#6 of 45 sights in Sequoia
Sight · Sequoia National Park
Drive through a fallen giant sequoia on Crescent Meadow Road.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Sequoia Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Sequoia National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Sequoia audio tourRecorded for this place
Tunnel Log“Up ahead is Tunnel Log, a fallen giant sequoia with a road cut through its trunk. The tree fell naturally in nineteen thirty-seven; the tunnel was carved the following summer to attract visitors.”
Plays as you drive up to Tunnel Log in the Parkwolf Sequoia Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“…The kids and my husband and I all agree that the narration really added to our experience driving through the parks. We learned so much about the history and the flora & fauna.”
Guide
Tunnel Log is a giant sequoia that fell across Crescent Meadow Road in Giant Forest. The park cut a vehicle tunnel through its trunk so visitors could drive through. It’s a short, unusual roadside stop when the road is open.
Frame the road through the opening, or catch a car under the trunk to show its scale. On busy days, cars can queue while drivers take photos, so leave a little slack if you’re trying to make another stop.
The tree fell from natural causes in late 1937. It stood about 275 feet tall and measured 21 feet across at the base. Its age was never determined, though the park says it probably exceeded 2,000 years. The following summer, a tunnel was cut through the trunk to draw visitors. Tunnel trees were once a way to promote parks and build support for protecting them; park management now aims to let the landscape run with as little human interference as possible.
Wildlife
691 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
17 sightingsMountain LionMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
18 sightingsBobcatMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
24 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
15 sightingsGolden EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
20 sightingsSpotted OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Sequoia. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyHanging Rock Trail0.3 mi · 30 min · 0.5 mi awayA perched boulder on open granite above the Kaweah Valley.
ModerateMoro Rock Trail0.5 mi · 1 hr · 0.5 mi awayA short, steep stairway to a sweeping Great Western Divide panorama.
ModerateSoldiers Trail1.6 mi · 1.3 hr · 0.6 mi awayA short, steep sequoia walk ending at Moro Rock parking.
EasyCrescent Meadow Loop1.4 mi · 1 hr · 0.7 mi awayA short loop where giant sequoias frame Crescent Meadow.
EasyEagle View Trail1.5 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.7 mi awayA short climb from Crescent Meadow to a sweeping Sierra view.
EasyLog Meadow Loop and Tharp’s Log1.8 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.7 mi awayA cabin built inside a fallen sequoia is the unusual payoff.
ModerateBobcat Point Loop1.3 mi · 1 hr · 0.7 mi awayMorteros and a close Moro Rock view on a short loop.
ChallengingHigh Sierra Trail48.9 mi · 1.7 days · 0.7 mi awayA 49-mile wilderness crossing from Giant Forest to the John Muir Trail.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayParker GroupEight sequoias, close enough to study their fire scars.
Sight · 0.3 mi awayButtress TreeA fallen giant sequoia with an astonishingly broad root plate.
Sight · 0.5 mi awayAuto LogA fallen sequoia people once drove across.
Sight · 0.5 mi awayBrigadier General Charles Young TreeA century-late tribute to a Buffalo Soldier and park builder.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayBooker T. Washington TreeA 1903 dedication links this sequoia to two Black leaders.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayHanging RockA short climb opens a different view of Moro Rock.
Sight · 0.6 mi awaySquatters CabinA tiny log cabin anchors a larger Kaweah Colony story.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayMoro RockA short, steep stairway opens onto a full Sierra panorama.Parkwolf’s Sequoia ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
