Experience the best of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park

The two parks are managed together on the western slope of the southern Sierra Nevada, rising from foothills of oak and chaparral to granite peaks of more than 4,000 metres. In the Giant Forest, the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree on earth by volume, stands among many other giant sequoias, which grow only on the western slopes of the Sierra and can live for more than two thousand years. Moro Rock, a granite dome climbed by a stairway cut into its side, gives views across the Great Western Divide.

The General Grant Tree stands in Grant Grove, farther north. Kings Canyon is cut by the Kings River, one of the deepest canyons in North America, and Cedar Grove, on the valley floor, has meadows and waterfalls. Mount Whitney, at 4,421 metres the highest summit in the contiguous United States, rises on the eastern edge, and the Generals Highway links the two parks. Three Rivers, a town in the foothills, is the gateway to Sequoia.

Black bears, mule deer and marmots live in the forests, and simple lodge meals and campground cooking are the norm in the parks, while the Central Valley below grows oranges and almonds. Snow blankets the giant trees from late autumn to spring, and the high country opens in summer.