Sequoia National Forest Guide
Situated between and around Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Sequoia National Forest offers a lot of the same sights, but with a lot less people. The trade off is that you'll be hard pressed to find any real services within the national forest, aside from campgrounds and pit toilets. Forest service roads are often not strictly maintained, nor is every single trail. Solitude and unique sights are your reward for venturing away from the famous locales of the national parks. NOTE: this guide is a work-in-progress.
When to Visit
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Late spring, summer, and early fall are your best bets--mostly because the roads will be closed come winter! From November to June, any roads can only be accessed by hiking, snowshoeing, or cross country skiing.
How to Get There
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The forest encompasses an area around both Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks--and some space between them too. Your closest major airport will be in Fresno, which is also closest to the Kings Canyon region of the forest. The town of Three Rivers is closer to the parts that border Sequoia National Park.
Sequoia National Forest Things to Do
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Chicago Stump
Time: 1-2 hours (depending if you walk/drive the forest road)
Distance: .5 miles/4.5 miles.
First things first: to reach the start of this hike requires driving a two mile forest service road, beginning from Highway 180--if you're coming from Grant Grove, it will be clearly marked on your left. If the road is closed due to the forest service making active use of it, you obviously won't be able to access. It's also possible it may only be closed to vehicles, but hikers are still permitted to walk the road. If the road is open, you're free to drive it tot he trailhead--but be warned, it's a rocky, dirt road, that is especially bumpy in the first half. It's not impossible to do it in a sedan, but a higher clearance SUV is the safer bet.
The road to the Chicago Stump.
If you decide to hike the road, be prepared: it's pretty much completely exposed the entire way, so if visiting in the summer, you'll probably want an early start, plenty of water, and sunscreen. Follow the signs for the Chicago Stump, and you eventually reach the trailhead.
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The road to the stump (above) and the beginning of the trailhead (below).
The Chicago Stump.
Converse Basin & Stump Meadow
Time: 15-30 Minutes.
Distance: N/A | 4 miles if hiking the road.
The Converse Basin Grove was said to have contained some of the finest and largest specimens of giant sequoias on the planet. Unfortunately, most of these specimens were cut down, as the grove was in private ownership from the late 1800's to the early 1900's--a time when the logging of sequoias was not only legal, but popular.
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The road to Stump Meadow--essentially the center of Converse Basin, can be found on Highway 180 just before the turn off for Hume Lake, if you're coming from the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon National Park. This two-mile dirt road is relatively well-maintained, so most cars should be able to make it to the meadow if they drive slowly. In winter, the road is closed, but the meadow can still be accessed by hiking, snowshoeing, or skiing.
The road to Converse Basin and Stump Meadow.
You'll know you're at stump meadow when you see it--it's fairly obvious. Countless gigantic stumps dot the open meadow, cut down long ago. While a little depressing, those with a keen eye will notice the countless young sequoias growing around the meadow, some planted naturally, others by the forest service. Some day, this grove will be full of monarch trees again, but for now, it's a solemn reminder of a different time.
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While most of the giants are long gone in Converse Basin, there is actually one still standing, just up the same road from Stump Meadow: the Boole Tree.
The Boole Tree
Time: 2 hours.
Distance: 2.5 miles.
First things first: while most cars can handle the road to Stump Meadow, the remaining .5 miles you need to travel from the meadow up to the Boole Tree is rough. Literally right after the meadow, the road turns extremely sandy and bumpy: I've seen a couple sedans make it, but most end up getting stuck and have to back up, park, and hike to the start of the Boole Tree trail. Those in rental cars, you've been warned!
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At the trailhead you'll find a parking lot with a pit toilet. The trail itself is a loop, but if you're here for only the Boole Tree, start on the right side and make this an out-and-back, which will save you some hiking.
Boole Tree parking lot and trailhead.
The trail features a modest amount of elevation gain--around 850 feet. This is not the most well-maintained trail though: it's narrow with high grass on either side of it. Ticks are extremely common (I pulled one off myself after this hike), and rattlesnakes call this area home too: use caution.
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Scary stuff aside, the trail is pretty straightforward, with the first portion being exposed, before ascending into denser forest. You'll pass some giant sequoia stumps along the way too, cut down near the turn of the century. Keep your eyes peeled for a sign marking the direction of the Boole Tree, where the trail will branch off.
Boole Tree trail (above) and turn off to the tree itself (below).
Follow the turn off, which takes you down a hill deeper into the woods, where you'll finally spot the Boole Tree itself. Curiously spared the logger's axe, it holds the title of sixth largest tree in the entire world. Unfortunately, it's the last of it's kind in Converse Basin Grove, but many younger sequoias are now growing around it.
Boole Tree from the bottom (above) and an aerial view with Kings Canyon in the background.
This guide is a work-in-progress: there are MANY more things to do in Sequoia National Forest, I simply haven't gotten to them yet! If you're interested in the national parks in the area though, check out my complete guides to Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park.
Sequoia National Park Video Guide
Join me as I guide you to some of the best sights, hikes, places to stay, and more in Sequoia National Park. Explore the Giant Forest and see the biggest trees on earth, see the snow-capped Sierra Nevada's from the top of Moro Rock, and make your way to the largest living thing on earth, all in this video guide.
The trail is .5 miles roundtrip and relatively level. If you're visiting in the months of June, July, or early August though, bug spray and maybe even a mosquito net are your friends here--the mosquitos are seriously that bad.
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It shouldn't take you long, and you'll reach the stump: photos don't do it justice, this tree was gigantic. Cut down in 1892, it was sent to Chicago for the World's Columbian Exposition--back when a lot of people back east didn't believe that trees out west could grow so big.