Sequoia and Kings Canyon hiking trails will take you on a magnificent park journey. Trails range from short, easy, and paved, to long, steep, and rugged.

Lace up your hiking boots, or slip on your sneakers - there are more than 1,000 miles of Sequoia & Kings Canyon hiking trails for visitors of every ability and inclination. From gentle ambles among giant sequoias to moderate day hikes and full-throttle ascents (including the highest point in the lower 48 states!), Sequoia & Kings Canyon hiking trails deliver peak experiences, whatever the topography and terrain.

Top-rated Sequoia hikes include Big Trees Trail, Crescent Meadow Loop Trail, Congress Trail, Tokopah Falls Trail, Hazelwood Nature Trail, Alta Peak Trail, and the High Sierra Trail to Bearpaw Meadow.

Kings Canyon is laced with paths to everlasting hiking happiness. There are short and easy strolls, led by the meandering Big Stump Trail. There are long and steep trails, offering dramatic High Sierra scenery. For the intrepid, there's Big Baldy (8,209 feet) Ridge Trail. Hiking Redwood Canyon is another peak experience where you'll discover the world's largest grove of sequoias (no, there are no redwoods here; early settlers mistook the cinnamon-hued bark of the resident sequoias for coast redwoods).

Picturesque tarns, sprightly rivulets, conifer-studded slopes - whatever the trail or terrain, it's bound to feature the incredible grandeur of Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. Below are just a few examples of the hiking trails available - see you at the trailhead!

Make a reservation today, and prepare to experience these trails for yourself!

Learn more about staying safe on the trails. Information about park alerts, giardia, bear containers, hypothermia, hiking in the heat and more can be found on the NPS safety page.

Trail maps and guides are available at the various gift shops and visitor centers within the parks.

Distance: 1 mile, self-guided loop

Time: 1 hour, round-trip

Trailhead: Starts at Trail Center near Giant Forest Museum

Elevation Gain: 50 feet

Description: This pleasant Sequoia hiking experience will take you along gentle grades through excellent stands of giant sequoias. Trailside exhibits tell of historic figures who helped make these parks what they are.

Distance: 2.5 miles, self-guided loop

Time: 2 hours, round-trip

Trailhead: Converse Basin is accessible by a graded dirt road off Highway 180, 6 miles north of Grant Grove. Converse Turnoff (Forest Road 13S55). There is a sign at this point saying Converse Basin Grove, Stump Meadow and Boole Tree Trail. Take Forest Road 13S55 about 0.5 mile into Converse Basin Grove

Elevation Gain: No net gain; gentle climbs and descents

Description: Boole, the largest giant sequoia on National Forest System Land, is the 8th largest of all known sequoias. This trail offers spectacular views of the Kings River gorge and spectacular high Sierra Nevada mountain vistas. As you travel along the trail, you'll come across remains of sequoias left where they fell in the historic logging days.

Distance: 1.2 mile self-guided loop trail

Time: 1 hour round-trip

Trailhead: Giant Forest Museum parking lot

Elevation Gain: 60 feet

Description: One of the most accessible Sequoia National Park trails in the park, this trail circles Round Meadow and features trail-side exhibits describing the area's ecology.

Distance: 1.8 miles

Time: 2 hours, round-trip

Trailhead: Crescent Meadow parking lot

Elevation Gain: 200 feet

Description: This scenic loop trail takes you around the picturesque Crescent Meadow. Most impressive in the spring when wildflowers are in bloom, wildlife sightings are common in this area. The Sequoia hiking trail also goes by Tharp's Log, a hollowed out Sequoia tree that was converted into a summer cabin by one of the park's earliest settlers.

Distance: 2 miles

Time: 1 to 2 hours, round-trip

Trailhead: General Sherman Tree, just off Generals Highway

Elevation Gain: 200 feet

Description: This popular, paved Sequoia hiking path loops through the heart of the Giant Sequoia Grove and is perfect for first-time visitors.

Distance: 3.4 miles

Time: 2 to 3 hours, round-trip

Trailhead: Log Bridge in Lodgepole Campground

Elevation Gain: 500 feet

Description: The trail to Tokopah Falls is an easy walk along the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River. Tokopah Falls is 1,200 feet high and most impressive in spring and early summer.

Distance: 7 miles each way

Time: Approximately 7 to 8 hours, round-trip

Trailhead: Wolverton

Elevation Gain: 4,500 feet

Description: Though strenuous, this Sequoia hiking trail to Alta Peak is considered by many to be one of the best day hikes in Sequoia National Park. At 11,204 feet, the summit of Alta Peak provides jaw-dropping views of the Great Western Divide and the High Sierra. On a clear day you can even see all the way to Mt. Whitney!

Distance: .6 miles round-trip

Time: 40 minutes

Trailhead: Moro Rock Parking Lot

Elevation Gain: 300 feet (nearly 400 stairs)

Description: Ready for a "hard rock" experience? Moro Rock is a granite dome located just off the Generals Highway near Giant Forest. On any given day visitors may see rock climbers clinging to Moro Rock's cracks and knobs. For the rest of us, there's a 400-step, 1/3-mile staircase from the parking lot that ascends more than 300 feet to the summit. The reward: spectacular views of the western half of Sequoia National Park and the Great Western Divide.

Keep your binoculars ready and steady. In the background: the sawtooth sentinels of the Great Western Divide. In the foreground: the shy and speedy peregrine falcon, free-wheeling in the surrounding sky it calls home.

Distance: 11.5 miles each way

Time: 5 to 10 hours, one way (average 7 hours)

Trailhead: Crescent Meadow, approximately 10 miles south of Wuksachi Lodge

Elevation Gain: 1,000 feet

Description: Well marked and easy to navigate, the High Sierra trail is considered moderate with a warm southern exposure. The trail follows a ridgeline of mixed conifers, offering spectacular views of the Great Western Divide and lush meadows along the journey. The journey gains and loses elevation the entire way. It is wise to rest and enjoy Buck Creek (it has a concrete bridge) because the last 1.3 miles gains 600 vertical feet and is without water. The High Sierra trail crosses three major tributaries before reaching Bearpaw High Sierra Camp®. A number of popular day hikes are accessible from the camp.

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Distance: 1.4 mile loop

Time: 1 hour, round-trip

Trailhead: General Grant Tree parking lot

Elevation Gain: 350 feet

This lightly traveled, 1½-mile trail offers a close look at the giant sequoias as well as ponderosa pines and sugar pines in a quiet forest setting. It starts at Grant Grove Tree, but soon moved into the quieter North Grove where you can enjoy breathtaking views of sequoias with fewer people. In the winter, the trees wear a mantle of snow, but this trail is clearly marked and accessible for beginner hikers in any season. You can easily combine this hike with the Dead Giant Loop for a 3.25-mile wander through the big trees. See this map of the North Grove Loop and Dead Giant Loop.

Distance: 2 miles

Time: 1 hour

Trailhead: Next to the entrance station inside the Highway 180 entrance

Elevation Gain: 200 feet

Description: One of the lesser-traveled trails in Kings Canyon National Park, the Big Stump hiking trail features many enormous stumps left over from the logging days. Two points of interest along the trail include the Mark Twain Tree, a giant stump you can climb onto via a small ladder, and the Sawed Tree, a sequoia tree that bears an enormous scar from being partially sawed through which now stands perfectly healthy.

Distance: 7.3 miles, round-trip

Time: 4 hours

Trailhead: Redwood Saddle parking area

Elevation Gain: 850 feet

Description: The Hart Tree Loop is another less-traveled Grant Grove hiking trail located in Redwood Canyon, which contains the largest sequoia grove in the park. To get to the trailhead, drive south on Generals Highway from Grant Grove and turn right at Quail Flat onto a dirt road. The Redwood Saddle parking area is 1 ½ miles down the road. The Hart Tree Loop trail goes past an old logging site from the 1800's, past Hart Meadow and Fallen Goliath, and through Tunnel Tree, a hollowed out giant sequoia. Roughly halfway into the hike you will reach a spur trail that leads to the Hart Tree, the largest tree in the grove. The hike is relatively easy and provides numerous vista points along the way.

Distance: 4.5 miles, round-trip

Time: 2 ½ hours

Trailhead: Parking area on Generals Highway, approximately 8 miles south of Grant Grove

Elevation Gain: 600 feet

Description: The trail to the summit of Big Baldy is considered moderate difficulty. The trail alternates between forest and granite covered areas and eventually reaches an elevation of 8,209 feet with jaw- dropping panoramic views. For those interested in a little more Kings Canyon hiking, continue on for another half mile to catch a view of a formation called Chimney Rock.

Distance: 1.5 miles

Time: 1 to 1.5 hours

Trailhead: Zumwalt Meadow Parking Lot

Elevation Gain: no net gain; gentle climbs and descents

Description: A mile west of Roads End, Zumwalt Meadow Loop is best taken in the early morning as the gentle trail circles a picture-perfect Sierra meadow. As you walk along the Kings River, the towering granite North Dome and Grand Sentinel fill the sky.

Distance: 9 miles round-trip

Time: 3 to 5 hours round-trip

Trailhead: Roads End

Elevation Gain: 600 feet

Description: A riverside walk into Kings Canyon features a natural granite staircase that eventually leads to Mist Falls, thunderous in late spring and early summer, and still impressive into autumn.