Sequoia National Park

After the splendor of Yosemite, I really did not have high expectations for Sequoia.  However, once again I was astounded by the natural beauty here.  Sequoia/Kings Canyon is a little more out of the way than Yosemite, and therefore it seems much less crowded.  Obviously, the main attractions here are the Sequoia trees.  If you are lucky enough to have a stretch of trail to yourself it almost feels as though you are alone on a primeval planet.  In a way, it really is primeval -- the trees are among the oldest living beings on Earth (some of them are 3500 years old or more).  The largest tree is General Sherman, located in the Giant Forest.  But there are many other equally impressive trees in the grove, and you can spend hours wandering among these silent sentinels.  The photos don't begin to do them justice.  We felt absolutely insignificant standing next to them.

Another impressive attraction at the park is the Crystal Cave.  Getting to the cave entrance involves a 15 minute hike down a steep hill (which makes for a good workout getting back to the car!)  They provide flashlights at the entrance, but we were glad to have our headlamps for the extra light.  Although we have seen more impressive caves, it was still quite a sight and our guide was very animated and informative.  She deftly handled the incessant questions from the two-dozen rambunctious Boy Scouts on our tour.

We stayed only one night in the park.  When we checked into Dorst Campground we were warned that they'd had bears prowling around nearly every night looking for food.  We were lucky(?) that the teens at the campsite next door stayed up super late and made enough noise to keep the bears away.  We did unexpectedly come across a small bear ambling across the road early the next day.  I just barely got the camera out in time to snap a couple photos.

For more information, see the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park website

Crystal Cave
45 minute guided tours daily from 11am - 4pm (June - Sept)  |  Information 559.565.3759