Big Stump Loop Trail

Big Stump Loop is a 1.6-mile circuit from Big Stump Picnic Area through a logged sequoia grove to the Mark Twain Stump. Allow about an hour, with extra time if you linger at the stump or take a side path. Choose this walk for its unusually direct look at logging history: the main draw is a giant sequoia’s cut stump, not a stretch of untouched giant-sequoia forest. The latest park map labels this loop 1.6 miles. Older mileage listings say 2 miles, and a longer 2.2-mile version includes optional branches, so follow the trail signs if you add them.

The trail starts behind the picnic-area restroom and drops about 130 feet to Big Stump Meadow. At the west-side junction, the left branch makes the longer circuit around the meadow; the right branch takes the shorter Shattered Giant bypass. The meadow route adds roughly a tenth of a mile. The forest beyond shows the scale of past logging in its scattered stumps, while the open meadow gives the walk a break from the trees. A short gap between two mapped trail segments has been connected using the park’s loop map and the published route directions; follow the signed tread at that junction.

A short spur reaches the stump of the tree known as the Mark Twain Tree. It was about 16 feet in diameter before the Army cut it down in 1891 to send a cross-section to displays in New York and London. The stump remains in the grove, and a small wooden staircase lets visitors climb onto its broad cut surface. That stop is the reason the loop earns its name: standing on the stump makes the size of the tree easier to grasp than a number on a sign.

Two side trips add detail if you have time. The Feather Bed loop visits a trench that loggers filled with sticks to cushion the fall of felled sequoias. The Sawed Tree spur reaches a sequoia that survived logging and still shows deep scars. Neither branch is part of the 1.6-mile loop shown on the latest park map. Taking the full meadow circuit and these extras can bring the outing closer to the longer mileage reported for the area.

The circuit continues toward the Highway 180 entrance-station area and returns through a tunnel beneath the road to the picnic area. The stored line follows mapped trails and closes at the picnic-area access point. Its elevation samples range from about 6,194 to 6,411 feet. Expect to climb back out after the opening descent; the National Park Service notes that elevation changes can feel harder at this altitude. The route is short, but it is not flat.

Park at Big Stump Picnic Area; the trail begins behind its restroom. The area has nearby restrooms, covered picnic tables, and several parking spaces, including accessible and RV spaces. Parking is usually abundant. The park lists no activity fee or reservation for the hike, though the park entrance fee may apply. Pets are not allowed on this trail.