How to Spend an Amazing 2 Days in Sequoia National Park

When we think of California national parks, our minds go straight to Yosemite. But if you have a trip planned to Yosemite, why not add on a day or 2 in Sequoia National Park? It is in fact, only a 2.5 – 3 hour drive from Yosemite to Sequoia.

Sequoia National Park, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated US National Parks. It is home to the largest trees (by width), in the world,  the Sequoia Tree, which is something everyone should see at least once in their life.

We spent a day and a half in Sequoia National Park and were surprised to find out that there is so much more to see in the park than we had expected. We definitely could have spent longer there.

This blog post has everything you need to plan an incredible 2 days in Sequoia National Park, including where to stay, what to do there, how long you need in Sequoia National Park and more.

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Planning Your 2 Day Sequoia Itinerary

A Quick Summary & Map of Your 2 Day Sequoia Itinerary

If you don’t have time to get into the nitty gritty of the entire itinerary, don’t worry! Below is a basic itinerary along with a google maps that you can use for your trip.

Click here to open the map in Google Maps!

Day 1

• General Sherman
• Hike the Congress Trail
• Visit the Giant Forest Museum
• Moro Rock Hike for sunset

Day 2

• Tunnel Log Drive Through
• Big Trees Trail
• Go for a drive and check out Amphitheater Point
• Crystal Caves Tour

Things to Know Before you go

📍 Where is Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park is located in California in the Southern Sierra Nevada.

✈ How to get to Sequoia National Park

The closest airport to Sequoia National Park is Fresno Yosemite International Airport which you can then pick up a rental car from. Alternatively, you could fly into San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and hire a car and drive from there, which is what we did.

From Fresno Yosemite International Airport

It is a 1.5 hour drive from Fresno International Airport to Sequoia National Park. There are two ways you can go. The first is by CA-180 E and the second is via the CA-99 S and CA-198 E.

From San Francisco International Airport

It is a 4-5 hour drive from SFO to Sequoia National Park depending on traffic conditions.

Join a Sequoia National Park Tour

If you would prefer to explore in a group, you could join a Sequoia National Park Tour from Fresno. If you want to see even more of Sequoia, you could do a private 2 day Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park tour!

🛌 Where to Stay in Sequoia

When we visited Sequoia, we spent 2 nights dispersed camping just outside the park which was super convenient. There is no free camping available inside Sequoia National Park, however, you can camp at the National Park’s campgrounds.

Unless you stay right inside the park (which is the best option in my opinion), the closest town to Sequoia is Three Rivers where there are some great hotel choices.

🎫 National Park Passes

To enter and visit sights in Sequoia National Park, you will need a national parks pass. The America the Beautiful pass is the best option if you plan to visit multiple national parks over the period of a year. Even if you just plan on visiting Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks this year over a few days, it is still worth it to purchase the America the Beautiful Pass.

⌚ How long do you need for Sequoia National Park / Is 2 days enough?

You could see a good portion of Sequoia National Park in 1 day but I recommend spending at least 1 night close to the park. I think 2 days in Sequoia National Park is the perfect amount of time to be able to see the best spots in Sequoia and do a hike or 2.

We spent 1 whole day in the park and then revisited early the next morning to get some photos at some of the more popular spots without the crowds.

📆 What time of the year is best for visiting Sequoia

You can visit Sequoia National Park at any time during the year. The most popular time for visitors is during Summer which is when Dave and I went. I’m not going to lie.. It was pretty damn busy!

My biggest tip for visiting Sequoia during Summer is to start super early in the day. We had some of the spots completely to ourselves because we got up for sunrise.

I have also heard and seen through photos that Winter is absolutely magical in Sequoia National Park. But be warned, it can get very snowy so you will need to be extra prepared with Winter tires and snow chains for your car and snow shoes and / or micro spikes to walk around in.

If you want to visit outside of Winter but avoid the crowds, I recommend visiting from late August to October which is past the extremely busy Summer period.

🚗 Can I drive around Sequoia National Park

You can drive your own car in Sequoia National Park, however, the parking lots do tend to fill up pretty quickly, especially during Summer and on the weekends. For this reason, I recommend you park your car somewhere first thing in the morning and then try to utilise the park shuttles.

🌲 What is there to see in Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park’s main attraction is its giant Sequoia Trees. Some of these trees are over 3,400 years old and absolutely mind blowing to see in person!

Other than the huge trees, Sequoia National Park has some amazing hiking trails such as Moro Rock, which is the best sunset hike in Sequoia National Park.

Another fun, must-see attraction in Sequoia, is the Tunnel Log Drive Through, which is an old, fallen over Sequoia Tree that has a carved out road shaped hole in the middle of it that you can literally drive through.

ℹ Sequoia National Park Facts

• There are not many restaurants in the park so make sure you bring your own food.
• The General Sherman Tree is the biggest tree on Earth from its overall volume of its trunk.
• General Sherman is 2,200 years old!
• Sequoia National Park is the 2nd oldest national park in the USA, becoming a NP in 1890, after Yellowstone.
• Giant Sequoias can grow up to 311 feet tall and 26 feet in diameter
• Fire is critical in a Sequoia tree’s growth. Sequoia seeds, in particular, need low-severity fires to germinate successfully.
• The Sequoia Tree’s thick bark with many air pockets, insulates the wood from heat, making the tree resilient to fires.

Sequoia National Park 2 Day Itinerary

Day 1

Morning: See General Sherman

Distance: 1.2 miles / 1.9km return | Elevation: 196 ft / 60m | Time: 30-40 minutes

The first thing you should do on your first morning in Sequoia National Park is go check out the largest tree in the world (by width), General Sherman. This trail gets extremely busy, especially in the Summer and on the weekends which is why I recommend heading there first.

The walk to General Sherman from the trailhead will take you about 15- 20 minutes to reach.

Mid-morning – midday: General Sherman to the Congress Trail

Distance: 2.9 miles / 4.7km return | Elevation: 482ft / 147m | Time: 1.5 hours

The Congress Trail is one of the best trails in Sequoia National Park to see the Sequoia Trees. We did one of the park rangers hiking tours which was great because we learnt SO much more than we would have if we had just done the hike ourselves. Highly recommend!

For these tours, they are free, run throughout the day and you don’t need to sign up. You can just join. Ask at the visitors centre to find out what time they are on.

The Congress Trail takes you past 2 famous tree clusters – The Senate and the House which are some of the oldest trees in the park. You will also come across a tree that you can walk through.

Afternoon: Visit the Giant Forest Museum

The Giant Forest Museum is located across the road from the parking for the Big Trees Trail. If you weren’t able to join one of the guided hikes, or even if you did, I recommend checking out the museum to learn more about the park and about these incredible trees!

Sunset: Moro Rock Hike

Distance: 0.5 miles / 0.8km return | Elevation: 250 ft / 76m | Time: 20-30 minutes

Moro Rock is the best sunset spot in Sequoia National Park! It is also very popular for sunset so don’t expect to have the views to yourself, unless you are going in Winter maybe.

The hike is fairly steep but short up a granite rock face using stairs. From the top, you will have 360 degree panoramic views of the valley and mountains surrounding you. If you are afraid of heights, this might not be the hike for you.

We hiked it for sunset and the hike itself was packed with people and then the top of the rock was also extremely crowded. I still think it was worth it though.

Day 2

Early morning: Tunnel Log Drive Through and Parker Group Sequoias

Tunnel Log is a sequoia that fell over in 1937 and rather than remove it, the workers decided to cut a hole through it for cars to get through, making it what it is today, a very popular tourist attraction and instagram photo spot.

The Tunnel Log Drive Through is one of the best photo spots in Sequoia National Park which means it gets super busy. We went just before sunset and it was packed with a long line of cars waiting to take their photos.

We decided to go back again for sunrise the next morning and we were the only ones there for quite a while which was awesome because we could spend as long as we wanted getting different photos. Can’t ever beat that sunrise photo sesh!

I also recommend going early in the morning because the road actually closes to private vehicles after 8am so that the shuttles have full access of the road.

On the way back from Tunnel Log Drive Through, you can check out the Parker Group Sequoias which are right next to the road. There is no official parking for this group of trees but a little pullover on the side of the road that can fit 1 or 2 cars. This was our favourite group of trees in Sequoia National Park!

Mid-morning: Big Trees Trail

The Big Trees Trail is one of the easiest trails in Sequoia National Park, is stroller and wheelchair accessible and great for the whole family. Most of the trail takes you around the forest on a boardwalk.

We did this trail first thing in the morning and were the only ones on it except for a couple of deer!

Midday – Go for a drive and check out Amphitheater Point

To give ourselves a break from the sun and the Summer heat, we decided to go for a drive to get a sense of our surroundings. We came across Amphitheater Point which had awesome views overlooking Moro Rock, Castle Rocks and the rest of the valley. From the Big Trees Trail, Amphitheater Point is a 15-20 minute drive.

Afternoon: Crystal Caves Tour

Crystal Cave is not something that we realised was located in Sequoia National Park, until we got there. In a nutshell, Crystal Cave is a marble cavern. The only way to see the inside of the cave is by joining a 50 minute tour.

If you have more time

If you finish doing all of the things in this itinerary and still have extra time, there is still more you can see and do in Sequoia.

Tokopah Falls

Tokopah Valley Falls is a gorgeous waterfall that you can hike to in Sequoia National Park. The hike is 6.1km / 3.8 miles with an elevation gain of 191m / 626 ft and will take you around 2 hours. The trail crosses a few streams so it’s a good one to do on a hot day because you can take a dip along the way.

Hike Crescent Meadow Loop

Crescent Meadow Loop is 2.1km / 1.3 miles with an elevation gain of 40m / 131 ft and will take you about 1 hour. Not only will you see huge Sequoias along the trail, but also pine trees. Crescent Meadow is also one of the best places in Sequoia to see wildflowers. The best time for wildflowers is during June and July.

Check out Beetle Rock

Beetle Rock trailhead is right next to the Giant Forest Museum parking lot. It is only a short 0.5km / 0.3 mile walk to the Beetle Rock Vista and will talk you about 10 minutes. The trail is paved and pretty accessible to most wheelchairs and strollers unless you have a wider wheelchair or stroller. From the vista, you will be able to see across over to the San Joaquin Valley.

Our Thoughts

Sequoia National Park, in my opinion is highly underrated! We always heard SO much about Yosemite and how gorgeous it was but Sequoia is beautiful on a different level. The Giant Sequoia Trees will absolutely blow your mind. 

If you are visiting Sequoia National Park, you might also find these guides helpful:

• An Incredible 4 Day Yosemite Itinerary
• The Ultimate 15 Day California Road Trip Itinerary
• The Best 2 Day Lake Tahoe Summer Itinerary
• Yosemite vs Sequoia National Park
• Moro Rock – The Best Sunset Spot in Sequoia National Park
• The Best Photo Spots in Sequoia National Park
• Must-See Sights in Sequoia National Park for First-Timers
• Is the Tunnel Log Drive Through in Sequoia National Park Worth it?
• The Big Trees Trail in Sequoia National Park
• Hiking the Stunning Congress Trail in Sequoia National Park
• Everything You Need to Know About General Sherman: The Biggest Tree in the World
• Where to Stay in Sequoia National Park

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