Discover 10 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Sequoia National Forest (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Lake Isabella, The Needles, and Giant Sequoia National Monument. Also, be sure to include Stagg Tree in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Sequoia National Forest (California).
Table of Contents
Lake Isabella
Reservoir in California. Lake Isabella also called Isabella Lake, is a reservoir in Kern County, California, United States created by the earthen Isabella Dam. It was formed in 1953 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Kern River at the junction of its two forks at Whiskey Flat. At 11,000 acres, it is one of the larger reservoirs in California. The area is in the southern end of the Sierra Nevada range and the lake itself is located in low mountains at an elevation of approximately 2,500 ft where summer temperatures reach over 100 °F but low enough to avoid winter snows on the surrounding ridges. Lake Isabella is located about 40 miles northeast of Bakersfield, and is the main water supply for that city. Lake Isabella can be reached by car from Bakersfield via state Highway 178 and from Delano via Highway 155. The former towns of Isabella and Kernville were flooded by the newly created reservoir.[1]
The Needles
Mountain in California. The Needles are a series of massive granite rock formations rising up from the North Fork of the Kern River near its junction with the Little Kern River. The Needles Lookout is located 2.5 miles off the Western Divide Highway 10 miles north of Mountain Road 50. Johnsondale, California is the nearest town, with the Camp Whitsett, BSA camp around 4 miles from Johnsondale. On July 28, 2011, the Needles lookout, constructed in 1937-1938 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, was destroyed in a structure fire. The lookout tower stood atop the rock formation at 8,245 feet.[2]
Giant Sequoia National Monument
National monument in Tulare County. The Giant Sequoia National Monument is a 328,000-acre U.S. National Monument located in the southern Sierra Nevada in eastern central California. It is administered by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Sequoia National Forest and includes 38 of the 39 Giant Sequoia groves that are located in the Sequoia National Forest, about half of the sequoia groves currently in existence, including one of the ten largest Giant Sequoias, the Boole Tree, which is 269 feet high with a base circumference of 112 feet. The forest covers 824 square miles.
The monument is in two sections. The northern section surrounds General Grant Grove and other parts of Kings Canyon National Park and is administered by the Hume Lake Ranger District. The southern section, which includes Long Meadow Grove, is directly south of Sequoia National Park and is administered by the Western Divide Ranger District, surrounding the eastern half of the Tule River Indian Reservation.
The Giant Sequoia National Monument was created by President Bill Clinton in Proclamation 7295 on April 15, 2000. The Presidential Proclamation was published in the Federal Register, Tuesday, April 25, 2000, Vol. 65, No. 80[3]
Stagg Tree
The Stagg Tree, officially the Amos Alonzo Stagg Tree and formerly known as the Day Tree, is a giant sequoia in Alder Creek Grove in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. It is the fifth largest tree in the world and the tallest giant sequoia south of Lincoln in Sequoia National Park. Stagg features the second largest footprint of any living giant sequoia, measuring 109 ft in circumference at ground level, and second only to Boole. The tree is believed to be over 3,000 years old, making it one of the oldest living giant sequoias.
Stagg has sat upon the private land of the Rouch family, making it the largest privately owned tree in the world. However, it remains freely accessible to the public.[4]
Adam Tree
The Adam Tree is a giant sequoia located in Mountain Home Grove, a sequoia grove in Giant Sequoia National Monument in the Sierra Nevada of California. It is the 21st largest giant sequoia in the world, and could be considered the 20th largest depending on how badly Ishi Giant atrophied during the Rough Fire in 2015.[5]
Hollow Log
The Hollow Log of Balch Park is the naturally hollowed out log of a fallen Giant Sequoia tree. It is also one of the best known features of the Mountain Home Grove, a stand of Giant Sequoia trees that surrounds Balch Park in Tulare County, California.[6]
Greenhorn Mountains
Mountain range in California. The Greenhorn Mountains are a mountain range of the Southern Sierra Nevada, in California. They are protected within the Sequoia National Forest.[7]
Genesis Tree
The Genesis Tree is a giant sequoia that is the seventh largest tree in the world. It is located within the Mountain Home Grove, a giant sequoia grove located in Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest in the Sierra Nevada of eastern California. The Genesis Tree was heavily damaged by the Castle Fire in 2020.[8]
Methuselah
The Methuselah Tree is a giant sequoia located in Mountain Home State Forest, a sequoia grove located in Sequoia National Forest in the Sierra Nevada in eastern California. It is the 28th largest giant sequoia in the world, and could be considered the 27th largest depending on how badly Ishi Giant atrophied during the Rough Fire in 2015.
The Methuselah Tree of the Mountain Home Grove is not to be confused with another Methuselah Tree in the White Mountains of eastern California that is a bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva), which at one time was considered to be the oldest tree in the world.[9]
Sherman Pass
Sherman Pass is a mountain pass in California on the Kern Plateau in the Sequoia National Forest near the southern tip of the Sierra Nevada. It is traversed by Sherman Pass Road, which runs from Kern River Highway at the North Fork of the Kern River on the west to Kennedy Meadow Road on the east.
Access from the east is via US 395 at 9-Mile Canyon Road north of Pearsonville, Kennedy Meadow Road to Kennedy Meadows, and Sherman Pass Road.
One access route from the west is via SR 99 at Sierra Avenue (County Route J22) in Earlimart to Ducor, Avenue 56 (County Route J22), Hot Springs Road (M-56) to California Hot Springs, Parker Pass Road (M-504 / Forest Route 23S03), Parker Pass Drive (M-50), Kern River Highway to Johnsondale, and Sherman Pass Road.
Another access route from the south is via SR 99 at SR 58 in Bakersfield, SR 184, SR 178 to Lake Isabella, SR 155, Burlando Road (County Road 495) to Kernville, Sierra Way (County Road 521) to Riverkern, Kern River Highway to Johnsondale, and Sherman Pass Road.
Like other road passes in the Sierra Nevada range, part of Sherman Pass Road is usually closed during the winter, with the exact opening and closure dates dependent on snowfall and available road clearing and repair resources.[10]