Exploring the Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park

It’s no shock that one of the biggest draws to Sequoia National Park is the Giant Forest. The Giant Forest is located in the heart of Sequoia National Park and holds half of the top 10 largest trees in the world! There are many ways to explore the Giant Forest like visiting the Giant Forest Museum, to a scenic drive or hiking one of the many hiking trails that wind through these ancient giants.

First, Some Fun Facts About Giant Sequoias

Giant Sequoias are only located on the Western side of the Sierra Nevadas in California. Once, though, they were more widespread across the Northern Hemisphere.
General Sherman, a giant sequoia, is the worlds largest tree by volume. It’s located in Sequoia National Park. That’s 5200+ cubic feet, thank you very much! And Sequoias never stop growing as long as they’re alive – so General Sherman is only getting bigger!
These massive trees come from teeny tiny pinecones! Like seriously tiny – they average about 2 inches tall. These cones require fire to open up and spread the seeds. So, fires (both prescribed and wild) play an important role in this species’s survival – in fact, because of this each tree only reproduces about once every 20 years!
Giant Sequoias can live up to 3,000 years! They’re able to live so long because of the protective tannic acids present in the trees. These help make the trees beetle, fire and fungus resistant!

List of Popular Stops in the Giant Forest

GENERAL SHERMAN – The world’s largest tree by volume.
CONGRESS TRAIL – A trail through a grove of large sequoias that starts near General Sherman Tree.
BIG TREES TRAIL – A trail through another large grove of sequoias that starts at the Giant Forest Museum.
GIANT FOREST MUSEUM – A great jumping off point for learning more about giant sequoias.
MORO ROCK TRAIL – a short but steep hike up a granite dome for 360 views at the top.
TUNNEL LOG – Drive through a fallen giant sequoia!
PARKER GROUP – A close grouping of giant sequoias that you can walk right up to!

General Sherman Trail

General Sherman is probably the most iconic site in Sequoia National Park. After all, in a national park named after this species of tree, visiting the largest one by volume has to be at the top of any list. This trail is very popular – for good reason – and has a wheelchair accessible option.

DISTANCE: It’s about a mile round trip.
DIFFICULTY: I would say that this hike is easy. On the way up there is an incline, but it isn’t bad at all.
POTENTIAL ADD-ON: Congress trail starts just off of this trail. It is a 2-mile loop.
IF YOU HAVE A HANDICAP PLACARD OR PLATE: There is a separate parking area that has a handicap accessible path to General Sherman Tree.
IS THIS TRAIL KID-FRIENDLY? This trail is very kid friendly. We took Charleigh (2) on foot and Liam (1) in a stroller. I wouldn’t recommend the stroller for others, but a Deuter Kid Comfort other baby carrier instead. Read why we love our Deuter Kid Comfort HERE.
A GENTLE REMINDER: Sequoia tree roots stay pretty shallow as they grow. The fences around certain sequoias are protecting them. They’re there for a reason, so don’t cross them.

Our Experience on the General Sherman Trail in the Giant Forest

We got the the General Sherman trail parking lot bright and early in the morning, hoping to avoid the crowd, and the great news is that we did! We were one of maybe 8 people we saw on the trail that day. We had read that this trail was easy and paved, so instead of loading the kids in our Deuter Kid Comforts, we decided that we would just put Liam in the stroller and let Charleigh walk. What we didn’t realize was that there are a good handful of of stairs along this trail. Luckily, Matt is used to picking up the stroller as he goes, but there were a lot more than we expected, I would probably use the Deuter next time.

The trail quickly meanders down a few wide switchbacks through a stunning section of forest. It feels like stepping through a fairy world. Enormously tall trees towered overhead, but nothing quite prepares you for the wow-feeling that waits for you at the bottom of the switchbacks. There are several massive sequoias located in this grove at the base of the trail. The trail leads past several standing giants, but loops around of them, including General Sherman. The scale of these trees are so impressive. You can’t take them all in without craning your neck skyward. Eventually, there’s a toppled tree that you can walk through, making a tunnel. When you eventually circle back, weaving around the base of 12+ massive sequoias, you come upon the Congress Trail, which would add two miles to your hike. It’s a loop trail that shows off other large sequoias. It’s absolutely on our list for our next visit.

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Big Trees Trail

This is another trail that shows off a relatively large grove of giant sequoias. The trail starts off at the Giant Forest Museum and follows a path along the highway, showing off a beautiful selection of these unique trees.

DISTANCE: Just over 1 mile loop trail.
DIFFICULTY: This trail is easy and pretty flat.
IS THIS TRAIL KID-FRIENDLY? I would rate this kid friendly for any kid that walks. Just watch for wild animals and there is a road crossing, just as a heads up.

Our Experience on the Big Trees Trail

The Big Trees Trail starts at the parking area for the Giant Forest Museum. It’s a very flat, very easy trail that meanders through the forest on either side of Generals Highway and loops around this little meadow. We started on the museum side enjoyed the peace of this hike. I’m sure in busier times of the year it’s probably quite packed, but when we were there, I think we passed fewer than 10 people total. There are other trails that intersect with the Big Trees Trail and we decided to take a short jaunt up the Bear Hill Trail, and I’m glad we did because we got to walk through a fallen Giant Sequoia, which was a unique experience. Before crossing the road, you get to see a few pretty impressive sequoias. After crossing the street, there’s a nice boardwalk path around a grove with a higher concentration of sequoias.

Moro Rock Trail

Moro Rock is probably the most popular granite dome hike in Sequoia National Park. It was the busiest hike we did of the trip and that’s because it’s the most bang for the buck as far as mountains go. Located off Crescent Meadow Road starting beside the Giant Forest Museum, I couldn’t not include this special mountain trail in the Giant Forest.

DISTANCE: 0.5 miles total, round trip.
DIFFICULTY: Moderately easy. It’s super-short, but it’s straight up. You’ll be winded, but I think anyone in reasonable health could do it.
IS THIS TRAIL KID-FRIENDLY? To let a kid do this trail on their own, you’d want to be sure that they were able to walk along hikes with sheer drop-offs. We took our toddlers, but they were in Deuter Kid Comforts.

Our Moro Rock Trail Guide

We have a more detailed trail guide to Moro Rock, which you can find HERE. In it we also share a detailed account of our experience hiking the trail.

Gear We Used While Exploring the Giant Forest of Sequoia

This is gear we personally use and love! One of the biggest things we would recommend, though, is Travel Insurance. We know first-hand how important this is to have while traveling.

When visiting Sequoia National Park, it wouldn’t be a complete visit without seeing the trees that gave this park its name. The Giant Forest is such a special destination to see these beautiful giants. It’s a very unique experience to get to see such a beautiful species of tree in its natural habitat.

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