Sequoia National Park Travel Forum

We will be in California the first week in August,2008. The main things we want to see are the big trees. We won't be able to visit both parks so, which one is best???

tough choice! If big trees are truly what you want, I'd go with Sequoia. Bonuses of the Redwoods is that it's close to the ocean.

Redwoods is close to SF of course, and Sequoia is farther away from most other tourist attractions unless you want to see Yosemite as well...but I vote for Sequoia because the Sierras are spectacular! There is also Big Trees State Park which I think is in Calaveras County just east of the town of Murphys. That is also a nice area to visit, a charming Gold Rush town with a growing wine industry nearby and fun caves in the area to go spelunking--great in August.

There are two types of big trees, the coastal redwoods (the tallest trees in the world) and the giant sequoia (the biggest trees in the world by volume - you will not believe the girth of the trunks).

I assume you will be in San Francisco for part of your time so you could get both types of trees in. Visit Muir woods literally just north of San Francisco to see coastal redwoods and then head to Sequoia NP to see giant redwoods.

If you like coastal scenery, see Redwood NP and the ocean views nearby.

If you like mountain scenery, see Sequoia NP and the mountains nearby.

My recommendation is the latter, because you can easily see coastal views near SF.

I have spent time in both and I much prefer Sequoia National Park. You can also take in Kings Canyon NP that is right next door and even see Yosemite if you have a little extra time. The views of the Sierra Nevada are spectacular from Sequoia.