Huckleberry Trail Loop

Huckleberry Trail is a roughly 4-mile circuit from the Generals Highway pullout, linking Huckleberry Meadow, Squatters Cabin and Circle Meadow beneath giant sequoias. Allow about 2–3 hours. The full loop is a steady forest walk with a steeper climb onto an open grassy slope; the short Huckleberry Trail segment on its own is only part of this longer walk.

Begin on the shady Hazlewood Nature Trail connector beside Little Deer Creek, then follow the connected trails through sequoia forest and the two meadow clearings back to the same access. The route passes several signed junctions, including paths toward the cabin, Bears Bathtub and Washington Tree. Keep to the full circuit rather than taking a spur toward Crescent Meadow Road. Expect natural dirt paths, roots and a sustained climb, with a more open, steeper grassy rise. The route description puts the elevation change at roughly 400 feet.

Huckleberry Meadow opens into a small grassy clearing among fallen sequoias. Squatters Cabin sits beside it: a would-be settler built the log cabin in the 1880s, before learning that Hale Tharp had already claimed the land. The cabin and surrounding giant trees make this the route’s most distinctive historic stop.

Circle Meadow is a narrow, curving opening edged with fallen logs and rounded granite boulders; spring and summer bring seasonal flowers. The loop also passes the Washington Tree, whose crown and size were greatly reduced by a lightning-caused fire in 2003. A side path reaches Bears Bathtub, a split sequoia trunk that can hold rainwater. No food or drinking-water facility is listed along the walk.

Use the small pullout on the east side of Generals Highway shared with the Hazlewood Nature Trail. If it is full, the main Giant Forest Museum lot is about a half-mile walk from the start; that adds roughly a mile round trip. Pets are prohibited on trails in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.