California: Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Park

Trip dates: May 20th,2023 - May 28th, 2023

It feels like when we plan to go somewhere, something crazy happens right before we arrive. This trip it was the weather. During the winter months before our trip, central California had a whole bunch of snow. A WHOLE BUNCH. Fast forward to when we went in May and all of that snow was melting, causing floods and landslides which damaged a lot of roads. Normally you can drive through Sequoia to Kings Canyon, but we didn’t have much luck. The road through Sequoia had taken a beating, so we were only able to get a few miles into the park before having to take the long way around to check out Kings Canyon. We made the most of it, but I definitely would plan making your way through both parks to save yourself some driving.

We flew into Fresno, California since it is the closest to Sequoia National Park, but ventured north and flew home out of Reno, Nevada.

Day 1: May 20th

Landed and drove towards Sequoia National Park which was about 1.5 hours away.

We stayed at Three Rivers in a cute cabin. We had a nice little trail to the river with a great view of the mountains.

Day 2: May 21st

Ventured into Sequoia National Park, but I believe we could only drive in 6-ish miles due to road closures.

Hikes:

Marble Falls Trail - 6.4 miles. Lots of rain made for some beautiful wildflowers and the river was rushing alongside us most of the hike.

Day 3: May 22nd

Drove to Kings Canyon National Park which was about 2 hours. We stayed in a small hotel right outside the park.

Hike:

Big Stump Loop - 1.6 miles. Easy hike and fun to check out.

Hitchcock Meadow- 1.1 miles. Another easy hike with beautiful large trees and green grassy areas.

General Grant Trail- 0.7 miles. Nice trail with information scattered around, teaching about the giant sequoias.

Sequoia Lake Overlook via North Grove and Dead Giant Loop Trail- 2.8 miles

Day 4: May 23rd

Drove to Yosemite National Park which was about 3 hours away.

Camped in El Portal outside of the park where we were about a 30-40 minute away from the Valley.

Hike:

Mirror Lake via Valley View- 4.4 miles. This is supposed to be a fairly easy hike, but as I mentioned above, flooding was horrible when we went. Part of the trail flooded so we waded through waist deep water. Most people would have turned around, but we are there for the memories! So, we powered through.

Day 5: May 24th

This was our big hike day where we planned to get to Half Dome. We weren’t able to climb Half Dome because the cables and boards weren’t up, and we did not have the proper equipment (or skills… probably) to do it without. Instead, we hiked to Sub Dome which was still magical and felt other-worldly.

Hike:

Half Dome via the John Muir Trail, but we took the Mist Trail down- 18 miles. I highly recommend starting early as the trail gets crowded. We started at 5:30 in the morning and got to enjoy the sunset on the trail. There are a lot of beautiful view points along the way where we stopped for snacks. When we were there, the top had quite a bit of snow and the trail was a little difficult to follow.Trekking poles were definitely needed. Luckily we found our way and enjoyed the top of sub dome which was amazing. The snow was tough on the way up and coming down was no different. But, since we were there for the memories, we took it upon ourselves to sled down on our rain coats. Sounds crazy, but it was a blast. It was clear that lots of people had the same idea! Lastly, I highly recommend going down the mist trail instead of going up because we got SOAKED. I can’t imagine hiking up the whole way in wet boots!

Day 6: May 25th

Our last day in Yosemite!

Hike:

Upper Yosemite Falls Trail- 6.6 miles. This was a challenging hike filled with switchbacks (is there a sticker for hating switchbacks? Need one for my bottle). There is not much shade on this hike so it was HOT! Plus it was pretty crowded, so I recommend starting early.

Day 7: May 26th

Due to the flooding and road closures, we couldn’t see as many Sequoias as we expected, but thankfully we heard of a state park called Calaveras Big Tree State Park. It was about 2.5 hours from Yosemite Valley. We spent most of the day here and loved it! I am not sure the names of the hikes we did, but we were provided a pamphlet and along the way we would read facts and history about the tree giants.

After, we drove to Lake Tahoe where we got a hotel for the night.

Day 8: May 27th

We woke up early to enjoy the day at Lake Tahoe! The weather was a bit chilly this time of year, and the water was even colder, but we had to take advantage of the beautiful lake. We rented paddle boards from SUP Tahoe which was $50 per person for the day and they provided everything you needed. The water was freezing! Luckily the boards were super stable and no one fell off… accidentally, at least. We did have to try the water out and take a cold plunge. WEAR SUN SCREEN! We thought we put on plenty, but we were fried!

After a day at the Lake we drove an hour north to Reno, Nevada where we stayed for the night to catch an early flight home. Find yourself a roulette table if you fancy a quick gamble!

Day 9: May 28th

Flew back home and started planning for our next adventure!

Photos Taken By: Dani, Bryce, and Shelby