Our first full day in Sequoia NP was spent hiking to Tokopah Falls. Only a few miles from the Wuksachi Lodge, the trailhead starts within the Lodgepole Campground. The 3.7 mile hike (round trip) runs along the glacier carved Tokopah Valley. The campground was closed when we hiked this so we had to walk another half mile each way from the Lodgepole Visitor Center.
The heavily forested trail is not too steep and mostly follows the river.
There was even a minature waterfall to admire along the way.
There was a LOT of snow left on the ground, and it was 59 degrees, so there was also a lot of water! We had to forge two creeks that are likely not usually even running. One of them was so bad I had to run around and find small boulders to fill in enough so we can make it across without soaking our shoes. Here is a shot of the snow covered trail. At least we could see the dirty footprints so we could stay on the path.
The trail isn’t too exposed until the last quarter mile, when you will emerge from the forest and get the full view of the waterfalls.
The last quarter mile is a trail cut through huge boulders until you reach the end which is about 50 yards from the falls, close enough to catch a little mist to cool off after the hike.
This marmot welcomed us as we approached the end of the trail. We saw two other marmots but they ran off as soon as we got close.
An excellent hike with a great reward at the end! Definitely a must do! We had the waterfall to ourselves for the full half hour we hung out there, which is a clear sign that we were NOT in Yosemite!
