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Sequioa National Forest
Hot Springs Ranger District

Visitors to the Sequoia National Forest frequently ask about the “big trees”,
the giant sequoias. This information is designed to guide you to the
Trail of a Hundred Giants and to encourage you to learn more about the
largest beings that inhabit the Earth.

Giant Sequoias (Sequoiadendron Giganteum) grow
only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in California.
The groves are scattered over a narrow 260-mile belt,
no more than about 15 miles wide at any point.  They
range in elevations mainly between 5,000 7,500 feet.
Closely related is the coastal redwoods
(Sequoia sempervirens) which occupies two million
acres of fog belt along the northern California coast.
Giant Sequoias are slightly shorter than the coastal
redwoods, more massive, and considered to be the largest
tree in the world in terms of volume. The largest sequoia and
the most massive living organism on the planet is the
famous General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park.
It stretches 275 feet high and has a diameter of 36.5 feet.

President Clinton during his visit to the "big trees"

A GROVE OF GIANTS
Trail of a Hundred Giants is located within the Long Meadow Giant Sequoia Grove, the second most southern grove
where giant sequoias are found. The Grove contains giant sequoias over 10 feet in diameter and 143 sequoias under
10 feet in diameter. The largest tree in the grove has a diameter of 20 feet and is 220 feet in height. The grove
encompasses acres. It is estimated the age of the trees in the grove are between 500 and 1500 years old.

ABOUT THE TRAIL
Trail of a Hundred Giants is one of the most popular hiking trails on the Sequoia National Forest. It provides a cool,
fully accessible trail of a short travel duration. The trail is a self-guided interpretive trail about one-half mile long.
United States Forest Department of Service There are 13 interpretive stations along the way which provide information
about the trail, the grove and management activities on the Sequoia National Forest. The signs emphasize ecology
of giant sequoias including the necessary environment for growth of the trees, related species associated with
the sequoias; the approximate size and age of the trees found in the grove, and the role of fire. Initial construction
of the trail was primarily through volunteer labor Mary Hart, a student at Dartmouth College, designed the artwork
on the interpretive signs. Allan Landon, a school teacher from Tulare, California, built the foot bridges.
Dave Hefner and members of the Kern Valley Wildlife Association were responsible for trail construction along
with Forest Service personnel. The interpretive signs were paid for by Three Forests Interpretive
Association (3FIA). The Forest Service reconstructed the trail to meet current assesibility standards in 1997.

HOW TO GET THERE
The trail is located on Western
Divide Highway just across the
road from Redwood Meadow
Campground and Trail of a
Hundred Giants parking area.

A parking fee is charged. It is
about 45 miles northwest of Kemville,
41 miles southeast of
Springville, or 15 miles northeast
of California Hot Springs,
on the Hot Springs Ranger District.

From. Kernville, take State Mtn. 99
north to Johnsondale. Continue
west on Mtn. 50 to the Western
Divide Highway. Turn right
(north) on Western Divide for
2 1/2 miles to Trail of 100 Giants
parking area or the Redwood
Meadow Campground. Travel
time from Kernville is about
1-l/2 hrs. From Bakersfield,
take Hwy 65 north to Ducor,
turn east and continue through
California Hot Springs, passing
the Hot Springs Ranger Station
on your way to the top of
Parker Pass, where you will
turn left (north) on Western
Divide Highway for 2 1/2 miles.
Travel time is about 1-1/2 hrs.
from Bakersfield.