Visitors to California’s Sequoia National Park come for the namesake trees but stay for the miles of epic, rolling granite (see, for example, my previous post on the Deadman Canyon Loop). Hikes into this granite wonderland tend to be long and strenuous, but one can get a short teaser on the 2-mile Tokopah Valley Trail, which culminates at multi-tiered Tokopah Falls. Due to its proximity to Sequoia’s Giant Forest and Lodgepole Campground, this is a very popular hike and moderately strenuous with a relatively mild but steady incline. In addition to the falls, one of the highlights is an excellent view of a prominent pinnacle known as the Watchtower.

The hike

Much of this hike is (blissfully, on a hot summer day) in the shade, and it begins next to the bridge over the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River in the Lodgepole Campground. (Note: Drive past the Lodgepole Visitor Center, pass through the entrance station for the campground, and park in the large lot near the shuttle stop, situated on the south banks of the river. Then walk east on Lodgepole Road and bear left at the bridge and nature center, finding the trailhead on the right.) Summer attracts many campers and other visitors to the river, a perennial flow with dozens of enticing pools and minor cascades. The 2-mile Tokopah Valley Trail (or Tokopah Falls Trail) follows this river throughout the hike’s entirety (although the water dips in and out of view).

The well-trodden trail charts an eastward course, with a steady but mild uphill, in view of the Marble Fork. Under a canopy of conifers, the trail ducks around smooth boulders and soon incorporates stone steps to lift hikers past 7,000 feet above sea level. With the campground continuing on the south side of the river, one can continue to see overnight campers across the valley for about the first 1/3 mile, after which the sound of human noises eases.

At around 4/10 mile, the trail rises up a staircase to an outcrop with a partial opening to the sun. Thereafter the route proceeds through another thick forest and comes to another flat with creek access. The steep steps return briefly again at about 1.1 miles (but are thankfully in the shade), followed shortly by the hike’s first good views of the Watchtower, which rises more than 1,800 feet from the valley floor.

After crossing two bridges over seasonal tributaries, the Tokopah Falls Trail glides through another flat with a high concentration of ferns, then descends briefly to a third bridge over a larger stream. It is a couple of minutes from here to a fourth stream crossing, this one over the rippling Horse Creek.

Almost immediately after this fourth bridge, there is an unmarked junction. Bear right, continuing toward Tokopah Falls, with now only around ½ mile (and 200 feet of elevation gain) remaining.

At about 1.5 miles, hikers get their first distant view of the cascades that make up Tokopah Falls. Afterwards, the tree cover thins, and the hike climbs more steeply trough an open boulder slide with better views of the Watchtower. Proceed through a fun section with a couple brief tunnels through the massive boulder field, then, with brush and scrub replacing pines, rise to the hike’s close-up views of Tokopah Falls.

By some measures, Tokopah Falls is an impressive 1,200 feet tall, though this counts the various cascades from top to bottom, with much of it hidden from view at this vista point. The hike ends, however, at one particularly wide section where the river splits into at least two streams (and more in spring and early summer). The turnaround point is an outcrop overlooking this section, with onward passage much more treacherous and (despite the temptation to touch the falls) not recommended. Look back also to the southwest for excellent views of the Watchtower and the river valley, back in the direction of Lodgepole.

When ready, return the way you came, completing a nearly four-mile out-and-back that should take most hikers 2-3 hours to complete. Pairing this hike with a jaunt around the nearby Giant Forest (including the General Sherman Tree, the largest known single-stem tree in the world) makes for a relatively full but easy day.