Parking
Use the Lost Grove pullout on Generals Highway. The trail begins beside the restroom and returns to the same pullout.
Overview
About Dorst-Lost Grove Trail
Why go
- Lower-grove sequoias and a creekside clearing away from the roadside stop
Heads up
- Steep return climb; reports disagree about the lower trail after the 2021 fire
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Sequoia map
Full mapElevation6,365–6,762 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
8 active Sequoia alerts
- InfoGenerals Highway weekday hazard-tree removal delaysMentions Generals Highway, referenced in this guideExpect weekday delays of up to 30 minutes total on Generals Highway between Highway 180 and Giant Forest, 8 a.m.–5 p.m., while crews remove hazard trees; the highway remains open.Official details
- 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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Sequoia Tour Guide
Your drive to Dorst-Lost Grove Trail, 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 trailhead
Lost Grove0:00 / 0:15
“Lost Grove is coming up, with giant sequoias just beyond the roadside fence. Stop for a few minutes if you'd like to see big trunks without a hike. An entrance station once stood here.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Sequoia Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Pika's Winter Harvest
- Dorst Creek Campground and Muir Grove
- Little Baldy
- Halstead Meadow Picnic Area
- 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 Dorst-Lost Grove Trail
What the route coversDorst-Lost Grove Trail is a 4.
Dorst-Lost Grove Trail is a 4.12-mile out-and-back from the Lost Grove pullout on Generals Highway to the Dorst Creek Campground end of the named trail. The mapped path is about 2.06 miles each way. It drops through forest toward the lower grove and creek drainage, then climbs back to the same pullout. Allow about three hours for the full walk. The lower grove is the hiking payoff; the largest Lost Grove trees stand right beside the highway and make a much shorter separate stop.
Down to the lower groveThe route leaves the road and descends steeply through a wooded slope.
The route leaves the road and descends steeply through a wooded slope. Only a short stretch is among the big sequoias, but it opens beside a creekbed into a clearing dotted with pale trunks. The route continues toward Dorst rather than ending at the roadside grove paths. The return retraces the same trail, so save energy for the climb back out.
Check the lower treadThe park's May 2026 trail report listed Dorst-Lost Grove as open, while another route account…
The park's May 2026 trail report listed Dorst-Lost Grove as open, while another route account says the lower descent has been closed and nearly invisible since the 2021 fire. Those reports do not establish the trail's condition today. Check with the park before setting out; if the tread disappears, turn back instead of following an unofficial line.
Start at the highway pulloutUse the Lost Grove pullout on Generals Highway; the trail begins beside the restroom and…
Use the Lost Grove pullout on Generals Highway; the trail begins beside the restroom and returns to the same access, so no second car is needed. Pets are not allowed on trails in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
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.
