US Forest Service

Sequoia National Forest

WELCOME TO THE GIANT SEQUOIA NATIONAL MONUMENT

Your next adventure starts here! Year-round recreational opportunities abound on almost 550 miles of wild and scenic beauty. Located at the southern most end of the Sierra Nevada in Central California, the monument protects 38 groves of the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). These trees can tower 270 feet high and reach 30 feet in diameter. Our elevations range from 2,000 feet in the foothills to peaks over 10,000 feet offering spectacular views and adventure in giant redwood groves, granite monoliths, glacier-torn canyons, roaring rivers and lush flower-filled meadows.

TRAIL OF 100 GIANTS

Visitors to the Sequoia National Forest frequently ask about the “big trees”, the giant sequoias. This information is designed to guide you to the Trail of a Hundred Giants and to encourage you to learn more about the largest beings that inhabit the Earth.

[Photo]: President Clinton during his visit to the "big trees" Giant Sequoias (Sequoiadendron Giganteum) grow only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in California. The groves are scattered over a narrow 260-mile belt, no more than about 15 miles wide at any point. They range in elevations mainly between 5,000 7,500 feet. Closely related is the coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) which occupies two million acres of fog belt along the northern California coast. Giant Sequoias are slightly shorter than the coastal redwoods, more massive, and considered to be the largest tree in the world in terms of volume. The largest sequoia and the most massive living organism on the planet is the famous General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park. It stretches 275 feet high and has a diameter of 36.5 feet. Photo Inset: President Clinton during his visit to the "big trees"

A GROVE OF GIANTS

Trail of a Hundred Giants is located within the Long Meadow Giant Sequoia Grove, the second most southern grove where giant sequoias are found. The Grove contains giant sequoias over 10 feet in diameter and 143 sequoias under 10 feet in diameter. The largest tree in the grove has a diameter of 20 feet and is 220 feet in height. The grove encompasses acres. It is estimated the age of the trees in the grove are between 500 and 1500 years old.

ABOUT THE TRAIL

Trail of a Hundred Giants is one of the most popular hiking trails on the Sequoia National Forest. It provides a cool, fully accessible trail of a short travel duration. The trail is a self-guided interpretive trail about one-half mile long. United States Forest Department of Service There are 13 interpretive stations along the way which provide information about the trail, the grove and management activities on the Sequoia National Forest. The signs emphasize ecology of giant sequoias including the necessary environment for growth of the trees, related species associated with the sequoias; the approximate size and age of the trees found in the grove, and the role of fire. Initial construction of the trail was primarily through volunteer labor Mary Hart, a student at Dartmouth College, designed the artwork on the interpretive signs. Allan Landon, a school teacher from Tulare, California, built the foot bridges. Dave Hefner and members of the Kern Valley Wildlife Association were responsible for trail construction along with Forest Service personnel. The interpretive signs were paid for by Three Forests Interpretive Association (3FIA). The Forest Service reconstructed the trail to meet current assesibility standards in 1997.

HOW TO GET THERE

The trail is located on Western Divide Highway just across the road from Redwood Meadow Campground and Trail of a Hundred Giants parking area.

A parking fee is charged. It is about 45 miles northwest of Kemville, 41 miles southeast of Springville, or 15 miles northeast of California Hot Springs, on the Hot Springs Ranger District.

From. Kernville, take State Mtn. 99 north to Johnsondale. Continue west on Mtn. 50 to the Western Divide Highway. Turn right (north) on Western Divide for 2 1/2 miles to Trail of 100 Giants parking area or the Redwood Meadow Campground. Travel time from Kernville is about 1-l/2 hrs. From Bakersfield, take Hwy 65 north to Ducor, turn east and continue through California Hot Springs, passing the Hot Springs Ranger Station on your way to the top of Parker Pass, where you will turn left (north) on Western Divide Highway for 2 1/2 miles. Travel time is about 1-1/2 hrs. from Bakersfield.

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