Big Trees Trail - Sequoia National Park

Between Kings River and the Kaweah, we enter the colossal forests of the main continuous portion of the sequoia belt. - John Muir, 1876

The Big Trees Trail is a 0.8 mile paved loop trail around Round Meadow in the Giant Forest section of Sequoia National Park. During the summer, a shuttle service runs from the Giant Forest Museum to the trail head. The shuttle was not running during our March 2018 visit to the park, so we were able to park at the trail head.

Sequoia Trees need moist soil, but not too moist. Little Deer Creek meanders through the meadow with the big trees growing some distance from the creek. From the 1920s until the late 1990s, this had been the site of Giant Forest Lodge and cabins. Dozens of buildings were scattered among the trees and a parking area covered a portion of the meadow. Remediation work has improved the habitat for the giant sequoias.

The trail is paved or slightly raised on a boardwalk. When we visited, the trail was covered with snow so we followed the path already packed down by previous visitors. Since the trail is a loop, you can hike it in either direction. We chose to hike around the meadow in a clockwise direction. We wore our MICROspikes® traction devices over our boots and didn't have any issues due to the packed snow. The trail is rated as easy and provides numerous picturesque views of the giant sequoias. I'd recommend this trail to anyone.

Topographic map with GPS route

Little Deer Creek

A mature sequoia towers over the forest

Spiral bark flutes

Recycling bins near the trailhead are nearly buried in snow

Two trunks, one tree

A fallen tree produces a clearing

Sequoias along the edge of Round Meadow

Looking across the meadow where nearly 100 buildings once stood

The conical crown typical of a younger sequoia 

Note the two people between these two sequoias

Base of a fire damaged sequoia

Top of the same fire damaged sequoia

Park bench and a bit of trail pavement

Frozen pond in the meadow

These young sequoias might be too close to the creek to survive long term

Boardwalk along a small grove of sequoias

Looking back at the small grove

The old road bed is still visible

Images can't convey the scale of these giants

Another small grove

Typical trail conditions

Round Meadow

Fallen sequoia at the footbridge over Little Deer Creek

Even the rocks are big in the Giant Forest

Foliage of a still growing sequoia

Boardwalk skirts the boulders

Snow on the side of a sequoia

Looking back at the boardwalk

Looking inside a fallen sequoia

Big trees in the sunshine

One final view

Entrance to Sequoia and/or Kings Canyon National Parks requires an entry fee of $30 per passenger vehicle for a 7-day pass. Any of the America the Beautiful passes may be used instead.

The park website is https://www.nps.gov/seki.