Giant Forest is the primary area that draws the largest tourist crowds within the giant forest that is Sequoia National Park.
The name is literal. It’s a giant forest. Or a forest of giants.
Giant Forest sits on a broad plateau at roughly 6,000 to 7,000 feet in elevation and contains one of the largest concentrations of giant sequoia trees anywhere on earth.
Not a few big trees. Not a stand of impressive trees.
Thousands of giant sequoias spread across the landscape, many of them already ancient when the Roman Empire was still trying to figure itself out.
You can read all the statistics you want beforehand.
Trees over 250 feet tall.
Trunks wider than houses.
Ages measured in millennia.
None of it really hits home until you’re standing beneath one and realizing your neck doesn’t bend far enough to see the top comfortably.
Moro Rock
Looking at Moro Rock from Hanging Rock. What an amazing chunk of granite.
Whiskerbrush
Some beautiful tiny Whiskerbrush (Leptosiphon ciliatus) on the trail to Hanging Rock.
Wrap My Arms Around
The tree hugger can only be a tree toucher with these massive trunks
Moro Rock Climb
It’s a lot of steps up to the top of Moro Rock
Red and Red
Taking a break to stare up a bunch of massive Sequoias.
Even Jeeperz looks like a toy parked next to one.
Little Jeep, Big Trees
It’s amazing just how small the Jeep looks beneath these massive Sequoias
The history of Giant Forest is almost as interesting as the trees themselves.
In the late 1800s, some people viewed these groves as resources to be harvested rather than treasures to be protected.
Fortunately, the giant sequoias proved spectacularly bad as commercial lumber.
Their brittle wood shattered easily, making logging difficult and often unprofitable. One of the reasons these giants still stand today is because they were simply too magnificent and too impractical to cut down on a large scale.
Sometimes conservation gets an assist from economics.
These days, Giant Forest is the single most popular area in the park.
During peak season, parking fills early, shuttle buses run constantly, and trails can feel surprisingly busy considering you’re standing in a forest of trees that have been quietly minding their own business for thousands of years.
The crowds are there for a reason, though.
Some places become popular because they’re over-hyped.
Giant Forest became popular because it actually delivers.
The surrounding landscape helps too.
Massive sequoias share space with white fir, incense cedar, and sugar pine.
Granite domes rise above the forest.
Wildflowers appear in openings between the trees.
Giant Forest Museum
The Giant Forest Museum is a museum tucked beneath giants. In a forest.
Wildlife is part of the experience as well, especially black bears.
Despite the name, American black bears aren’t always black. In the Sierra Nevada they’re often shades of brown or cinnamon.
They’re remarkably intelligent animals and spend much of their day searching for food, whether that’s berries, insects, acorns, or whatever else looks promising.
Park visitors sometimes get excited when they spot one, but the bears usually seem far more interested in overturning logs and continuing their lunch plans than in the people watching them.
Seeing one in the wild is memorable. Stumbling upon a mother bear with a cub is even more memorable, and a little unnerving!
She wasn’t pleased that we were there, and sent her cub climbing a nearby tree with a huff and a puff.
After a few minutes we were able to skirt wide enough her to move along down the trail, and they went trundling off into the woods in search of more food.
This was our second trip into Sequoia National Park, and we enjoyed it every bit as much as the first time around in 2012.
It’s one thing to see photographs of giant sequoias. It’s another thing entirely to stand among them.
The scale is difficult to describe, difficult to photograph, and somehow still difficult to fully comprehend even while you’re there.
Some places earn their Instagram reputation.
Sequoia National Park is definitely one of them.
Just So Cute
I want to give this little bear cub belly rubs and chin scratches!
Got Scolded
You can tell this little guy got scolded
Safety In Heights
This little bear cub knows that he’s safest high up in a fir tree.
Oooooh Boy
Turns out that bear has a cub here too – and she’s not pleased to share the trail with us.
Scrounging
Pretty cool to watch this American black bear tear apart fallen trees looking for bugs.
Moro Rock 360
A 360 photo from the top of the very popular Moro Rock hike.. Click and scroll around.
Big Trees 360
A 360 of big trees from the Jeep. Click and scroll around.
Under The Roots 360
Jeeperz parked under the massive root structure of the Buttress Tree. Click and scroll around.
Giant Sequoias Near Crescent Meadow
It's amazing just how tall these Sequoias are!
Tunnel Log 360
A 360 video of driving underneath the Tunnel Log in Sequoia National Park. Click the gear icon and select the highest resolution available for better quality, and click the header to go to Youtube to view in 360 if your browser doesn’t support it.
