Sequoia National Park: Home of the Biggest Living Things on Earth

The blue whale. The biggest animal that has ever lived. Heavier than any dinosaur we've dug up. And it would still lose a weigh-in to a tree standing quietly on a Sierra Nevada hillside in central California. The General Sherman Tree is the largest living thing on Earth by volume, roughly 275 feet tall and 36 feet across at the base, and it has been working on that title for over 2,000 years. Sequoia National Park, park #17 of 63 on the McSenderson US National Parks map, was created in 1890 to stop loggers from turning trees like it into fence posts. America's second national park, and the first one created to protect a living thing.

Know before you go

Sequoia National Park sits in California's southern Sierra Nevada, about 3.5 hours north of Los Angeles, entered from the town of Three Rivers on Highway 198. Entry is $35 per vehicle for up to seven days, no entry reservation required, but the entrance stations are cashless, so bring a card. The Giant Forest, where the General Sherman Tree and most of the famous stops live, sits between 6,400 and 7,000 feet, and free park shuttles serve it from May 22 through September 7 in 2026. Summer weekends are packed by mid-morning; arrive before 8 a.m. or plan to park at Wolverton or Lodgepole and ride the shuttle.

Quick facts

How does getting into Sequoia actually work?

Do you need a reservation? No. Pay the $35 at the gate and drive in. The line at the Ash Mountain entrance is the only reservation system, and beating it means arriving early. One catch: the entrance stations take zero cash. Card or phone only.

The drive up is the first event of the day. The Generals Highway climbs about 5,000 feet from the foothills to the Giant Forest through a set of switchbacks that will make your passengers put their phones down. Budget a full hour from the entrance to the Sherman Tree, more behind an RV. Speaking of which, the park steers longer RVs and trailers to the Highway 180 entrance through Kings Canyon instead; check the park's driving pages for the current length advisory before you commit to 198.

Parking is the real bottleneck. The Giant Forest Museum and Sherman Tree lots fill by mid-morning in summer. The move is to park once at Wolverton or Lodgepole and ride the free shuttles, which run May 22 through September 7 in 2026 and hit every major stop. Route 2 from the museum serves Moro Rock and Crescent Meadow, where the parking situation is worst.

Crystal Cave is the one thing you must book ahead. Tours run May 22 through November 1 in 2026, tickets are sold separately through the Sequoia Parks Conservancy (not at the park gate), and last season sold out. Buy before you drive.

What is the Giant Forest actually like?

Photos fail here, and it's worth understanding why. A giant sequoia doesn't taper like a normal tree. It goes up like a column, a wall of cinnamon-colored bark wider than your car, and your brain keeps trying to file it as a building. The Giant Forest holds thousands of sequoias, including five of the ten largest trees on Earth. Walk the Congress Trail, a two-mile loop from the Sherman Tree, and the crowds thin within ten minutes. That's the secret of this park: 95 percent of visitors stay within a few hundred feet of pavement.

Then climb Moro Rock. About 350 stone steps, cut into a granite dome in the 1930s, ending on a railed ridge at 6,725 feet with the Great Western Divide filling the horizon. It's the best effort-to-view ratio in the Sierra. On the way back, drive through Tunnel Log, a sequoia that fell across the road in 1937 and got a hole cut in it, because it was easier than moving it.

Two quieter picks. Tokopah Falls, a flat 3.4-mile round trip from Lodgepole to a 1,200-foot cascade that roars in June and whispers in August. And Crescent Meadow at dusk, where bears graze the far edge while the tourists are at dinner. One more thing worth knowing: the 2021 KNP Complex Fire burned through parts of this park, and the Giant Forest survived largely because decades of prescribed burns had cleared the fuel around it. You'll see black scars on healthy trees. Sequoias need fire; their cones open with it.

Can I do Sequoia with a dog?

Mostly no, and it's better to know that now. Dogs are allowed in campgrounds, picnic areas, and along paved roads on a six-foot leash, and that's it. No trails, not even the paved Sherman Tree path. Summer pavement in the foothills gets hot enough to burn paws, and cars parked in the sun at 90 degrees are dangerous in minutes. If the dog is coming, think of the park as a scenic drive with picnic stops, or book a kennel in Visalia and do the trails guilt-free.

Bringing kids?

This is one of the best parks in the country for kids, because the headliners are short. The Sherman Tree is a half-mile walk, the Big Trees Trail is a flat loop around a meadow, Tunnel Log is a photo from the back seat, and Crystal Cave is a 50-minute guided tour that plays like a field trip. Moro Rock is the judgment call. The steps have railings the whole way, but the drop-offs are real. Fine for steady grade-schoolers, wrong for toddlers who consider railings a suggestion. Bailout plan for melting kids: the Lodgepole market has ice cream.

What actually gets people in trouble here?

Rivers, mostly. The Kaweah and Marble Fork run cold and fast with snowmelt into July, and those polished granite slabs by the water are slicker than they look. Stay off wet rock, full stop. Beyond that: the altitude (take the first day easy if you're coming from sea level), heat in the foothills (it can be 100 degrees at the entrance and 70 in the Giant Forest, dress for both), and bears, which here are a food-storage problem rather than a safety one. Use the bear boxes at every trailhead and campground; a bear that gets your cooler pays for it with its life. Winter visitors: chains are often required on the Generals Highway, even for four-wheel drive.

FAQs

Do you need a reservation to get into Sequoia National Park in 2026?

No. Sequoia has no timed-entry or vehicle reservation system as of 2026. You pay the $35 vehicle fee at the entrance station and drive in. Note that entrance stations are cashless, and arriving before 8 a.m. in summer is the reliable way to skip the line and get parking.

What is the biggest tree in Sequoia National Park?

The General Sherman Tree, the largest tree on Earth by volume. It stands roughly 275 feet tall, measures about 36 feet across at the base, and is estimated to be over 2,000 years old. It's reached by a half-mile paved trail, with an accessible route from the shuttle stop.

Can you see Sequoia National Park in one day?

Yes. A strong one-day loop is the General Sherman Tree and Congress Trail in the morning, Moro Rock and Tunnel Log midday, then Crescent Meadow or Tokopah Falls in the afternoon. Arrive before 8 a.m., park once, and use the free summer shuttles to skip the parking scramble.

Are dogs allowed in Sequoia National Park?

Dogs are allowed in campgrounds, picnic areas, and along paved roads on a leash no longer than six feet, but they are not allowed on any trails, including the paved Sherman Tree trail. In summer, hot pavement and hot cars make the foothills genuinely risky for pets.

How do I get Crystal Cave tickets?

Crystal Cave tickets are sold separately from park entry through the Sequoia Parks Conservancy, not at the entrance station. The 2026 tour season runs May 22 through November 1, and the previous season sold out, so book online before your trip.

Scratch off park #17

Sequoia pairs naturally with Kings Canyon next door and Yosemite a few hours north, which makes this corner of California the most efficient sequoia-and-granite trip in the country. Track the whole journey on the US National Parks scratch-off map, where Sequoia is park #17 of 63, and use our guide to all 63 parks to plan what gets scratched next.

Ryan Laboy — Co-founder, McSenderson. Single-digit handicap golfer and ten-year skier based in Flagstaff, Arizona. Researches and designs every McSenderson map. hello@mcsenderson.com