Joined by a high-altitude roadway bisecting a national forest and contiguous with a number of wilderness areas, these two parks combined offer vast stretches of alpine bliss. Groves of giant sequoias, wildflower-strewn meadows, gushing waterfalls, dramatic gorges and spectacular vistas reveal themselves at nearly every turn. General Grant Grove and the Giant Forest, in Kings Canyon and Sequoia respectively, are obvious highlights, but it's the backcountry where you can fully disconnect and listen for the sounds of life.
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
Top choice in Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
12.31 MILES
A scenic subalpine valley at 7500ft, Mineral King is Sequoia’s backpacking mecca and a good place to find solitude. Gorgeous and gigantic, its glacially…
1.52 MILES
This 3-sq-mile grove protects the park’s most gargantuan tree specimens. Among them is the world’s biggest, the General Sherman tree, rocketing 275ft into…
24.3 MILES
West of Lone Pine, the jagged incisors of the Sierra surge skyward in all their raw and fierce glory. Cradled by scores of smaller pinnacles, Mt Whitney…
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4.37 MILES
A quarter-mile staircase climbs 350 steps (over 300ft) to the top of Sequoia’s iconic granite dome at an elevation of 6725ft, offering mind-boggling views…
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16.67 MILES
This sequoia grove off Generals Hwy is astounding. The paved half-mile General Grant Tree Trail is an interpretive walk that visits a number of mature…
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1.68 MILES
By volume the largest living tree on earth, the massive General Sherman Tree rockets into the sky and waaay out of the camera frame. Pay your respects to…
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17.65 MILES
One of the most popular destinations for a day hike from the Cedar Grove area of Kings Canyon, Mist Falls is an Edenic spot, with massive boulders,…
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14.05 MILES
This verdant meadow, bordered by the Kings River and soaring granite walls, offers phenomenal views. In the early morning, the air hums with birdsong, the…
Nearby Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada attractions
0.61 MILES
On the northern side of the Giant Forest, Wolverton Meadow is at an elevation of 7250ft. It has picnic tables, hiking trailheads and a winter snow-play…
1.52 MILES
This 3-sq-mile grove protects the park’s most gargantuan tree specimens. Among them is the world’s biggest, the General Sherman tree, rocketing 275ft into…
1.52 MILES
Bordering long stretches of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, this national forest area, named after the enormous Sequoia trees it contains, was…
1.68 MILES
By volume the largest living tree on earth, the massive General Sherman Tree rockets into the sky and waaay out of the camera frame. Pay your respects to…
3.55 MILES
Jaw-dropping spectacular view of the Sierra Mountains. It's reasonably easily accessible via a 1-mile walk along the High Sierra Trail from Crescent…
3.56 MILES
For a primer on the intriguing ecology and history of giant sequoias, this pint-sized modern museum will entertain both kids and adults. Hands-on exhibits…
3.57 MILES
Said to have been described by John Muir as the ‘gem of the Sierra,’ this lush meadow is buffered by a forest of firs and giant sequoias. High grass and…
3.93 MILES
Visitors can drive through a 2000-year-old tree, which fell naturally in 1937. It once stood 275ft high with a base measuring 21ft in diameter. Regular…