General Sherman Tree

The General Sherman Tree is the headline of any trip to Sequoia National Park, and it earns the billing. It is the largest living single-stem tree on Earth by volume, a giant sequoia roughly 275 feet tall with a trunk more than 36 feet across at the base and an age usually put at 2,200 years. It is not the tallest tree in the world, which belongs to the coast redwoods, and it is not the widest, but nothing else alive carries as much wood. The tree stands in the Giant Forest, a grove of several thousand sequoias on a broad bench of the Sierra Nevada, and it is named for the Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman. Visitors reach it from one of two parking areas. The main Sherman Tree lot sits off Wolverton Road and connects to a paved trail of roughly half a mile each way that drops through the forest, with a staircase and a steady descent that means the climb back is the harder part. A smaller accessible lot on the Generals Highway offers a shorter, gentler paved route for visitors who use wheelchairs or cannot manage the main trail. Interpretive signs along the way explain the sequoia life cycle and invite you to compare your own height with the surrounding trunks. At the base there is a viewing area and a fenced boundary to protect the roots, because sequoias have shallow root systems that spread widely and are easily damaged by trampling. Expect crowds at midday in summer. Early morning light through the red bark is the best time for photographs, and the Sherman Tree is also an easy place to meet the idea of scale: stand at the rail and let your eye run up the trunk to the first branch, which is itself larger than most trees.

Understanding what you are looking at. Giant sequoias grow naturally only on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, in a few dozen groves between about 4,500 and 7,500 feet. Their thick, fibrous bark can be two feet deep and protects them from fire, and their cones open in the heat of flames, so periodic low-intensity fire actually helps seedlings take root.

Many of the great sequoias in the Giant Forest carry fire scars that they have simply grown around. Severe wildfires in recent years have tested even these giants, and the Sherman Tree has been protected during fire seasons with measures such as raking and wrapping at its base. That history is part of the story you will read along the trail.

How to do it well. Aim for early morning or late afternoon, when the car park is calmer and the light is warmer. Wear shoes with grip, carry water, and remember that you are above 6,000 feet, so the walk back up can leave first-timers breathless. If you visit in the busy season, take the free park shuttle where it operates instead of circling for a space.

The Sherman Tree is also the start of the Congress Trail, a paved loop of about two miles that passes the President Tree and the grouped trunks called the House and Senate, so many visitors combine the two in a single outing of two hours or so.

What to pair it with. The Giant Forest Museum, Moro Rock and Crescent Meadow are all within a short drive on the Generals Highway, which makes the Sherman Tree the natural opening stop of a Giant Forest day. In winter the area is often snowy and chains may be required on the highway, but the trail is usually walkable with traction and the snow-laden forest is unforgettable.