Trail of 100 Giants

The Trail of 100 Giants is one of the most accessible places on Earth to walk among giant sequoias — the largest living organisms on the planet by volume. Located in Sequoia National Forest about 2.5 hours southwest of Ridgecrest, this paved, wheelchair-accessible trail loops through a grove of massive sequoias, some over 1,000 years old and reaching heights of 220 feet with trunk diameters exceeding 20 feet.

The grove sits at approximately 6,400 feet elevation on the Western Divide Highway, part of the Giant Sequoia National Monument. Unlike the more famous sequoia groves in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, the Trail of 100 Giants receives far fewer visitors, offering a more intimate and peaceful experience among these magnificent trees. The 1.3-mile paved loop trail is virtually flat, making it one of the few places where visitors of all mobility levels can stand at the base of a giant sequoia and look up in wonder.

Giant sequoias are found nowhere else on Earth except the western slope of California's Sierra Nevada, growing in a narrow elevation band between 5,000 and 7,000 feet. They are among the oldest living things on the planet, with individual trees in other groves dated to over 3,200 years old. The trees' massive trunks are protected by bark up to 3 feet thick, which insulates them from fire — and indeed, fire plays a crucial role in sequoia reproduction, as the heat opens their tiny cones and bare soil provides ideal conditions for seedlings. Standing among these trees is a humbling experience that puts human history into perspective.