Summary:
Follow the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River to a roaring waterfall tumbling down the walls of a massive granite cirque.

The trail winds through boulders and conifers with just a gradual climb. Although the elevation change over the course of the hike is around 500 ft, it certainly doesn’t feel like it. True, you climb all the way, but the gradient is so gentle you barely notice it.

After 15 minutes or so, as the trail bears left to follow a bend in the river, you get a clear view of the immense granite cliffs that form the cirque at the head of the valley. To the right is The Watchtower, the massive promontory that forms the valley’s southern boundary and a dominant presence for the rest of the hike. In late spring, large patches of snow still remain on its north-facing lower slopes.

Around the 1 mile mark, clamber up and around some huge boulders and cross a trickle of water as the churning white water of the river thunders past on the right. Pass through a denser section of forest, and cross footbridges over branches of Horse Creek as it flows down to the river.

The scenery changes dramatically as you approach the head of the valley, and move from the wooded floor to the stark, glacial setting of the fall. At 1.4 miles a different roar joins the thunder of the river, and after a final gentle climb Tokopah Falls comes into view. The setting is majestic, as it plunges 1,200 ft down the massive granite headwall. It is an impressive sight, but continue for a few minutes to the trail end, where the power of the fall can truly be appreciated.

The path is rockier now as it heads through a jumble of massive boulders. Marmots scurry amongst the rocks here, and you may also catch a glimpse of the guinea pig-like pika. The trail ends right at the head of the valley, at the very edge of the seething falls. A large boulder here makes a wonderful place to sit and admire the valley’s beauty. But do not go any further; a sign warns that steep cliffs make travel dangerous beyond this point.

In spring, the full force of the waterfall surges right before you and its cooling spray is wonderful on a warm day. Standing at the head of the valley, you can look down at the conifer-covered floor, surrounded by immense cliffs. Hike mid-week and off-season, and you may well have this all to yourself – as we did.

Lakes Trail via The Watchtower
This wonderful high-country hike is only guaranteed to be passable in summer and early fall – the precipitous route over The Watchtower is closed by ice or snow. From The Watchtower there are magnificent views over Tokopah Valley and, if you have a head for heights, you will enjoy the continuous views along the “white knuckle” section, a ledge cut into the cliff above Tokopah Falls. The trail continues to Heather Lake (a popular turnaround point for day hikers), and then on to other alpine lakes: Emerald, Aster and Pear. Length (out and back): 9.2 miles/14.7 km to Heather Lake; 11.4 miles/18.2 km to Emerald Lake; 13.4 miles/21.4 km to Pear Lake. Elevation change: up to 2,300 ft/700 m. Trailhead: Wolverton parking area, at the end of a spur road off Generals Highway, 2 miles south of Lodgepole.

Directions: From Visalia, take Hwy 198 through Three Rivers to the Ash Mountain Park entrance and Foothills visitor center. Continue up Generals Highway, a steep, narrow and winding road (not advised to long vehicles) for around 1 hour, and turn right on the short spur road past Lodgepole visitor center to the campground.

Trailhead: Log Bridge section of Lodgepole campground. If you are not camping here, park in the large lot just before the bridge. The trailhead is immediately on the right as you cross the bridge, a couple of minutes walk away.

Length: 3.4 miles / 5.4 km

Trail Type: Loop

Elevation Change: 500 ft / 152 m

Duration: 2 hours

Trail Condition: Clear and easy to follow.

Features: Waterfall, river, cliffs, forest.

Climate: Cool spring and fall, warm in summer. Deep snow in winter.

Accommodation: Lodgepole campground next to the trailhead and nearby lodging at Wuksachi Village, a mile away along Generals Highway. Outside the Park, further accommodation at Three Rivers and just before the Ash Mountain entrance.

Trail Notes: Buy trail map at Foothills or Lodgepole visitor centers. For greater solitude, avoid weekends or set out early. The river and waterfall are at their fullest and most impressive during late spring/early summer.

Summary:
Circle the picturesque meadows of Giant Forest – John Muir’s “Gem of the Sierra” – to a spectacular view of the Great Western Divide.

Keeping the meadow to your left, take the paved Crescent Meadow Trail around its south end. Cross a couple of footbridges over branches of Crescent Creek, then climb gently to a junction after two minutes. Keep left on the paved trail, and enjoy lovely views up Crescent Meadow as you stay close to its east side. Cross another footbridge, this time over a creek that runs between the southern ends of Crescent and Log Meadows, and reach a second junction.

Turn right for Tharp’s Log, and head through fir forest towards Log Meadow (ignoring the narrow path to the right after 0.1 mile). The paved trail heads up the west side of Log Meadow to Tharp’s Log, at the 0.8-mile mark. Hale D Tharp, the first white man to visit the Giant Forest, used the meadow to graze his cattle in the 19th century. He built a primitive cabin into the trunk of a downed sequoia and lived here every summer from 1861 to 1890.

Bear right onto unpaved Trail of the Sequoias, around the north end of Log Meadow and across a couple of creeks for 0.3 mile. Keep ahead at the junction to continue for 0.5 mile down the east side of the beautiful meadow, covered with grasses and wildflowers in summer. At the south end turn left, away from the meadow, for the short connection to High Sierra Trail. This 70-mile route heads east across the Park, all the way to the summit of Mt Whitney, the highest point in California.

At the four-way junction on the very edge of Giant Forest, bear left along High Sierra for 0.25 mile to Eagle View. Climbing gently on a rockier path, a sign describes the far-reaching consequences of just one person’s thoughtless act: “A carelessly discarded cigarette along the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River started the Buckeye Fire in October of 1988. The fire quickly spread through the tinder-dry foothill vegetation, burning 3,100 acres from the riverbank to the forest above the High Sierra Trail. It required 1,200 firefighters over a week to extinguish the blaze, and cost $2.5 million.”

With just low shrubs to the side of the path, the views are excellent – and as the trail along the open ledge bears left you arrive at Eagle View. It is well named. The panorama encompasses: the peaks of the Great Western Divide to the left; Castle Rocks directly ahead; the canyon of the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River to the right; the San Joaquin Valley far in the distance, as usual shrouded in smog; and to the extreme right, the granite dome of Moro Rock.

Wander a little further down the level trail. Either side, above and below, is thick with flowering shrubs, a garden landscaped by nature, accompanied by a magnificent view of the mountains. Deserted when we were there in May, it is a fabulous spot.

Retrace your steps to the four-way junction and keep ahead, descending very gently for 0.4 mile through the forest back to the southern end of Crescent Meadow. 0.1 mile before Crescent Meadow parking area, climb off left to Bobcat Point. The path winds through woods on the edge of the Forest, undulating through low manzanita bushes and tiny wildflowers covering the ground.

In no more than 10 minutes, you reach a granite knoll with a wide view of forested hills. This is Kaweah Vista. Bobcat Point is just a minute or so further on, and Moro Rock looms ahead as you approach it. The outcrop has another great view of Moro Rock, Middle Fork of the Kaweah and Castle Rocks, but from here the mountains are largely hidden by trees.

The trail leaves the outcrop and heads downhill back into the forest. Winding down to the next junction in 0.2 mile, you hear Crescent Creek just before you spot it through the trees. Emerge onto a large expanse of rock, follow the cairn and jump across the pretty creek at its narrowest point. This is another beautiful spot, the creek cascading through eroded boulders with a backdrop of hazy hills in the distance.

The trail bears left and climbs away from the creek a very short way to the junction with Old Pine Trail. Left leads to Moro Rock in 0.9 mile; you turn right to return to Crescent Meadow in 0.5 mile. Follow the creek as you climb the rocky path through open forest. In a few minutes, a sign indicates some Indian mortars to the right. Carved in the bedrock about 100 ft off the trail, these large holes were used by Indian women to food. Continuing ahead on the trail, across more granite slabs, it is now an easy climb through the woods. At the final trail marker, bear left for the parking area, a minute away.

Moro Rock
A distinctive landmark as you drive up Generals Highway, the parking area for this grand monolith can be accessed by road, or on foot from Crescent Meadow via Old Pine Trail. From there, the popular climb to the top is up nearly 400 steps built into the rock, with metal handrails in places. Although it is rather over-developed, it is well worth the 0.3 mile/0.5 km, 300 ft/90 m climb for the amazing views all the way up, particularly to the peaks of the Great Western Divide (see main picture). In our view though, it still cannot beat the tranquility of Eagle View.

Directions: From Visalia, take Hwy 198 through Three Rivers to the Ash Mountain Park entrance and Foothills visitor center. Continue up Generals Highway, a steep, narrow and winding road (not advised to long vehicles), for around 45 minutes to Giant Forest.

Trailhead: Crescent Meadow parking area. Turn sharp right off Generals Highway immediately before the new Giant Forest Museum and continue to the end of the road.

Length: 3.7 miles / 5.9 km

Trail Type: Loop

Elevation Change: 200 ft / 61 m
Total climb 400 ft/122 m

Duration: 2 hours

Trail Condition: Well maintained with marked junctions, paved initially.

Features: Meadows, forest (some giant sequoia), panoramic views.

Climate: Best in spring and fall. Summer brings hot temperatures, mosquitoes and lots of visitors. Heavy snow in winter.

Accommodation: Inside the Park, Lodgepole is the nearest campground and Wuksachi Village the nearest lodging – 3 and 4 miles north of General Sherman respectively along Generals Highway. Further accommodation at Three Rivers and just before the Ash Mountain entrance.

Trail Notes: Buy trail map at Foothills and Lodgepole visitor centers. For greater solitude, avoid weekends or set out early. Take insect repellent during early summer months.

Summary:
Wind through a peaceful forest of giant sequoias, the largest living things on Earth.

The Congress Trail begins just to the right of General Sherman. The easy paved path heads over the footbridge and into the forest. The sequoias are so distinctive, not just through their massive size but also from the beautiful red-brown lined bark. In 0.4 mile, bear left, ignoring the little connecting trail to the other side of the Congress loop, and climb gently.

In another 0.4 mile, leave the paved trail (and most of the people) behind and fork left onto Trail of the Sequoias. In 0.1 mile, pass another massive sequoia with a huge fire scar – Chief Sequoyah Tree – and here the path again diverges. Fork left, staying on Trail of the Sequoias. Climb steadily for 10 minutes or so, through mixed-conifer and sequoia, many showing signs of fire damage. One of the reasons the sequoias live so long is their ability to survive a blaze, due to the fire resistance properties of the thick bark. Resistant also to insects and fungi, their only weakness being the extremely shallow root system. It is not surprising therefore that toppling is the main cause of sequoia deaths.

After a final couple of switchbacks the trail reaches the highest point (around 7,300 ft) and levels. Pass through a more open area of forest, scattered with large rocks and boulders. There is a brief glimpse of snow-capped peaks through the trees on the right (due east) before an easy descent to denser forest. More massive boulders are to the left as you approach a log and boulder-jammed trickle of water. Cross using fallen logs and the trail bears right.

After 20 minutes of easy walking, through peaceful forest filled with birdsong, you reach a junction at 3.2 miles. Straight ahead leads in 0.5 mile to the High Sierra Trail, from where you can access Eagle View. To keep on Trail of the Sequoias (unsigned when we hiked), turn right for the steep yet short descent to Log Meadow, then right again, signed Tharp’s Log in 0.3 mile. Immediately before Tharp’s Log (a cabin built into a downed sequoia trunk), take the trail to the right, signed Chimney Tree. Pass the burnt out remains of this sequoia after 0.3 mile and keep ahead to start the loop back to Sherman Tree.

Now you are above the head of Crescent Meadow – and you can see its full length through a gap in the trees. This is a lovely part of the hike, the ground covered with lupine and red snow plants, which feed on decaying matter. Bear right after 0.2 mile, ignoring the path to the left down the west side of Crescent Meadow. A minute later the path divides again; take the right fork to Sherman Tree. Climb for several minutes, through another section of forest dwarfed by sequoia, to a junction at 4.6 miles. Turn right for Circle Meadow and Congress Trail, and right again 0.1 mile later, signed Senate Group.

Just after the junction you reach the lower part of Circle Meadow, which you follow for a while. The meadows are filled with bird-life and are a great place to spot bears – a hiker on the trail three days before us saw five black bears. The trail undulates for the next ten minutes, eventually winding down to a creek. Cross it and bear left, moving away from the meadow through forest scattered with rocks and boulders.

After a few minutes, a gentle climb takes you into an area with many sequoias. One group that crowds the trail is known as The Senate. They signal the 5.7-mile mark and the end of Trail of the Sequoias, and it is here that you rejoin the paved Congress Trail to return to the trailhead. Turn left to complete the final mile of the Congress loop. After a couple of minutes pass the House Group of sequoias, and another huge tree, General Lee, a minute later. Keep to the paved trail around McKinley Tree, and pass more sequoias as you complete the descent to the car park.

Directions: From Visalia, take Hwy 198 through Three Rivers to the Ash Mountain Park entrance and Foothills visitor center. Continue up Generals Highway, a steep, narrow and winding road (not advised to long vehicles), for around 45 minutes to Giant Forest.

Trailhead: General Sherman Tree parking area, a couple of miles past the new Giant Forest Museum.

Length: 6.7 miles / 10.7 km

Trail Type: Loop

Elevation Change: 500 ft / 152 m

Duration: 3 hours

Trail Condition: Smooth maintained trail, blazed with yellow triangles. Paved at start and finish.

Features: Giant sequoias, forest, meadows, wildlife.

Climate: Best in spring and fall. Summer brings hot temperatures, mosquitoes and lots of visitors. Heavy snow in winter.

Accommodation: Inside the Park, Lodgepole is the nearest campground and Wuksachi Village the nearest lodging – 3 and 4 miles north of General Sherman respectively along Generals Highway. Further accommodation at Three Rivers and just before the Ash Mountain entrance.

Trail Notes: Buy trail map at Foothills and Lodgepole visitor centers. For greater solitude, avoid weekends or set out early. Take insect repellent during early summer months.