Parking
Start at the High Sierra Trailhead/Crescent Meadow parking area at the end of Crescent Meadow Road. Parking capacity, fees, and facilities were not verified.
Overview
About Circle Meadow Loop
Why go
- Pairs a wet meadow walk with several named sequoia groups.
Heads up
- At 4.3 miles with repeated climbs, it is longer than a short meadow stroll.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Sequoia map
Full mapElevation6,680–7,029 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
8 active Sequoia alerts
- CautionStage 1 fire restrictionsStage 1 fire restrictions are in effect due to high fire danger and catastrophic-wildfire risk; the restrictions reduce the possibility of accidental human-caused fires that could threaten visitors…Official details
- ClosureGrant Grove trails and areas closed for prescribed burnSome trails and areas around Grant Grove and the General Grant Tree are closed for safety during a prescribed burn and until they are cleared of hazards.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Sequoia Tour Guide
Your drive to Circle Meadow Loop, narrated.
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 area
Crescent Meadow and Tharp’s Log0:00 / 0:33
“Crescent Meadow is coming up, an open wetland ringed by giant sequoias, with picnic tables near the trailhead. Stop here if you'd like a gentler outing with room to see the red trunks against the meadow grass.”
Plays near this trailhead in the Parkwolf Sequoia Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Tunnel Log
- Parker Group and Buttress Tree
- Moro Rock
- Hanging Rock
- 71 audio storiesacross Sequoia’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Mountain Lion, Bobcat, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 99 trails, 68 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“…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.”
Trail guide
Hiking Circle Meadow Loop
Take a longer Giant Forest walkCircle Meadow Loop is a 4.3-mile circuit from the Crescent Meadow High Sierra Trailhead.
Circle Meadow Loop is a 4.3-mile circuit from the Crescent Meadow High Sierra Trailhead. It follows both arms of the C-shaped meadow, uses a short stretch of Alta and Congress trails through notable sequoia groups, then returns across Crescent Meadow. Allow about 2.5 hours; this version is reported at about 650 feet of climbing. It is a good choice if you want a meadow walk and a sample of the old-growth grove in one outing.
The full 4.3 miles includes a 0.3-mile counterclockwise circuit around Crescent Meadow at the end. Return directly instead and the walk is about 4.0 miles.
Follow the meadow northFrom the trailhead, head north along Crescent Meadow's west side.
From the trailhead, head north along Crescent Meadow's west side. After two junctions, a narrow meadow section brings you to the Pillar of Hercules at about 0.8 mile. The trail skirts a wooded knoll to Cattle Cabin, then continues to a five-way junction with Alta and Congress trails around mile 1.6. The tread is described as smooth and well traveled, with a fairly clear route through the grove.
Take the sequoia connectionAt the junction, turn onto Alta and then Congress.
At the junction, turn onto Alta and then Congress. This short stretch passes the Founders, House, and Senate groups and the McKinley Tree; a nearby spur reaches President Tree and Chief Sequoyah Tree. After the Senate Group, keep right toward Crescent Meadow. Those named trees make the north side of this loop more than a connector between meadows.
Circle Meadow from both sidesThe return climbs the wooded knoll between the meadow's two branches, reaches the southeast arm…
The return climbs the wooded knoll between the meadow's two branches, reaches the southeast arm around mile 2.6, and skirts its southern end before reconnecting near the Pillar of Hercules. Two arcing tributaries feed Little Deer Creek around the knoll, leaving the meadow grassy and wet compared with the surrounding forest. June and July are usually the strongest wildflower months. For a photo, keep some meadow grass or flowers in the foreground with sequoia trunks behind them.
Start at Crescent MeadowBegin at the High Sierra Trailhead and parking area at the end of Crescent Meadow Road.
Begin at the High Sierra Trailhead and parking area at the end of Crescent Meadow Road. Parking capacity, fees, and facilities were not verified. No on-route drinking-water source was identified, so bring what you will need. Pets are prohibited on trails in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The direct return trims 0.3 mile if you want a shorter outing.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Sequoia
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.
