Sequoia

Sequoia is mountain country far from any coast, and swimming here means rivers and lakes. In late summer, when the snowmelt has dropped, the Kaweah River around Three Rivers has granite pools where locals cool off. Hume Lake, in the national forest between the two parks, has a small sandy shore and calm, swimmable water in July and August. Lake Kaweah, a reservoir below the foothills, is used for boating more than bathing.

The rivers deserve real caution. In spring and early summer they run fast and icy over smooth rock, and drownings happen every year. Treat a swim as a way to cool off after a hike, not as something to plan the trip around.

Nobody comes here to eat, and inside the parks the choice is narrow: lodge dining rooms, market delis at the villages and whatever you cook at camp. Three Rivers, the gateway town on the Kaweah, has a short row of casual places doing burgers, barbecue and Mexican plates, good after a long day on the trails.

Down in the San Joaquin Valley the picture improves a little. Visalia and Fresno sit in one of the richest farming regions in the country, so roadside fruit stands in summer sell stone fruit, citrus and nuts straight from the orchards, and both towns have solid taquerias and Mexican bakeries. Fresno adds Armenian and Hmong cooking from its long-settled communities. It is honest, good-value food rather than a destination in itself.

The great landmarks here are trees and mountains, not buildings, and the human story is told in small places. The Giant Forest Museum, in an old stone and timber building, explains the sequoias and the long fight to protect them. At Hospital Rock, rock paintings and grinding holes mark where Western Mono people lived along the Kaweah, and Tharp's Log, a hollowed fallen giant once used as a cabin, recalls the early settlers and herders.

The ranger-led tours of Crystal Cave, a marble cave lined with formations, are the nearest thing to a classic sight. Beyond that, a visitor interested in museums and architecture will find very little, and Visalia and Fresno add only modest local history.

Evenings here mean a meal at the lodge, a ranger talk or a campfire under very dark skies. Three Rivers has a couple of places for a beer, and Visalia a few bars downtown, but there is no night out to speak of. Most visitors are asleep early, ready for a dawn start on the trails.

This is one of the great mountain landscapes of North America. The Giant Forest holds the largest trees on earth, the General Sherman among them, and walking among sequoias several thousand years old is unlike anything else. From there the land climbs to the granite High Sierra, with Moro Rock's stairway giving a view over the Great Western Divide, and drops into Kings Canyon, one of the deepest canyons on the continent, where the South Fork of the Kings runs between sheer walls at Cedar Grove.

The range of walking is huge, from short loops through the groves to multi-day routes over high passes, including the long trails toward Mount Whitney. Mineral King, a subalpine valley at the end of a narrow summer road, is the quietest base for serious hiking. Black bears are seen often, and the foothills turn green with wildflowers in spring. The high country is snowbound from late autumn, when the groves become a place for snowshoeing and quiet winter walks.

Most outings here are into the parks themselves, and the towns within reach are modest. Visalia has a pleasant old downtown with tree-lined streets, and Fresno, about an hour and a half from Grant Grove, offers the Forestiere Underground Gardens, a hand-dug maze of rooms and courtyards built by a Sicilian immigrant. Hanford's old Chinese quarter and Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, a town founded by African Americans, add history for the curious.

The San Joaquin Valley around them is flat farmland, pretty in blossom season but not a sightseeing region. A visitor wanting variety beyond the forests will find the list short.

For families who like the outdoors, the giant trees make an instant impression on children: the paved Big Trees Trail around a meadow, driving through the Tunnel Log and standing at the foot of the General Sherman are easy and memorable. Junior Ranger booklets, ranger talks and the Crystal Cave tour keep older children engaged, and Hume Lake gives a gentle place to paddle in summer.

The effort is real, though. Roads up from the foothills are long and full of switchbacks, which troubles carsick children, Moro Rock's stairway has big drops, and the rivers are dangerous in spring. There are no attractions made for children beyond nature, and families do best with a cabin or campsite near the groves and short walks planned around naps.

You need a car, and you need patience. The Generals Highway climbs from the foothills through dozens of hairpins, and connects the Giant Forest with Grant Grove in about an hour. Cedar Grove, at the bottom of Kings Canyon, is another long drive down a road that closes in winter, and Mineral King is reached by a narrow, winding road open only in summer. Long vehicles are restricted on the steepest section, and snow chains are often required from late autumn.

In summer a free shuttle loops around the Giant Forest groves and a seasonal bus runs up from Visalia, which spares some parking at the busiest trailheads. Staying inside the park, near the groves, saves hours of driving each day.

Shopping is limited to visitor-centre bookshops, lodge gift stores and the general stores at the park villages, plus a few small galleries in Three Rivers. Fruit stands in the valley are the most local thing you can buy. Nobody comes here to shop.

Costs depend almost entirely on where you sleep. The lodges and cabins inside the parks book out early for summer and are priced accordingly, and the motels and cottages of Three Rivers are not much cheaper in high season. Staying down in Visalia and driving up each day is markedly cheaper, though it adds long hours on mountain roads.

Camping is the great saving: the campgrounds among the pines are among the cheapest ways to spend a night anywhere in California. Once you are in, the trails, groves and viewpoints cost nothing beyond the park entry, and cooking your own meals keeps food costs low, since restaurant options are few and charge American prices.

Live performance is not part of a stay here. Evening campfire programmes by rangers, with talks and the odd song, are the closest the parks come. Down in the valley, Visalia's restored Fox Theatre and Fresno's orchestra and historic theatres put on concerts and touring shows, but they are a long drive from the trees after dark.

There are no thermal baths, hammams or real spas here, and a visitor who wants treatments will find almost nothing beyond the odd massage in Three Rivers. What the region offers instead is quiet: cabins and creekside cottages in the foothills, mornings in silent groves and nights with no traffic and deep, starry skies.

To unwind, stay in a cabin near the Giant Forest or in a riverside cottage in Three Rivers, and keep the days slow. Visit in late spring or September, when the crowds are thinner and the forest is at its calmest.