This was our first time to Sequoia and Kings Canyon and it did not disappoint! Beautiful trails, huge trees and yes, a bear sighting in its natural surroundings!
We stayed at the John Muir Lodge which is right in the middle of the action! We saw 7-8 deers in the morning from the room window itself. This was our first time staying at a hotel post-pandemic so we were extra careful.
The day we landed, we did General Grant tree thats next to the lodge and it did not disappoint. We hadn't seen a tree this big. The trail was beautiful, but there were lots of tourists.
Next day, we went to General Sherman tree and the Big trees trail. Sherman tree is the biggest tree in the world, and it is pretty majestic. But we loved the big trees trail, especially because we saw a bear right in the middle of the loop. The bear came up to the trail, literally 20 feet from us and that was breathtaking.
The final day, we went to Grizzly Falls and drove through Kings Canyon. Serendipitously, we found Boyden Cavern on the way and that was an unexpected surprise. We took a tour of the cavern and walked back in shallow water in the cavern. One of the things they do in the cavern is turn off the lights for a complete blackout experience. It was the first time in years that I experienced such a blackout. Grizzly falls were beautiful and I was just looking at the waterfall for half an hour.
All in all, a great trip!
