King's Canyon/Sequoia NP ??

[madysmom]

What should we absolutely do when in these parks? We have two small children. Probably won't spend more than a day there, so...what is a "must-do?"

Thanks!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

If you just want to see the trees, you can see them in Yosemite and consolidate your trip.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

We went to Yosemite, and on the way to Los Angeles drove to Sequoia. We went to Hume Lake, which is a small lake that has a beach where you can swim, or you can rent rowboats/canoes/kayaks for a small fee from the local Christian camp.

From there we drove to the Giant Forest, where we saw the General Sherman (largest living thing in the world), and then a short drive to Crescent Meadow and the tunnel log there.

I had cousins from out-of-town, and probably their only opportunity to see this, so we crammed a lot into one day.

I agree with Wendy, though. If you are going to be in Yosemite, you might want to spend more time there and enjoy it rather than spend a lot of time in your car driving from one place to another.

 

[madysmom]

Thank you for the info. We will be heading down towards Disneyland, so we figured we might as well drive through King's Canyon/Sequoia, too. I noticed on the park website that there is a cave to tour as well, so we will maybe do that on our way through.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Okay, if you are going to go to Sequoia, then note that it is about 2 hours from Yosemite to the entrance of Kings Canyon, about 45 minutes to get to Giant Forest, and 5.5 hours to get from Giant Forest to Los Angeles. (These are usually the hours it takes us).

If you are going to bypass Hume Lake, and go straight to Giant Forest, then you will need to go to the Visitors Center there to get the tickets to go to Crystal Cave. I recommend visiting General Sherman, and taking the short hike/walk around Crescent Meadow. It is really beautiful there, and has a nice picnic area, flush toilets, etc. You can hike to a fallen sequoia tree called Tharpe's Log, that a mountain man made his home for 20 years each summer. The tunnel log is also there, and you can drive under it & take pics.

I took this last year of my family, on our way from Yosemite to Los Angeles, with a stop in Sequoia.

Leaving the Giant Forest, you'll pass four giant trees crossing the street (love to take a pic here. They're the last huge sequoias you'll see. You'll see the turn-off to Crystal Cave. You drive down a paved road to a parking lot, and then hike a quarter mile down to the mouth of the cave, where you'll go on a guided tour. Climb back up (steep) and then continue your way.

Be sure to stop at Hospital Rock on your way down the mountain. It'll take probably 2 minutes to get to the rock to see the native american petroglyphs there.

(I've made this trek several times in the past 10 years. )

 

[RanCan]

I would definitely see the General Sherman tree. You will enjoy the Crystal Cave too. Another thing that my family really enjoyed was climbing up Moro Rock. It's more like part of a mountain, there are a lot of stairs to climb , railings along some of the hike. It is about a 1/4 mile hike, but when you get to the top, you have an amazing 360 degree view. There are a few scary sections, especially if you are afraid of heights, but the view is well worth it. Here is a link to some pictures I found

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q....edu/%7Ehbwang/photo/pcd0546/Sequoia-58.1.jpg