Sequoia and Kings Canyon Hiking

Eighty percent of Sequoia and Kings Canyon are accessible only on foot. With 25 trailheads and 800 miles of hiking trails, there are plenty of ways to get out and see the area's unspoiled wilderness.

Easy Hikes

A few of the more popular, shorter hikes in Sequoia and Kings Canyon include:

• Moro Rock: It's a 300-foot climb up 400 steps cut out of solid granite, but well worth the effort for the views you get from the top.

• Congress Trail: This 2-mile trail near the General Sherman Tree takes most people one to three hours round trip.
• Crescent Meadow: Some say naturalist John Muir called this place the "gem of the Sierra." It's located about 1.5 miles east of Moro Rock, and the hike is about a hour long.

• Big Trees Trail: A one-hour, 1.5-mile round trip that starts near Giant Forest Museum. This trail is wheelchair accessible.

• Zumwalt Meadow: A 1.5-mile, one-hour, self-guided nature trail near Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon.

The Sequoia and Kings Canyon hiking guide lists hikes with distances and a brief description. It's good for picking out an interesting hike, but you'll need to get a map before you set out.

For the More Adventurous Hiker

Craig Adkins, an active hiker and mountain climber, recommends these hikes and provides some photos for those of us who think roughing it is a night at a hotel without a swimming pool:

• North Dome, at road end - Cedar Grove, Kings Canyon

• Hiking to Palisade Basin by Bishop Pass, Kings Canyon

• Mt Tyndallfrom Shepard Pass, Sequoia

• Mt Wallacefrom Lake Sabina, Kings Canyon

• Taboose Pass and Baxter Pass, Kings Canyon

• Mt Langley from Cottonwood trailhead, Sequoia

• Mt Whitney from the portal, Sequoia

• Mineral King, Sequoia

  Craig says the definitive book on hiking into Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks is Sierra South by Winnett, Morey & Winnett. There is a great fold-out map in the back cover.