General Sherman Tree & Congress Trail: The Ultimate Giant Sequoia Hike!

Last updated on December 17th, 2025

We’re sharing everything you need to know to hike Sequoia National Park’s General Sherman Tree and Congress Trail, the best Giant Sequoia hike!

No visit to Sequoia National Park is complete without seeing the park’s iconic Giant Sequoias. These are the largest trees on Earth by volume and only grow on the western slopes of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, between 4,000 and 8,000 feet. So there’s no better spot to see them than Sequoia National Park!

And for the ultimate Giant Sequoia hike, go on the General Sherman Tree and Congress Trail. Here you’ll encounter the largest tree in the world, plus jaw dropping sections of Giant Sequoias that will make you feel tiny. It’s one of the best things to do in Sequoia National Park and we’re sharing everything you need to know before you hit the trail!

About the General Sherman Tree & Congress Trail

The Congress Trail is a lollipop loop hike in the Giant Forest grove, one of 40 Giant Sequoia groves in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. It includes both the General Sherman Tree Trail, as well as an additional hike through the Congress Trail. While hiking just the General Sherman Trail is still worth the short effort, make sure to combine them both for one of the best hikes in Sequoia National Park!

The star of the General Sherman Tree Trail is General Sherman. In 1931 this tree was determined to be the largest tree in the world, by volume. This behemoth is 274.9 feet tall and has a circumference on the ground of 102.6 feet and a total volume of 52,508 cubic feet. While there are taller trees and wider trees, General Sherman contains more wood in its trunk than any other tree on Earth. 

And it’s still growing to this day! Every year General Sherman adds enough wood equivalent to a 60 foot tall tree…which is pretty insane. 😱

While General Sherman may get a lot of the love, our personal favorite part of this hike is the Congress Trail. This hike gets its name because it has multiple groups of trees named after different levels of government, like the House and Senate. Plus the President tree, which was named in 1923 in honor of President Warren G. Harding.

General Sherman Tree & Congress Trail Stats

Distance (round trip): 2.9 miles.
Elevation gain: 482 feet.
Difficulty: Easy.
Amount of time needed: 1.5 hours (more if you want to take lots of photos!)

Both the General Sherman Tree Trail and Congress Trail are fully paved, minus popping into the Senate and House sections. While it is overall very easy, the beginning of the hike is all downhill, which means that it is uphill on the way back. And at the slightly higher elevation (7,000 feet), this can feel a bit tougher!

Most hikers can complete this hike in around 1.5 hours (or less!). But if you plan to take a lot of photos, we’d suggest allotting yourself a bit more time. It’s a very scenic hike, with lots to look at!

What to expect along the General Sherman Tree & Congress Trail

Parking lot

There are two trailheads you can start this hike at. If you’re taking the free park shuttle, you can start at this trailhead. But the most common starting point is at the General Sherman Tree Car Park. This parking lot has a ton of parking spots, including longer spots for RVs. But it does fill up during the peak summer season. So arriving early is key to snagging one!

At the parking lot you can also find trash cans and toilets.

General Sherman Tree

To begin the hike, you will go under a big wooden passageway and immediately you will start your downhill hike. Along the way, you’ll wind through the Giant Sequoias, with different signage to read to learn more about them.

After about 0.4 miles, you will reach a junction. Going left will take you to the Congress Trail, while going right 0.1 miles will take you to General Sherman. We suggest going to see General Sherman first, as it’s the most popular attraction.

You’ll know you arrived at the General Sherman tree because there is a wooden sign with its name (very helpful in a park full of HUGE trees!). The tree is surrounded by wooden fencing. And while this may be obvious, we have seen enough bad behaviors at National Parks to feel like we need to say: Please DO NOT go under the wooden fencing!

Even though you cannot get right up to the General Sherman Tree or touch it, you are able to walk all around it. Which is a great way to grasp just how large it is! There is also some informative signs near the tree, elaborating on its impressive stats, which helps put its size into perspective.

Congress Trail

After visiting the General Sherman Tree, it’s time to hop onto the Congress Trail! Since this part of the hike is a loop, you can either go left or right from General Sherman to start it. We personally went back towards the way we came to get on the trail, but either way works just fine!

Along this section of the hike you will pass over Sherman Creek, possibly see a small waterfall, go by tons of Giant Sequoias, including some fire scarred ones, and even get to walk through a tree!

But the best part is at the bottom part of the loop when you reach the Senate and the House. These are the most picturesque sections of Giant Sequoias in the entire park! You are able to get off the paved pathway and walk between them. This not only makes for a super cool photo, but also allows you to get much closer to the trees than on some other sections of the hike.

To get back to the parking lot, you’ll loop back to the General Sherman Tree. And then hike back the same way you came. As we mentioned, this part is uphill, so it is a little tougher than the rest of the hike!

Things to know before hiking the General Sherman Tree & Congress Trail 

Entrance Fee

It costs $35 per vehicle to enter Sequoia National Park. This is good for both Sequoia and Kings Canyon, up to one week. We highly recommend getting the America the Beautiful pass, which is $80 per year and gets you into all National Park Service managed sites and federal lands for free.

Arrive early!

This is easily the most popular attraction in Sequoia National Park. So arriving early is key to enjoying it with some solitude. We started the hike right around sunrise and had General Sherman to ourselves for a bit, plus saw hardly anyone on the Congress Trail. Not only is starting early important to beat the crowds, but seeing the sunlight popping through the trees is pretty spectacular!

The best months to hike

You can technically hike the General Sherman Tree and Congress Trail year round, but your experience will vary depending on the season. 

Winter brings a blanket of snow to the area, which makes the orange trees look extra magical. But this is a pretty limiting time to visit the park overall. Most trails will be inaccessible and you may be required to use tire chains to get to this section of the park.

For easiest access to the park and the ability to do more of the best things to do, we suggest visiting in the late spring through early fall. We personally hiked this trail at the very end of May and it was perfect! Just keep in mind that summer break and holidays do bring higher crowds to the park.

Dogs are NOT allowed on the trail

If you’re bringing your pet with you to the park, keep in mind that they are ONLY allowed on fully paved roads, in parking lots, at picnic areas, and at campgrounds. All of which require them to be on a 6 foot leash. Despite this hike being paved, they are NOT allowed on any trails in Sequoia National Park, including this one!

Curious what we do with Kona when she cannot join us on a hike? Read this guide about how we travel full time with a dog.

Be bear aware 

The park is home to hundreds of American black bears. While it’s pretty rare to see one on this trail due to how busy it is, make sure you’re bear aware while hiking and know what to do if you see one. 

As backwards as it may sound, bear spray is not allowed in any California National Park, including Sequoia. So leave the bear spray at home!

Leave No Trace

Before hiking the General Sherman Tree and Congress Trail, please review the Leave No Trace principles . This will ensure you leave every place better than you found it so that others can enjoy these beautiful places for many years to come!

These seven principles include planning ahead and preparing, hiking and camping on durable surfaces, disposing of waste properly (pack out what you pack in!), understanding campfire rules and always fully extinguishing your fires, respecting wildlife, and being considerate of other visitors.

What to pack for the General Sherman Tree & Congress Trail

To see everything we take hiking, check out our hiking gear. But here are a few items we want to especially recommend bringing on this hike!

10 essentials

Even on easier hikes, like this one, it’s important to be prepared. Some of our worst hiking mishaps (like an injury requiring stitches) have happened on “easy” trails. Because of this, it’s important to always carry the 10 essentials, just in case.

Hiking shoes

Even though this hike is paved, we still recommend wearing hiking shoes, as there is a good amount of walking involved. We both love our Altra Lone Peaks, as they are less bulky than boots, but have good traction and support.

Layers

The General Sherman Tree and Congress Trail starts at around 7,000 feet in elevation. So it can get pretty chilly in the morning and evenings, especially in shaded sections. Make sure to pack layers so you’re ready for different temperatures along the way!

Downloaded AllTrails map

Cell service is very limited, to nonexistent, in many areas of Sequoia National Park. And on this hike in particular, there are many side trails, so we suggest downloading the offline AllTrail Map so you make sure you don’t get lost!

Want to get 30% off an AllTrails Plus membership? Use our code aplusk30 (you must redeem this code on the website, not the app)!

We use AllTrails Plus on every single hike and it is the most helpful hiking tool out there! Some of the features we love are offline maps (so we can navigate even without cell service), wrong-turn alerts, and its 3D maps feature, so we can get a feel for trails before we hike.

Water

Minus a couple streams, there are no water sources along the trail, so make sure to pack some water! We love hiking with our 3L Camelbak bladders, which are easy to drink from while hiking and store enough water for the both of us on shorter hikes.

And since you’re at a higher altitude and will be very active, we recommend bringing LMNT to help you stay hydrated. If you use this link, you get a free sample pack (8 packets!) with any order!

Snacks

While this isn’t a super long hike, we always suggest packing some snacks, just in case hunger strikes! If you need snack ideas, you can see a list of our favorite hiking snacks here! 

Tripod

Our favorite photos together from Sequoia National Park are from this hike! So if traveling with a friend or partner, we highly recommend bringing a tripod to get photos together on the General Sherman Tree and Congress Trail. 

Once you’re in the Senate and House sections, there are some very cool spots to snap photos together where you’ll really see the scale of the trees. We have used this tripod for years and love it!

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