Road Adventures’ last trip of 2018 was to the famous Sequoia National Park. This was the first time visiting the park for over half of our participants, and it promised to be a great experience. Before heading into the southern part of the park, we made a slight detour to visit Allensworth State Historic Park.
This park features an old pioneer settlement that became a ghost town after its water supply ran dry. The visit felt like stepping back in time, and the groundskeeper kindly allowed our group inside three of the buildings: the school, the church, and the founder’s home.
After exploring Allensworth, we began the first leg of our drive, heading into the mountains toward another ghost town — Silver City Ghost Town. Once there, we toured the town’s collection of historic regional buildings preserved from the Gold Rush era. These included several structures relocated from the town of Isabella, which now lies beneath Lake Isabella. By the time we finished exploring the area, it was lunchtime, so we stopped at a local brewery for some grub before starting out on the next leg of the trip.
After a short drive, we stopped at the Trail of 100 Giants to get our first glimpse of the impressive sequoia trees. For most of the group, it was their first time seeing these giants in person. To say they were impressive would be an understatement. While sequoias are not as tall as redwoods, they are much wider, and in many ways, that makes them even more awe-inspiring — it’s hard to believe a living thing can grow that massive. The last part of the day was a fun drive back to base camp, with plenty of twists and turns along some very tight mountain roads. Despite hitting a bit of traffic, it was still a great drive to end the day.
The second day focused on exploring the main area of the park. Entering through the south gate, we set out to see the major highlights. Our first stop was the Indian Stones, where Native American tribes left petroglyphs and paintings. Next up was the Moro Rock Trail. Only a few brave group members made the climb to the top, rewarded with stunning views of the southern valley. Those who didn’t make the steep and narrow hike stayed below to explore the lower trail near the rock formations.
Before heading deeper into the forest, we made sure to experience the famous drive-through Tree Tunnel. After a lunch stop at The Village, we continued on to the park’s two most famous trees. The first was the legendary General Sherman. Just like the day before, standing before these trees was a humbling experience — General Sherman was absolutely massive and awe-inspiring. Our last major stop of the day was to see General Grant and the other magnificent trees in the surrounding grove before returning to base camp.
The final day was spent exploring the northern part of the park and venturing into Kings Canyon. This was planned as a shorter day to allow participants time to begin their journey home. The drive into the canyon was an absolute blast, and the views of the canyon walls were breathtaking. Unfortunately, the day was cut short when one of the cars blew a tire. The group quickly rallied together, helping transport passengers, making phone calls, and waiting around while the tire was repaired. Despite that last-day hiccup, the trip was a fantastic experience — one we’ll definitely have to revisit in a few years.
