The last leg of our trip was a stay at the beautiful Lodgepole Campground in Sequoia National Park. Once again our site (152) was right on the water, the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River. The rapids were strong and yet soothing to the ear. Oh, the views!

One afternoon we went for a bike ride over the bridge to the general store. There’s also a visitor’s center at Lodgepole. Our campsite can be seen across the river in the last pic.

There are lots of trails around Lodgepole and, although dogs aren’t allowed on trails, there was still lots to explore. The guys enjoyed climbing on these big boulders, & Mickey and I enjoyed walking around camp and watching them.

Lodgepole is just 2 miles from the Giant Forest Sequoia Grove. There is a shuttle, but we drove since we had our pup with us. Dogs aren’t allowed on the trails either (though we saw quite a few!), so my hubby and son went first while I waited with our Mickey, then I hiked the trail. Of course there are several giants to see, but General Sherman is the highlight. The hike to Sherman is a drop in elevation of 200 from the start of the trail. There were signs warning that the trail was steep. I didn’t think it was terribly strenuous, but there is some climbing, and at an elevation of 7,000, I felt it!

General Sherman is not the tallest or the widest, but the overall volume of its trunk makes it the biggest tree on earth. The base is 37.5 feet in diameter, the circumference is 103 feet, and its total volume is 52,500 cubic feet!  Quite impressive, Sir!You can read more about Giant Forest and Lodgepole Day Hikes Here

Back at camp, we had some visitors on our last night, strolling right past our pop up.And with that, it was time to say goodnight and goodbye to the Sequoias and head home. I’d highly recommend staying at Lodgepole. We hope to go back one day.