Sequoia National Park- California
Over spring break, Jon and I headed out to California for a fantastic week of adventures. We began in LA, spent some time in Sequoia National Park, spent a day in Yosemite and headed to the central coast before driving back to LA to head home. It was quite the week! This post is about our time in the Sierras, which was amazing and wild!
The night before we headed to Sequoia National Park, we stayed in Visalia, California and tried out the Bravo Farms Smokehouse and the Sequoia Brewing Company. We highly recommend both! The food was amazing, beers were great and the brewery’s atmosphere really gets you into the Sequoia mind-set. There are old photos of the park and the bar has trees behind it. Even the beer names are inspired by famous sites in Sequoia and Yosemite! It got us “in the spirit” and very excited to see the Giant Forest the next morning!
We headed to the park bright and early to arrive just as the visitor’s center and museum were opening. Our drive it was spectacular; the scenery changed from sweet-smelling farmland to the large foothills of the Sierra’s. California has so much to see! Since we drove a fair amount on this trip, we were able to see the variety of landscapes in the state and each was beautiful in its own way.
When we arrived in the park, the rangers at the visitor’s center were excited to tell us about the Giant Forest and mentioned rain having made the roads slick the day before. We all agreed it was a beautiful day and they sent us on our way, up the mountain.
As we drove up the mountain and climbed in elevation, the temperature dropped from the mid-50’s to the mid-40’s. It also got cloudy and started raining. Giant Sequoias only grow between 5,000 and 8,000 feet of elevation, so you have to drive up to see them and they are very special!
When we entered the Giant Forest, the temperature dropped into the 30’s and the rain quickly changed to sleet and then snow. SNOW! In April! We parked at the museum and got out to start our day. At that point, a ranger drove up and asked if we had snow chains, since they were expecting a HALF-FOOT of snow in the Giant Forest that day…and of course, we did not have chains and our tiny rental car did not have snow tires…so, back down the mountain she sent us…away from the museum we had just arrived at, and out of the Giant Forest! We both were looking at each other like- you have got to be kidding! But, Mother Nature won out and we headed down the mountain to avoid being snowed in. :0
On our way down, we stopped quickly to snap a few photos with some trees on the side of the road. These roadside trees were awe-inspiring but we felt disappointed to miss out on seeing the Giant Forest. The snow was coming down heavily (there was already about an inch sticking to the road) so we hustled to get down safely. We were pretty bummed but also realistic; we knew we would come back someday (in the summer, of course) and see the biggest trees.
From Sequoia, we decided to head up to Yosemite. We had hopes it may not be snowing there…but it was. It snowed above 5,000 feet off and on, all day long. It was a beautiful day at the lower altitudes, though, so we did a fun hike just outside of Yosemite and visited the South Gate Brewing Company. We also bought snow chains for the next day in Yosemite, just in case! 😉
Happy Trails,
K, J and P