Sequoia National Park was established in 1890 and was the first National Park in the State of California and third overall in the Nation. Yellowstone National Park was the first and the second was the now-decommissioned Mackinac National Park in Michigan. So if you take the fact that Mackinac National Park was decommissioned, then that would make Sequoia National Park the second.

As you may imagine, the park is best known for the largest living thing on earth, the Giant Sequoia. But the park offers so much more. It includes the highest peak in the continental United States which is Mt Whitney soaring to an altitude of 14,505 feet above sea level. It also includes deep canyons, roaring rivers, beautiful lakes, amazing rock structures and caves, and a wonderful variety of wildlife. So the park offers something for just about everyone. And lets not forget neighboring Kings Canyon National Park which sports an eight thousand foot gouge that is deeper than the Grand Canyon. But all this being said, most people come to see the massive Giant Sequoia's. Of the only 75 remaining Sequoia Groves, fifty are located on the slopes of the Western Sierra Nevada in and around Sequoia National Park. The park spans 405,051 acres of which 84% is road less wilderness only accessible to those on foot or on horseback.

The Giant Forest Museum pictured in the very top image is located in Sequoia National Park, Generals Hwy, Three Rivers, CA 93271. It is a great place to visit and will help you get acquainted with the park. It is open from 9am to 6pm year round and can be reached by calling 559-565-4480. You can get trail information, books, maps, and all sorts of information there. You can also buy tickets to see Crystal Caves there.

Two miles north of the Giant Forest Museum, you will find the Giant Forest and Lodgepole Visitor Center (559-565-4436). Just like the Giant Forest Museum, you can get books, maps, and also wilderness permits here. You can also purchase tickets to the Crystal Caves Tour at this location. This center is open from late May through October from 7am to 6pm. The General Sherman Tree along with some of the best short trails in the park are located in this area, and with little effort, you can walk through some of the most stunning groves of Giant Sequoias anywhere to be found. In my book, this location is a must see! You will be hard pressed to find better specimens of these Giants anywhere in the Sierra Nevada, or in the world for that matter. Check out the size of the Sequoia in the image above, and compare it to the people sitting on the bench to the right of the tree. You can certainly get a feel for scale by making the comparison.