Sequoia and Kings Canyon

The largest living tree in the world by volume, 83.8 metres tall and some 2,200 years old, reached by an 800-metre paved path whose climb back up is surprisingly tiring.

💡 Arrive before 9am or after 5pm: the car park fills up early at weekends and on public holidays. In summer, the park's free shuttle serves the General Sherman stop from the Giant Forest and Lodgepole. Price: included in park entry, $35 per vehicle for 7 days, about €30, plus $100, about €86, per non-resident visitor aged 16 and over.

A paved 3.2 km loop from the General Sherman through the heart of the Giant Forest, past the President and the tight clusters known as the Senate and the House.

💡 Walk the loop clockwise and extend it with the Trail of the Sequoias if you want to escape the crowds within 30 minutes' walk. Look at the ground for the black scars of recent fires. Price: included in park entry.

A wet meadow ringed by sequoias where black bears often forage, with a loop to Tharp's Log, the start of the High Sierra Trail and the Tunnel Log on the way.

💡 Come early in the morning or late in the afternoon to see bears, and keep 50 metres away. Vehicles that are too tall bypass the Tunnel Log on a side lane. In summer, the free shuttle lets you leave the car at the Giant Forest Museum. Price: included in park entry.

A granite dome on the edge of the Giant Forest, climbed by a 1931 staircase of more than 350 steps to a 360-degree view over the Great Western Divide.

💡 Avoid it during storms, as lightning strikes the summit, and in strong wind. Sunset is the finest moment up there, but bring a torch for the way down. The Moro Rock road is narrow, and in summer the free Giant Forest shuttle serves it. Price: included in park entry.

An easy trail from Lodgepole up the Marble Fork of the Kaweah to a glacier-carved canyon, where the falls cascade 365 metres down the rock, strongest in early summer.

💡 Set off in the morning, before the heat and the crowds, and allow about 2 hrs 30 for the round trip at a relaxed pace. Do not go near the water or the wet slabs at the foot of the falls: the current is violent during the snowmelt. In late summer, the falls weaken considerably. In summer, the free Giant Forest shuttle serves Lodgepole. Price: included in park entry.

Route 180 plunges 50 km from Grant Grove into one of North America's deepest canyons, following the Kings River to the flat glacial valley of Cedar Grove and Roads End.

💡 The road is generally open from May to early or mid-November, and the Cedar Grove services only operate during the season. Allow 1 hr 15 from Grant Grove to Roads End without stopping, and fill up beforehand, as there is no petrol station on the road. Price: included in park entry.

A flat 2.4 km loop at the bottom of Cedar Grove along the Kings River and around a meadow, beneath cliffs rising more than 1,000 metres above the valley.

💡 Combine it with Roaring River Falls, a waterfall in a gorge 5 minutes' walk from the car park, and picnic by the river without swimming: the current is strong even in summer. For a proper hike, Mist Falls is a 13 km round trip from Roads End. Price: included in park entry.

The world's second largest tree, 81.7 metres tall, named the nation's Christmas tree in 1926 and circled by a short paved loop past the Fallen Monarch and Gamlin Cabin.

💡 A ceremony is held at the foot of the tree every second Sunday in December. Grant Grove, with its village, grocery store and lodge, is the best base for Kings Canyon. Price: included in park entry, the same ticket covers Sequoia and Kings Canyon.