere we went in our two days in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park:

RECOMMENDED READING:
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30 Hour Arizona Road Trip: Grand Canyon, Horseshoe Bend & Sedona

Road Trip: LA to Joshua Tree and Palm Springs