Travel Guide Sequoia National Park

On the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, in west-central California, 400 km from Los Angeles and 480 km from San Francisco, visitors discover Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (SEKI), managed as a single park. Elevations range from 500 to 4,418 m at Mount Whitney, its highest point.Sequoia National Park. Covering an area of 163,000 ha, it was created in 1890 to save the majestic redwoods from being chopped into planks. Millions of years ago, these giants were widespread, but today they only grow in a few high spots on the western slopes of the long Sierra Nevada. In the Sequoia Giant Forest area inside the park, one of the park's main sights, you'll find some of the world's largest trees alongside the spindly shrubs. The General Sherman Tree, some 3,000 years old, is the world's largest, measuring 90 m in height, 11 m in diameter, 31 m in circumference and with bark over a metre thick. Don't try to reach its first branch - it's 40 m off the ground! Thanks to the Sierra Nevada's abundant rainfall and rich soil, the redwoods grow at dizzying speed. Getting around is easy, with trails running between the trees. There's even a road where you can drive under a trunk that fell in 1937 and had to be dug up to open up a passageway. In 2021, the KNP Complex Fire ravaged part of the park, burning 3-5% of the redwoods (31,500 hectares in the SEKI zone). The park is still a magnificent sight, however.Hiking. From the Sequoia Giant Forest, trails lead to several remarkable sites: Moro Rock, Hale Tharp cabin... Most trails require a permit, see www.nps.gov/seki. For the more athletic, Mount Whitney is a shorter and easier climb from the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada.