The Foothills Visitor Center is a great place to get even more of an idea about what the day ahead has in store for you. It features common visitor center finds like a souvenir shop, displays about park history and wildlife, restrooms, and a water bottle filling station.

Aptly named, the Giant Forest is home to so many big beautiful, giant sequoias, including the famous General Sherman Tree. We stop at the Giant Forest Museum, which is a good launching point for area hikes. Our favorite is the Big Trees Trail, which is an easy half mile hike past a meadow and sequoias.

350 concrete and steep steps lead visitors to the top of Moro Rock, a granite dome. The trail may be short, but thanks to its incline, can be pretty tiring. The view from the top of the rock really can’t be beaten, and it feels like you’re standing on top of the world.

This log is another park feature that was in the way of traffic, so workers carved right through it. Today, cars eight feet tall can drive in it, while others must drive around. Another fun photo opp.

Crescent Meadow Picnic Area is home to Crescent Meadow, dubbed “the Gem of the Sierras” by naturalist John Muir. It’s also the starting point for several trails. An easy, 1.5 mile hike loops around the meadow. It’s also about 1.5 miles to Tharp’s Log, on an easy trail. Lastly, you’ll see the trailhead for the long and strenuous High Sierra Trail. You can’t do the whole thing today, but just over a mile and a half round trip takes ya to the stunning Eagle View.

This is the star of the park! The General Sherman Tree’s claim to fame is being the world’s largest living tree, by volume. An easy, paved 1-mile trail takes you there from the parking area and weaves through a giant sequoia forest, with benches and other notable trees along the way. If you have time, you can continue from the General Sherman Tree on the Congress trail. It’s also paved and easy, just under 3 miles round-trip, and takes you to two groups of mature sequoias.

By the time you arrive here, you may be ready for a relaxing break browsing the visitor center’s presentations on the park’s natural and human history. Lodgepole Market is right next door as well, where you can find food and other necessities.

The Tokopah Falls Trailhead is at the end of the road near the campsites. The trail is a mix of shady forest and open mountain views, all the way to a gorgeous waterfall. The hike’s almost 4 miles (6km) with an easy incline. The waterfall is a whopping 1,200 feet, or nearly 400 meters tall, and really flows heavily in early summer from glacial melt. But by late summer, it might be down to a trickle.

This trail is a favorite with many visitors because of its amazing views at the top of the dome. The trail’s just over three miles, or five kilometers, round-trip climbing a couple switchbacks to the top. It’s considered moderately challenging. At the end, you’ll get to take in panoramic views of the Great Western Divide and beyond.