2 min
Overview
This beautiful loop through a quiet corner of Giant Forest offers a bit of park history, beautiful meadows, giant sequoias, and some phenomenal sunset viewing spots at Moro Rock and Hanging Rock. Set aside a cool June evening to get the best out of the hike so that you can enjoy the late evening views west over the Sierra Foothills. Juvenile Black Bear While hordes of people cluster around Giant Forest’s four main trailheads, the trails in the middle, and especially on the west side of the forest, lie blissfully silent. Hikers within Giant Forest can obtain a remarkable degree of solitude even when hiking on a trail that is never more than a mile away from a road. The looping route created by the Moro Trail and the lightly-traveled Soldier Trail is one such example. Group of giant sequoias Hikers can take this route either clockwise or counter-clockwise. The clockwise route presented here starts out with a short, but severe bit of climbing up and over a steep ridge. You’re going to have to climb this ridge either way, so you might as well get it over with. This climb alone probably filters out most people who might consider this hike, but if you want to have gorgeous portion of Giant Forest all to yourself, you’re gonna have to give a little something up in return. Crossing Deer Creek Starting from the Giant Forest Museum (perhaps after exploring the museum’s exhibits), strike out east from the “Trail Center” on a paved path. You’ll quickly come to a signed junction with the Big Trees Trail around Round Meadow and the combined Hazelwood and Alta Trails. Keep right here to enter a verdant ravine. Little Deer Creek runs through this ravine, providing adequate hydration for a lush meadow and gorgeous thickets of Pacific dogwood. Sequoia roots in a grove of dogwoods The dogwoods alone on this route are almost enough of a reason to take this hike. Pacific dogwood is beautiful at any time, but especially so during May/June and October/November. During the spring, the dogwood puts out gorgeous white flowers, while in
Trail Stats
7.1 km
213 m
2064 m
1929 m
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