Muir Grove Trail

Muir Grove Trail is a four-mile out-and-back from Dorst Creek Campground to a secluded stand of giant sequoias. It is a good half-day choice if you want a grove reached on foot and don’t mind retracing the same trail. Allow two to three hours. The dirt path has uneven, rocky patches, small creek crossings and rolling climbs, so this is more than a flat tree stroll. The campground sits around 6,800 feet; the short rises can feel more demanding at that elevation.

The trail begins near group site B at the rear of Dorst Creek Campground. Follow signs toward Group Camp Areas A–E, then turn left at the only trail junction for Muir Grove. The four miles is the total for both directions. The mapped route follows the maintained path to the grove and back; it does not include faint, unofficial tracks that continue farther through the trees.

The first stretch passes through mixed-conifer forest, drops past a small meadow and crosses a small creek. Then the trail switchbacks up a low hill to a granite outcrop about halfway in. This is where the scenery opens: look across the valley for the rounded crowns of Muir Grove, with Big Baldy and Chimney Rocks beyond. It is the best place to pause and get your bearings, and the strongest viewpoint for a photograph. Keep some pale granite in the foreground so the trees and distant ridges have scale.

Beyond the outcrop, the path crosses a shallow ravine where dead trees mark part of the area affected by the 2021 KNP Complex Fire. The forest returns after this short stretch. The route then contours along the hillside to a lush little creek valley, where you step across another small stream before climbing gently toward the grove. It is a walk of changing forest and terrain rather than one long viewpoint approach.

The maintained trail reaches Muir Grove at a shallow saddle. The first large sequoia has a broken top; a little farther on, a ring of cinnamon-red trunks stands among younger conifers. In mid-summer, purple lupines brighten the grove floor. The trail’s name honors John Muir, who visited the grove during his 1875 survey of California sequoias. Old park maps place the trail’s construction around 1905–1912, when it was part of a footpath network linking Giant Forest with Grant Grove, before Generals Highway opened in 1935. Stay on the visible main path at the grove; the old continuation and ridge tracks are faint and are not part of this hike.

The campground is seasonal, usually open from mid-June through Labor Day weekend. During its usual off-season closure, park outside the gate without blocking it, and check current access and parking instructions before driving in. Food and a drinking-water refill were not confirmed along the hike, so bring what you need. Pets are not allowed on trails in Sequoia and Kings Canyon; qualified service dogs are permitted under park rules.