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| Fog provides valuable moisture to redwoods on the Damnation Creek Trail in Redwood National Park. |
Kings Canyon National Park
Your family will feel like hobbits walking through scenes from “The Lord of the Rings” movies on the General Grant Tree Trail at Kings Canyon National Park. The 0.5-mile trail heads through the General Grant Grove of giant sequoias. More than 120 sequoias in the grove exceed 10 feet in diameter and most towering several stories over your head.
Big Trees Trail
Calaveras Big Trees State Park
Families can like through the first grove of giant sequoias found by white settlers, on the Big Trees Trail in California’s Calaveras Big Trees State Park. The 1.5-mile loop hits most of the highlights of the park’s north grove. East Coast explorers and pioneers “discovered” the grove during the mid-1800s.
Discovery Trail
Inyo National Forest
Families can day hike through a grove of some of the planet’s oldest trees on the Discovery Trail at Inyo National Forest. Most of the trees along this trail, high up in the White Mountains, are about 4,000 years old. With reddish-brown bark and dark green needles, they stand out well against the white, rocky ground and blue skies.
Damnation Creek Trail
Redwood National Park
Hiking families can enjoy a trip into what feels like the forest primeval on a segment of the Damnation Creek Trail in Redwood National Park. The entire trail runs four miles with an elevation change of 1170 feet, a hearty workout for any fit teen or adult. For those with younger children, a 1.2-mile round trip through just the redwoods section of the trail makes for more than a fantastic walk.
Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks series.
