If you're looking to visit as many National Parks as you can in a short amount of time, road-trip through California's breathtaking Sierra Nevada Mountains, which are home to Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. Whether you want to see some ginormous redwood trees or to hike past an epic waterfall, visiting the Sierra Nevadas is the experience of a lifetime.
Looking up at the bizarre, twisting columns that make up Devils Postpile National Monument, it's hard to imagine how they were formed... incredibly, the stone formations originated from a boiling lake of red-hot lava. The slow-moving flow, which dammed up right where the monument is located, eventually cooled and contracted, forming the unusual columnar basalt formations that we see today. Glaciers scraped away parts of the basalt, revealing the pile of massive columns. Hike to the top for epic views of the mountains!
Upon first glance at the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve, it's not hard to imagine that you've left Earth and landed on a different planet. The shallow saline lake, located right in the middle of the desert,features strange, towering formations known as "tufa" that give the whole area and "otherworldly" feel. Tufa is a type of common limestone that formed when the area was underwater. Because the lake doesn't drain into an ocean, it's highly saline and alkaline. That means that when you go for a swim in Mono Lake, you'll feel extra buoyant in the water-- it also means that the water will sting your eyes and any cuts you might have!
Yosemite National Park is home to famously challenging hikes such as Half Dome, Vernal Falls, and El Capitan, but there are also less intense activities as well. Walk up Sentinel Dome to take in some scenery, stand atop stunning Glacier Point, or just wander among the enormous redwoods at Mariposa Grove. Be sure to pay homage to famous nature photographer Ansel Adams at the Ansel Adams Gallery-- you'll be inspired to step up your photography game along the trip!
Notable for its storybook architecture, quaint windmill, and serene swan pond, the Holiday Inn Selma-Swancourt offers all of the comforts of a Holiday Inn with a fairy-tale atmosphere. A hot tub and pool, daily wine tastings, and an on-site steakhouse take this hotel over the top.
Drive down to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park, which are home to General Grant and General Sherman. Not the dead Civil War generals... the trees! Sequoia's General Sherman is estimated to be between 2,300 and 2,700 years old and is one of the world's biggest trees at a diameter of 25 feet and 275 feet tall. Also, don't miss out on Sequoia's Tunnel Tree; you can drive right through the fallen tree. Plus, Sequoia National Park has a log cabin made from a single trunk!
Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park are contiguous, sharing a border, and the National Parks Service manages them as one unit. Kings Canyon is also home to stands of massive sequoia trees, but is more rugged than Sequoia. Famed naturalist John Muir once called Kings Canyon, "a rival to Yosemite," and with that seal of approval, you know it's worth a visit.
Canyons, valleys, mountains, waterfalls, forests, lakes, and more: The Sierra Nevadas of central California have it all!