Northern Portion - Hume Lake Ranger District

The Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument are named for the giant sequoia, the world's largest tree. The landscape is as spectacular as its 33 groves of giant sequoia. Majestic granite monoliths, glacier-torn canyons, running whitewater, and lush meadows await your discovery at the southern end of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.

If the land could speak, it would tell a history of Native American villages, settlers' cabins, mining towns, cattle ranches, gold prospering, lumber camps, redwood logging, early day resorts, mineral springs and much more. The rich and varied landscape of the monument holds a diverse array of scientific and historic resources. Magnificent groves of towering giant sequoias are nested within a great belt of coniferous forest, jeweled with mountain meadows. The spectrum of ecosystems is home to a diverse array of plants and animals, many endemic to the soutern Sierra Nevada. The monument embraces limestone caverns and paleontological resources, documenting tens of thousands of years of ecosystem change.

Northern Portion: There are 13 giant sequoia groves located on the Hume Lake Ranger District, east of Fresno, California. Nearby Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks also manage sequoia groves with similar practices for their protection.

Featured here are three outstanding destinations to visit in the giant sequoia groves; the historic Converse Basin Grove, one of the largest groves where in the late 1800s, privately owned logging operations took place. In this grove you can see the Boole Tree, the largest giant sequoia tree in the national forests, hike the 2.5 mile loop trail, discover stump meadow and the famous Chicago Stump. Also plan to visit the Indian Basin Grove and experience the beauty this grove offers with a campground and nearby interpretive hiking trails. All three adventures are close to one another.

Select a location on the map below to learn more...

Point of Interest:

Kings River & Kings Canyon Scenic Byway
The Kings River forms one of the deepest canyons in North America, with elevations ranging from less than 1,000 feet to over 11,000 feet at Hogback Peak. Highway 180, the primary access route into the northern portion of Giant Sequoia National Monument, is designated a National Scenic Byway. It accesses this rugged canyon, with several panoramic vistas along the way, as it follows the Kings River and climbs to forests of giant sequoias, the largest trees on the planet. Guided trips for whitewater rafting are available on the lower Kings River at Garnet Dike.

Hume Lake
Formed by a unique multiple arch dam, constructed in 1908, Hume Lake provided water for the longest-ever lumber flume. Lumber was floated by flume through the Kings Canyon to Sanger, a distance of 73 miles. A sawmill fire stopped operations in 1917. Today, the 87-acre lake is the feature attraction of the Hume Lake recreation area.

Boyden Cavern
This cavern is located along the Kings River on Highway 180. A 45-minute tour (a fee is charged) through the cavern features stalagtites, draperies, and stalagmites.

Buck Rock Lookout
At an elevation of 8,500 feet, Buck Rock Lookout sits perched atop a granite dome and offers breathtaking views of the Great Western Divide and other spectacular high mountain peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Access to this 1920s era fire lookout is via a series of stair flights suspended from the side of the rock. Still currently active as a location for the detection of wildfires, Buck Rock is open to the public and is located near Big Meadows on the Hume Lake Ranger District.