The General Grant Tree Trail is a must go place for all visitors to the national park. It is…read morewell-paved, not too incline. you will first see the Fallen Monarch which is a fallen sequoia tree so huge that you can walk thru it like a tunnel, it's very photoworthy. Continue walking and you will see Centennial Stump and Gamlin Cabin (closed for repair), then you come to the General Grant Tree, it's huge and if you walk around the tree, you will see the huge fire scar on the tree trunk. Michigan tree is further down the trail, overall this is an interesting trail, don't miss it when you visit the national park Fun fact: General Grant Tree is world second-largest tree by volume, it is also known as the Nation's Christmas Tree.

We visited on Jul 4, 2025 ... Happy Independence Day,…read moreAmerica! The General Grant Tree is located in Grant Grove in the Kings Canyon National Park. You will need to enter the gate of Kings Canyon National Park or Sequoia National Park to see it. Once inside either of these National Parks, you can traverse to the other without going through another entry gate. We arrived at the gate to Kings Canyon National Park by 8:38 in the morning. I highly suggest arriving as early as possible to avoid slow-moving traffic and potential line of stopped vehicles on the road with a prolonged wait time at the gate. We stopped in at the Kings Canyon Visitor Center & Grant Grove Village for a potty break and to check out souvenirs and information there. There's also a restaurant here if you need sustenance for your day. If you need Wi-Fi, you can connect here. Otherwise, reception is spotty at best out in the park! There are so many majestic Sequoia Trees to enjoy! This park is home to a famous tree named General Grant. We came to take in its grandeur! This is the second largest tree in the world by volume! By viewing this tree, I've now seen the world's widest-known Sequoia! After viewing this tree, we went over to Sequoia National Park to see the largest tree which is the General Sherman Tree. General Grant Trail is completely paved and is accessible by wheelchair. There is a parking area there as well. There are information signs pointing out things of interest. The signs are in English & Spanish and also include Braille. Things to see while taking the leisurely stroll around the approximately 0.5-mile loop General Grant Trail are - *General Grant Tree: a) named after General Ulysses S. Grant in 1867. b) In 1926, then President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed it the National Christmas Tree. Instead of taking the tree to a Christmas celebration, it is brought to the tree. A wreath is placed at its' base every second Sunday in December during the "Trek to the Tree". c) It was also named a Living Shrine in memory of the men and women of the Armed Forces who fought & died to keep this Nation free ... by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. It's the only living shrine in America! *Centennial Stump - the tree was cut in 1875. Part of it was sent to PA. *Gamlin Cabin - built in 1872 by the Gamlin brothers, who lived there until 1878. This park was established as General Grant National Park in 1890. The cabin was turned into a store and later became the first Park Ranger's quarters. It was inducted into the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. *Fallen Monarch - The trunk was hollowed by a fire and is on its' side. You are able to walk through it and get a sense of how massive these trees really are! There's a large hole (skylight) at what is now the top. Fun Facts: The Fallen Monarch was once used as a Saloon! It was also used as a stable for the horses of the Cavalry that guarded the park. FYI: Dogs are not allowed on the General Grant Trail. The General Grant Tree was way less busy than the quite congested General Sherman Tree.

One Effn winding road (180) to get to Zumwalt Meadow and it's not only winding ( if you get car…read moresick , this road might be tough ) the road is on the edge of the cliff most of the time. Why is it worth the drive ? Cuz it's simply beautiful and way less crowded than Yosemite. Depends on the time of the year we have this place all to ourselves. Even though 180 is winding, the views of the mountains and the Kings River from this part of the road is spectacular. Just a few more miles further from Zumwalt , you'll find the trailhead to the Mist Falls Trail ( not to be mistaken from Mist Trail in Yosemite).

There is a trail along the river all the way to Muir Road at the Road's End. It's an easy to medium…read morehike. We passed by bridges, giant rocks and a beautiful meadow. The meadow itself is magnificent with grass field and hills. Half of the trail was not shaded, so be prepared to get some radiation shields (SPF, hats and sunglasses)

Smaller falls near cedar grove visitor center, limited parking space, short and unpaved walk to the…read morefalls. You can get closer to the falls and even soak in the water, just be careful as there are rocks around them

On Memorial weekend, we took a trip from the Bay to Red Rock Canyon State Park and on the way back…read moreto stop by Tunnel Log of Sequoia State Park but it was too busy, the road was practically blocked with visitors, so we went to Grizzly Falls Picnic Area instead to view the magnificent nature falls. The winding road took us there was quite beautiful, rock formation on the side of the road, the roaring rivers on the side are quite wonderful to look at. The park ranger at the gate was so helpful and pleasant, made our long trip less tiring but exciting. The cost to visit all the beautiful parks in California was so inexpensive and the parks are really well kept, the restrooms are quite clean. The roads are smooth. We were lazy to put gas from Mojave and we're still had some gas left on top of the falls, but there aren't any gas stations for 50 miles. Luckily, it was downhills on the way down, we had enough gas to get to the gas station. Make sure you have enough gas or electricity on EV if you go to the Grizzly Falls Picnic Area. Anyhow, it was worth it to drive all these miles and winding roads to see the beauties of California.

Less than 10 minutes drive from Cedar Grove visitor center,…read more parking at the Roaring River Trailhead Parking lot, then 5 minutes walk to Roaring River Falls, it's an easy walk and not crowded.

Well worth the drive up there. Such a beautiful and peaceful place. Quick walk from the parking lot…read moreand connected to 2 other short trails if you want to continue hiking.

This was a great spot to watch the sunset! I didn't think we were going to make it on time or if…read morethere was going to be a sunset with the overcast weather we had been having. Our hostess who organized the volunteer event suggested we go to Sunset Rock to watch the sunset. I was hesitant to go after a long day of pulling invasive weeds in the sun and having hip issues. I was told it was only a mile. So I thought it was the area we cleaned up the other day and thought it was an easy walk. Well it turned out it was not the viewing rock I thought it was. Although I was very tired and a little bit in pain and still adjusting to the elevation, the hike was worth it! The sunset that day was stunning with different patterns of sunset colors. I messaged the hostess the other night and she said she plans to do it on our next volunteer project next month in August. I told her I was looking forward to it. The hike to the rock is a beautiful walk, with plenty of native plants to admire. I would rate it an easy to medium. Bring a head lamp or some type of lighting if hiking for the sunset. There are areas with a slight incline looks easy enough but if you haven't adjusted to the elevation it can be difficult. Well worth the hike, and swinging at mosquitos. Bring bug spray. The boulder is huge, bring a picnic, and remember to pack your trash out. There is no fencing so watch your step and any little ones, this is a serious fall. The views are breath taking, and at the golden hour we turned around and the lighting on the mountains and trees were an extra treat! Don't forget to look all around you.

This was a perfect short and sweet hike, on a very well marked trail in the Winter…read more Most of the trails were completely snowed in so we had a tough time snow shoeing in the area. We stopped off to ask a Ranger at the museum in front of the Sentinel tree, for some options since we'd rented snow shoes and really wanted to find some trails instead of wander around following bear tracks in the snow (which is fun too, but I wanted to see some actual trails). This was one he suggested as it was literally right across the road. It was a very easy and enjoyable hike. We were completely alone, most of our time in the park while attempting to find trails which made the experience different than high trafficked trails in national parks during Spring, Summer and Fall. We had this place to ourselves and it was incredible and a tad bit odd at times. I wondered where everyone was. We were to Sunset Rock in no time. I'd like to say out and back in around an hour or less and that was trekking through tons of snow and stopping at the rock for a bit once there. Once to the rock, which had visible patches showing through we took in the views. This was a very serene and peaceful trail in February. It wasn't strenuous at all so I'd definitely recommend it for all athletic abilities and ages. Will be nice to see it again in the Summer, sans the snow.

Wow!!! What an experience. I've been here once before in 2017 and I'm still in awe at this amazing…read moretree. We were going to walk to General Grant Grove from the visitors center as it's only a mile walk, but we couldn't find the trail. According to the ranger most people drive, but after driving for 2 hrs to get here we really wanted to walk. We drove the less than 5 min drive from the visitors center and parked in the overflow lot as the main lot was full. We tumbled out of the car and made our first pot stop to the bathroom. Warning there is no soap so either bring some or do as I did and used hand sanitizer. We then embarked on the short half mile loop to visit General Grant. This was my husband's first time and didn't know what to expect in this trip. The first unexpected part of the trip was the long drive from Lindsay and the hair pin turns. We took 198 to 245. I don't recommend this path. It was 2 hrs going 10pm at times due to the hair pin turns. The half mile loop was just my speed. I'm not a big hiker. Some fun facts: Genera Grant is also known as the Nation's Christmas Tree according to the sign in front of the tree. Later I looked it up and it was designated by President Calvin Coolidge in 1926 General Grant is 1,700 years old. I can't really grasp that. My own family tree doesn't go back that far. I'm hoping to die gratefully before 100 so this is well beyond any lifespans that I know of. General Grant is fenced off to protect it. But it reads that if 20 people held hands they would surround it. General Grant is 40 feet across.

It's a giant rock, like a stone platform next to the river. A short walk from Road's End parking…read morelot. The river water was clear, cold and it's kind of slow flowing, good for a dip to cooling down in the summer.

The address is not correct on here. Google Muir Rock for correct address. It's basically at the end…read moreof kings canyon national park where it dead ends. I highly recommend visiting here.

Not going to lie, this hike unexpectedly really beat me up. I intended to do the entire loop but…read morewas just so exhausted/overwhelmed when I woke up that I ended up turning back, although I took a different way back. I only made it to Lake 3 but to be fair, it started heavily pouring with intermittent thunder and lightning. The elevation gain destroyed me with my 20+ pound backpack, but I eventually made it to Lake 3 where I joined 2 other girls who basically adopted my clueless self. It is beautiful but perhaps would have been better without the cloudy skies. Overall, I would do this trip again but with more training!!

The Cottonwood Lakes are a series of 5 lakes in the high Eastern Sierra Nevada at about 11,000'…read moreelevation where you can catch California golden trout. This is a great place to camp out if you are looking for a place to acclimate before doing a high altitude hike such as Whitney. For convenience, you can just camp out at the trailhead which is at 10,000'. It takes about an hour to get from the Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead to the Whitney Portal. I arrived here on July 3rd in the afternoon and spent one night and the following day fishing and hiking the area as a warmup to Whitney, which I was hiking on July 5th. Ultimately, I did not have any altitude sickness issues beyond a very mild headache which I could treat with ibuprofen. From the Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead, the Cottonwood Lakes are about 5.5 miles away, so 11 miles roundtrip. Cottonwood Lake #3 is the largest of the five, and I ended up catching all my trout here. However, I didn't spend much time, if any, at the other lakes due to time constraints. I caught 4 trout in about an hour and a half. It's a very beautiful area, with large open meadows and lots of wildlife. I saw a deer and a pair of coyote while hiking to the lakes. There are also hordes of mosquitos so be sure to bring powerful mosquito repellant. Cottonwood Lakes can also be the midpoint in a hike to Mt. Langley, but that's another review.