Article Overview: Best Hikes in Sequoia National Park

The best hikes of Sequoia National Park take you through a landscape unlike any other in the national park system. For starters, this roughly 630-square-mile park in the Southern Sierra Nevada encompasses the biggest trees on Earth thanks to its groves of giant sequoia.

Add to that some of the most utterly gorgeous mountain scenery anywhere, courtesy of the granite plateaus and toothy peaks forming the high country.

The park includes not only the culmination of the entire main spine of the Sierra—here you’ll find 14,505-foot Mount Whitney, the highest summit in the Lower 48. The secondary crests are no small peaks, either, including the Great Western Divide that rivals the main crest in elevation and grandeur.

There are giant gorges here, too, draining south and west, including Kern Canyon. There are easily accessible areas, including the Giant Forest and Mineral King, but much of Sequoia is a vast, thin-air backcountry.

Throw in the connecting Kings Canyon National Park, which is managed under the same Sequoia umbrella, and you’ve got an enormous, wild wonderland to explore.

Here are our choices for the best hikes in Sequoia National Park, attempting to span the easy-to-soul-crushing spectrum of difficulty and give a sense of the park’s diversity.

Best Hikes in Sequoia National Park

Table of Contents: Best Hikes in Sequoia National Park

Table of Contents: Best Hikes in Sequoia Nationa Park

Best Hikes in Sequoia National Park

mt whitney sequoia national park california

10 Best Hikes in Sequoia National Park

10. Mount Whitney

Distance: 10.7 – 72.2 miles (from Crescent Meadow to Whitney Portal)
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation Gain: ~15,000 feet
Time Required: 6 – 8 days

Hiking to Mount Whitney in Sequoia National Park

Mount Whitney is more than just one of the best hikes in Sequoia National Park. Additionally, it’s one of the most popular peak trails in the country.

Following the High Sierra and John Muir trails, you’re able to climb to the rooftop not only of the Sierra Nevada but also the entire Lower 48 from a starting point in the Giant Forest sequoia grove, taking in along the way some of the highest and most extensive roadless country in the West.

Of course, a 10-day backpacking trip at high elevations isn’t for everyone. Concurrently, you can take much shorter routes to reach the peak. The trail from Whitney Portal to the peak is 10.7 miles.

NOTE: Mount Whitney is at the boundary between Inyo National Forest and Sequoia National Park. The most popular routes will be in Inyo, not Sequoia. YOU WILL NEED A PERMIT TO TAKE THIS HIKE.

Standing atop Mount Whitney—part of the skyscraping Muir Crest of the Southern Sierra—is, of course, the high point (literally and figuratively) of this hike. However, the High Sierra Trail serves up plenty of other amazements, from Precipice Lake and Big Arroyo to the spectacular Kern Canyon.

Mount Whitney's landscape shows snow-covered mountains int he back and brownish orange mountains in the foreground. — The contrast of mountains from Mount Whitney in Sequoia National Park. (Shutterstock/Zack Frank)

9. Sunset Rock

Distance: 1.4 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: 300 feet
Time Required: 1 – 2 hours

Hiking the Sunset Rock Trail in Sequoia National Park

This is one of the best hikes in Sequoia National Park for seeing the sunset. This easy, family-friendly jaunt takes you from the Giant Forest Museum to a broad rock outcrop. It’s one of two no-sweat, all-ages jaunts to domes in the Giant Forest, the other being Beetle Rock.

In addition, you’ll get views of the nearby Marble Fork gorge of the Kaweah River and knobs such as Little Baldy, Colony Peak, and Frys Point. You’ll also get to savor the walkthrough mixed-conifer stands, including red fir, Jeffrey, and sugar pines (the latter the world’s biggest pine tree). Take some time to appreciate the incense cedar as well as the glade called Eli’s Paradise.

Just bring that headlamp if you’re actually taking in the sunset proper from this vantage!

8. Sawtooth Pass and Columbine Lake

Distance: 6.5 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation Gain: 4,400 feet
Time Required: 8 – 10 hours

Hiking to Sawtooth Pass & Columbine Lake in Sequoia National Park

Drink up sweeping High Sierra scenery on one of the best hikes in Sequoia National Park, best tackled as a backpacking trip. First, you’ll kick off the trail from the legendary Mineral King area, switchbacking and sidehilling your way up the canyon of Monarch Creek. Second, you’ll ascend out of the closed-conifer forest into steep rocklands scattered with junipers and foxtail pines.

From the gorgeous Monarch Lakes, you’ll question your sanity slogging it up to Sawtooth Pass, with rewarding views of Mount Whitney, the Kaweah Peaks, and the Kern Plateau. After that, explore the westward far downslope to the San Joaquin Valley and beyond. It’s a comparatively easy descent from Sawtooth Pass to Columbine Lake, a mesmerizing place to camp.

best hikes in Sequoia National Park Columbine Lake — Columbine Lake as seen in summer (left) and winter (right).

7. Kaweah Gap

Distance: 40 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation Gain: ~7,450 feet
Time Required: 2 – 3 days

Hiking to Kaweah Gap in Sequoia National Park

The Kaweah Gap is certainly not a day hike, but it’s one of the best hikes in Sequoia National Park for those who want an extended backcountry adventure.

Cut at 10,700 feet, Kaweah Gap marks where the fabled High Sierra Trail crosses the crest of the Great Western Divide. You’ll need a High Sierra Trail permit to take this route.

Kicking off from Crescent Meadow in the Giant Forest, you’ll edge your way through the defiles of Panther Creek, Mehrten Creek, and Buck Creek. Then, take the switchbacks up and into Bearpaw Meadow, a popular camping (and glamping!) spot some 11.4 miles from the trailhead.

From there, you’ll trek up the jaw-dropping canyon of Hamilton Creek to the Hamilton Lakes, set under the enormous granite face of Valhalla. Big Hamilton Lake is another prime place to pitch a tent.

From the Hamilton Lakes Basin, you’ll pass through the tunnel crossing the Hamilton Gorge. Prepare to huff and puff as you switchback the austere flank of the Great Western Divide. You’ll hike past starkly set Precipice Lake— immortalized in a famous 1932 photograph by Ansel Adams—and a number of tarns to reach Kaweah Gap itself. Admire the grand views of the Nine Lakes Basin, the Kaweah Peaks, and Big Arroyo Canyon.

Stunning sunrise above mountains in the distance with one towering on the right side in an area known as Kahweah Gap. — Kahweah Gap at sunrise, one of the best hikes in Sequoia National Park. (Shutterstock/Sierralara)

6. Moro Rock

Distance: 0.8 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation Gain: 300 feet
Time Required: 30 minutes to 1 hour

Hiking the Moro Rock Trail in Sequoia National Park

Moro Rock is a classic example of an exfoliation dome: an exposed mass of granite that’s peeling away thanks to weathering and erosion. Jutting out as a bold fin high above the canyon of the Middle Fork of the Kaweah, it’s among several easy-to-reach domes within the Kings Canyon-Sequoia complex. This is also one of the best hikes in Sequoia National Park to build up some courage to tackle Half Dome at Yosemite.

Moro Rock definitely gives off Half Dome vibes.

At the tippy-top—which, guard-railed though it is, can be a bit vertigo-inducing—you can gaze from the San Joaquin Valley east into the rugged, skyscraping heart of the Southern Sierra, and from the tops of the Great Western Divide down—way down—to the General’s Highway at the bottom of the canyon.

Half Dome Hike, Best Hikes in Yosemite National Park — Half Dome in Yosemite (left) vs. Moro Rock in Sequoia (right)

Moro Rock Things to Do in Kings Canyon National Park — Half Dome in Yosemite (left) vs. Moro Rock in Sequoia (right)

Getting to the summit and its knockout views involves climbing a 350-step stairway, reached just a short drive from the Giant Forest Museum. You don’t need to climb far before clearing the conifer canopy, and the vistas start opening up big-time.

The Moro rock walkway along a steep drop with a metal railing and distant mountain views in Sequoia National Park.

5. Tokopah Falls

Distance: 3.4 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: 530 feet
Time Required: 1 – 2 hours

Hiking the Tokopah Falls Trail in Sequoia National Park

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, albeit seasonally more spectacular after spring runoff. The trail to Tokopah Falls is one of the best hikes in Sequoia National Park for that reason alone. Also, it’s an easy trail to the beautiful, 1,200-foot cascading sheet of water. At the same time, you get a truly gorgeous, glacially scooped trough to view. That’s the U-shaped canyon of the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River’s Tokopah Valley.

It’s the sort of place that’s lovely enough—and enjoyed without overly exerting oneself—that you don’t mind the busy trail. You’ll set off from the Tokopah Falls Trailhead near Lodgepole Campground and meander along Tokopah Valley’s soaring granite walls. Be on the lookout for the great spire called the Watchtower, which broods to the south.

Time your walk for early summer, if possible, to enjoy the tall, streaming tumble of Tokopah Falls at its fullest flow.

The cascading waterfall of Tokopah Falls comes down a granite stairstep with alpine trees up top and a woman sitting on slickrock below.

4. Alta Peak

Distance: 13.8 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation Gain: 3,920 feet
Time Required: All day

Hiking to Alta Peak in Sequoia National Park

If you’ve got the mettle—namely, lungs and legs accustomed to the rigors of the High Sierra and several thousand feet of elevation gain—one of the most sublime views you’re likely to relish in a lifetime awaits at the summit of Alta Peak.

It’s one of the best hikes in Sequoia National Park for altitude lovers, as the mountain soars to 11,204 feet between the Pear and Emerald Lake basins to the north and Alta Meadow to the south. It’s easiest to make the climb as a one- or two-night backpack (camping, for example, at Mehrten Meadows or Alta Meadow). Although, strong hikers can certainly tackle this as one of the most grueling—but also glorious—day hikes in Sequoia National Park.

A good starting point is Wolverton, taking the Lakes Trail up to Panther Gap and then the Alta Trail to the peak. You’ll rise from glorious midslope Sierra mixed-conifer forest, including extensive towering red firs, into timberline country scattered with stout, nobly battered-looking foxtail pines, a high-elevation member of the bristlecone-pine clan found in a wacky, disjointed range.

The panoramic summit views include some of the most jaw-dropping alpine terrain in the country, including the Kings-Kaweah Divide, Great Western Divide, Kaweah Peaks, and the huge granite barrens of the Tableland. Beyond the Great Western Divide, you can nab a coveted glimpse of Mount Whitney. Westward and southwestward, gaze down the foothills to the San Joaquin Valley lowlands.

3. Congress Trail

Distance: 2.7 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: 470 feet
Time Required: 1 hour

Hiking the Congress Trail in Sequoia National Park

For any tree lover, the Congress Trail is a must-do. It definitely ranks among the best trails in Sequoia National Park, given it shows off some of the most glorious members of the Giant Forest—and, therefore, some of the most incredible arboreal hulks on the planet!

Picked up near the General Sherman Tree, this paved lollipop loop leads you through the ginormous, rusty-red columns of the Giant Forest Grove, including the clustered huddles of sequoias known as the House and Senate groups (which give the trail its name).

You also pass by one of the biggest and oldest of all sequoias: the President Tree, better than 3,240 years old and calculated (in 2012) to hold more wood than the General Grant Tree (in Kings Canyon National Park). Unquestionably, it is the second most massive of its kind known after General Sherman.

A man looking up at the massive grove of sequoia trees.

2. Big Trees Trail

Distance: 1.2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: Minimal
Time Required: 30 minutes

Hiking the Big Trees Trail in Sequoia National Park

The Big Trees Trail is perhaps the quintessential Sequoia National Park hike. This trail loops around a stunning grove of giant sequoias and gives you a rare perspective to observe these gentle sentinels from a bit of a distance.

If you’re looking for photo opportunities this is one of the best hikes in Sequoia National Park to snap a shot of hikers on the boardwalk set against the massive trees.

The trail features an ADA-friendly boardwalk as well making it great for everyone.

A photo showing how small people look against the majesty of the trees in Sequoia National Park.

1. General Sherman Tree

Distance: 1 mile
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: 200 feet
Time Required: 30 minutes

Hiking to the General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park

You couldn’t swing harder to the other end of the length/difficulty spectrum from the multi-day trek to Mount Whitney than this easy-peasy trail, but, nonetheless, its destination ensures top billing on this list as the best hike in Sequoia National Park.

Hikes in Sequoia National Park don’t come more one-of-a-kind than the short amble to General Sherman within the Giant Forest. After all, this is the heftiest single-stem tree on Earth: the giant of giant sequoias, with a basal circumference of 102.6 feet and more than 52,500 cubic feet of wood contained within its swollen trunk.

By some standards, this is the largest single organism in the world. Reckoned at between 2,300 and 2,700 years old, it’s also a genuine ancient, even if falling short in the age department of the nearby President Tree (and well short of California’s Great Basin bristlecone pines, which can live nearly 5,000 years).

The Main Trail drops down to General Sherman from Wolverton Road, offering a paved descent that incorporates some stairs. Allow yourself plenty of time to bask in the presence of this Sierran titan.

General Sherman Sequoia National Park — A towering look at General Sherman in Sequoia National Park. (Shutterstock/Simon Dannhauer)

FAQ – Best Hikes in Sequoia National Park

How many days do I need in Sequoia National Park

I’d recommend two days minimum and add a trip to Kings Canyon National Park, even if you just drive the scenic byway. Ideally, you can see the main attractions of both parks in 3-5 days.

Is Moro Rock scarier than Half Dome?

Not by a long shot. Moro Rock is much smaller, and the trail isn’t nearly as long. It’s a great way to train for the Half Dome hike if that’s on your bucket list.

Is Yosemite better than Sequoia?

Yosemite is an icon, but Sequoia and Kings Canyon definitely hold their own. Even the “Father of National Parks,” John Muir, was known to love Sequoia and Kings Canyon, stating Kings Canyon was a “Rival to Yosemite.” That means the debate about which is better has been ongoing since 1873. What do you think?

Things to Know Before You Visit Sequoia National Park

Entrance Fees

$35 per vehicle, and that will get you into nearby Kings Canyon National Park. If you plan to visit more National Parks within the next 12 months, I suggest purchasing the America the Beautiful Pass. This pass gets you into all National Parks, Forests, Monuments, and more, including 2,000 sites for free after a one-time $80 fee.