Distance: 8.4 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 7361' (Falls)
Elevation Gain: 1400'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.1
Round trip time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: $35 National Parks Fee (one vehicle for 7 days) or Annual Pass
Difficulty: Easy
Leisa and I spent Memorial Day Weekend in Sequoia National Park. One of the few popular hikes we had not done was Tokopah Falls. Tokopah Falls is part of the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River. The regular trailhead is at Lodgepole, but due to the insane number of people in the park, all Lodgepole parking was full. We were instructed to drive another parking area and take a shuttle back. Instead, we drove to the Wolverton trailhead and hiked to Lodgepole. This added over four miles round trip to the hike, but was probably a wash as far as time. Wolverton was also higher than Lodgepole so it added about 700' gain to the hike. The connector trail was in good shape and empty. When we finally started on the Tokopah Falls trail, we shared it with hundreds of eager hikers, though more were coming back than going out. Tokopah Falls has many cascades, and the main fall was flowing nicely. The Watchtower rose starkly in the background. We took photos and got ready to leave, then spotted a man sitting neck deep in the river below the falls. The ultimate cold plunge! Air temp was about 55F. My guess is the water was closer to 40F. It was a pleasant hike and a great warm up for our attempt on Panther Peak the next day.
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