The drive from Fresno to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks climbs dramatically, rising from roughly 300 feet above sea level to around 7,000 feet in the higher areas of the parks.
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks are home to some of the largest trees on Earth. While they are not the tallest or widest trees in the world, their massive trunks contain an incredible amount of wood, making them the largest trees by volume.
General Sherman is the largest tree in the world by volume. The General Sherman Tree’s trunk contains about 53,000 cubic feet of wood, enough volume to hold roughly 400,000 gallons of water.
The General Sherman Tree was named after William Tecumseh Sherman, a Union general who served under Ulysses S. Grant, during the Civil War.
This slab was cut from the base of a giant sequoia that once stood nearby.
During our hike back from the General Sherman Grove, we spotted a black bear not too far off the trail.
Sunset views on the hike back to the truck!
The next morning, we visited another famous giant sequoia in the park, the General Grant Tree. Before heading there, we enjoyed a campsite visit from a pair of fawns!
The General Grant Tree is the world’s second-largest tree by volume, with a trunk large enough to hold about 159,000 basketballs.
General Grant Tree was named after Ulysses S. Grant, a leading Union general during the Civil War who later became the 18th President of the United States.
These are a few more of the giant sequoias we saw while exploring the General Grant Grove!
Benches throughout the park are made from fallen sequoias.
Giant sequoias have bark more than 2 feet thick, which helps protect them from fire. Fires can burn into the base of a sequoia, creating a hollow or cave-like opening called a fire scar. Amazingly, the tree can survive and continue growing for hundreds of years after being damaged.
The Fallen Monarch is a giant sequoia that remains where it fell on the forest floor, likely centuries before its discovery in the late 1800s. Fire hollowed out the tree before it eventually came down, and today visitors can walk through its enormous trunk.
And, for scale, a photo of the cars in the parking lot.
After spending time in Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, we made our way down the steep, winding mountain roads to Fresno and onto our next destination.
Back to lower elevations and stretches of farmland!
Next stop: Los Angeles, California!