A Wondrous World of Family Hiking in Muir Grove

Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world

~ John Muir ~

Have you ever seen a child romp through the forest? Have you listened to a child talking while walking through the mountains? Sure, hiking with children is difficult, slower, tedious and harder on your back, but there is a different level of wonder that is seen through a child's eyes.

Muir Grove in

Sequoia National Park

might not be a big attraction but it truly is a nice hike.  The great thing about Sequoia National Park is that there are Sequoias very near the General's Highway.  This gives great accessibility BUT this also means very large crowds which is something my family is not a big fan of.  We wanted to see the Sequoias but wanted the solitude of the "Outdoors", so off we headed hiking to Muir Woods near Dorst Creek Campground.

Hiking to the Sequoias

This is a moderate, family-friendly, 4.2 mile round trip hike to Muir Grove, but in all reality we added a little over 2 miles for a total of 6.3 miles from our campground in Dorst Creek.  We walked from our campsite to the trailhead but we got a little confused about where it was, we eventually found the Muir Grove trailhead but added two miles over all to the hike.  Every step adds up when you think about it.  The trailhead is

near the campsite #178

, which crosses a little bridge over Cabin Creek.

Immediately on the trail, we enjoyed the sounds of the flowing Cabin Creek and were glad the creek was not dried up yet due to

California's severe drought

.  It was quite refreshing to hear water flowing and to see the greenery all around us.

The hike has a slight uphill trail to Muir Grove with sections of flat and down hill sections.  The trail is a very shaded with just one section of exposed granite halfway to Muir Grove.  There were signs of bears everywhere....almost every fallen tree had been shredded by bears so we made sure our son never ran ahead.  I happily told my son to blow his whistle as much as he wanted!  Thankfully we never saw a bear while hiking to Muir Grove.  All we saw was lush beautiful forest greenery!!

Ferns galore...

Just hiking along...

My daughters view point from down below...

I would suggest taking a kid carrier for little ones who can't hike this distance.  My 4 year old son was able to hike the entire 6.3 miles but my 2 year old could not.  Of course when we saw the Sequoias down the trail, everyone got excited to see the REALLY BIG TREES!!

Entering Muir Grove

Doesn't matter how many times I see Sequoias I'm always blown away by their sheer size.  They provide a perspective that only Sequoias can provide.  Just seeing the Sequoias brought back my happy childhood memories of endlessly running around the base of the trees with my older brother. I was very happy we had hiked out to Muir Grove with my children.

"Daddy, Mommy! Those trees are REALLY BIG! And they have caves!" my toddlers squealed.  Now I understand why my parents brought my brother and me to Sequoia National Park so much.

When we arrived to Muir Grove, a couple of hikers were having lunch but they quickly packed up and left.  We packed our lunch as well: Bolillo sandwiches.  We enjoyed a picnic all by ourselves in the middle of Muir Grove.  After lunch, my son and I explored the "caves" and I happily listened to my son imagining finding bears in the tree hollows and pretending to scare them.  A little bit of family time at Muir Grove....

Time to EXPLORE....

Daughter hugging daddy, surrounded by the Sequoias hugging us....

Always look up....

The world from inside the tree, from my daughters eyes....

I must say this might not be a popular hike in Sequoia National Park but it was my family favorite.  Muir Grove...where we played hide and seek, had Bolillo sandwiches and pretended we were giant bears in the tree trunks.  Welcome to the world of family hiking, it's more fun this way.

Trail Report Detials

Who: Two Adults, Two Toddlers

Family Friendly: Moderate

Mileage: 4.2 miles from Trailhead, 6.3 actual from campsite

Elevation Change: 896 ft

Trails Description: Out and back trail, slight uphill hike

What's your favorite day hike in Sequoia National Park?

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Related Posts and Links:

1. The Amazing Crystal Cave at Sequoia National Park
2. Sequioa & Kings Canyon National Park ~ Official Website

The Amazing Crystal Cave at Sequoia National Park

One of my childhood dreams was to visit the, Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park. Unfortunately the one time my parents tried to take us to the Crystal Caves the trail was covered with ice (during summer time!), so the National Park Service wasn't allowing visitors due to the slippery trail.

Years had past and I never visited, so we when we were planning our Sequoia trip this past June I made sure we were going to visit the beautiful stalactites and stalagmites!  There are really no words to describe the wonderful underground world but here are some tips and information about the Crystal Cave.

There is a little bit of hiking to get to the cave 1/2 mile for a total of a 1 mile hike roundtrip, this does not include the walking inside the cave. Very easy hike down to the cave but that means a steep hike up to the parking lot.

Tips for Families with Children

• Soft Kid Carrier ~ A full blown kid carrier is probably over doing it for this 1-mile hike since ANY type of kid carrier is not allowed into the caves.  All bags, backpacks, kid carrier (fabric too) has to be left at the cave entrance.
• Water ~ Bottled water is not allowed inside the cave but you can take the water and leave at the entrance of the cave.  We didn't bring any water which wasn't a big deal on the way down but we all got a little thirsty on the hike up.  Bring water down and leave it at the entrance before entering the cave.
• Extra Layer ~ The cave is ALWAYS 50 degrees Fahrenheit, no matter what the weather is outside the cave.  It was in the 80's when we visited in late June, at first it felt great to be in this "natural air conditioned" cave but the change it temperature does make it chilly after a sweaty hike.  Take sweaters for the whole family especially for little ones who cool off quicker.
• Darkness ~ Caves are dark, but they do have lighted areas or else we could not see all the great rock formations.  My toddlers enjoyed the semi-darkness but at one point of the tour, the guide turned off all the lights and it was completely dark.  Make sure you are holding your child, especially if they are scared of the dark.  No flashlights or flash photography is allowed.
• Pricing and Ticket Location ~ Adults were $15/ticket, 5-12 years $8/ticket and under 5 years $5 ticket.  Tickets are not sold at the actual Crystal Cave bookstore.   Purchase tickets at one of the visitor centers.

The Crystal Cave Tour

The tour actually starts half an hour BEFORE the schedule ticket, i.e. 3:30 pm ticket time, meetup with guide at the book store at 3:00 pm to have enough time to hike down to the cave entrance.  If you get down early there is a beautiful waterfall and creek to relax by. Traffic to the Crystal Cave can be quite a hassle due to all of Sequoia's road construction, so we left 2 hours before our schedule time per the docents suggestion.  Photography is allowed but with NO FLASH, fortunately my camera had a nifty nighttime feature that allowed my pictures to come out.  I can describe the caves to you but I'd rather show pictures!

Walking through the first level....

My kids thought these were icicles and everything was snow to them...

The cave family...

Fairyland, those little stalactites were 100 years old....

Stalagmite (coming from the ground) aka Jabba the Hutt...

 Chasqui Mom Last Thoughts.....

I truly was beyond amazed by Crystal Cave, I couldn't even pay attention to the guide explaining how this beautiful place was created because I was so mesmerized by this place.  Something about the water flowing above and through the cave created it, over thousands and thousands of years. It was a family favorite during our week-long vacation at Sequoia National Park and my kids definitely have a fascination with caves now!

It might be a little touristy location for an outdoor enthusiast but I highly recommend visiting this Crystal Cave.  I'm glad that many years ago some National Park Rangers slid down this mountain on their butts and found the beautiful California treasure by accident.  Now thousands of people can experience this amazing place in addition to everything else Sequoia National Park has to offer.

Have you visited Crystal Cave or a similar marble cave? What did you love?

Join in on the conversation by leaving a comment here! You can also join in on the conversations on Chasqui Mom's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter that is updated daily with outdoor activities and other wonderful posts and links from #OutdoorFamilies!

Related Posts and Links:

1. Crystal Cave ~ Sequoia Natural History Association
2. Pinnacles National Park ~ Bear Gulch Caves

Out of this World: Vasquez Rocks & The Pacific Crest Trail

Vasquez Rocks, the Pacific Crest Trail and this hiking family. On a quick trip down south to the greater Los Angeles area I decided to do a little solo hike with my toddlers at Vasquez Rocks.  All I knew about

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park

was that an episode of the original Star Trek was filmed there a long time ago.  FYI, I only knew that fact because I watched a Big Bang Theory episode that was fake filmed at Vasquez Rocks so I researched it and Vasquez Rocks was a real location.

Vasquez Rocks is part of the

Department of Parks and Recreation County of Los Angeles

but it is a 20-30 drive east of Santa Clarita, California.  You can't really tell that Los Angeles is a desert until you leave the main metropolis area and can see the natural environment and really enjoy the beauty of  it, like Vasquez Rocks.  You can see this parks main features from the freeway and it is actually on the outskirts of Agua Dulce, California.  Off the freeway the drive to Vasquez Rocks is very rural and ranch-like, we even saw a buffalo on one of the ranches.

The Interpretive Center looked like a space ship to my kids.  It has a modern look to it, I'm assuming it was designed to compliment the rock formations but not only was the design modern it had a

LEED Platinum Certification

.  Layman's terms means that this center has the highest level of being "Green" which is fantastic!  The Interpretive Center had a diagram of Vasquez Rocks, a few reptiles and spiders, as well as a Hollywood history of all the movies that had been filmed at Vasquez Rocks.  Outside the center was a small area that housed some native birds.

The Pacific Crest Trail at Vasquez Rocks

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a trail that runs from the border of Mexico/California to just across the Canadian border.  Almost every hiker that I know dreams of hiking the PCT, so any time I get a chance to hike on it, I do! Even just one mile on the PCT with my kids, satisfies my future dream just a little bit.  I didn't even know that the PCT went through Vasquez Rocks until the day before visiting so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it on the map.  FYI: I brought EXTRA snacks and food just in case I ran into a PCT thru-hiker but I didn't run into anyone except some tourists.

We started out on the PCT (AKA the Geology Trail - 0.9 miles) near the Interpretive Center.  From the beginning there were giant rocks right along the trail which made the hike terribly slow because my kids had to explore every rock, hole and "mini-cave."  I'm not complaining, I want my kids to explore but I'd prefer they explored at least 100 ft down the trail vs. 10 feet down the trail! But alas the caves must be explored and my patience must be tested constantly on the trail.

We hope that someday we can do hike the entire PCT as a family, but probably not all in one sitting! PCT section hiking is more up our alley, but it won't be for a few more years until our little ones can hike longer distances and carry a pack.  Either way, I was getting a little nostalgic with the idea at some point in the future I was to return to Vasquez Rocks and remember that I had been there before with my babies.

It took a little while to get into the groove of hiking but everyone enjoyed the little 0.9 mile hike on the PCT.  There was exploring of the caves, playing with the sandy trail and even touching of the spiky Yucca Whipple-Our Lord's Candle.  My son has a fascination with prickly plants, I just make sure they aren't poisonous before he touches them.

The Geological Trail had many markers with the descriptions on the pamphlet, sadly I'm so busy with the kids on the trail I never get a chance to see what the markers are all about, but the geological formations are just amazing to see all along this tiny section.  When we had reach the famous section of the Vasquez Rocks, my kids starting yelling with glee, "Those rocks are Crocodile Rocks!!" and indeed they did look like crocodile heads.  One of the great things about hiking with kids is the fact that they help you view the world in a beautiful imaginative way.

The famous Vasquez Rocks are really neat, they are giant slabs of rock shooting out of the ground!  We hiked along the back side of the rocks and I was a little saddened by the graffiti and trash I found along there.  I picked up as much trash as I could but still I don't understand why people have to put "I was here" on these beautiful rocks.

The Pacific Crest Trail continued but my children could not, so once we reached the picnic/parking lot area for viewing the rock formations, we headed down another trail back to the Interpretive Center.  There is a dirt road which you can take to iconic Vasquez Rocks but we opted to hike on the PCT.  I almost took the dirt road back but decided to stay on the trail and I'm glad we did because we saw some hieroglyphs and a Road Runner, which of course was too fast to snap a picture of it!

Vasquez Rocks is a great park, truly felt like I was in a different planet! Great rock formations, family friendly trails, a great "green" center and it has the wonderful Pacific Crest Trail.  My suggestions would be:

• Take lots of water! We visited on a cool day but it is still in the desert and it got very warm.
• If you have time check out more of the longer trails, such as in SoCal Hiker's visit.
• Visit the Interpretive Center! It's a really neat place and the employees are very informative.
• Please take children on the Pacific Crest Trail.  You don't have to be a backpacking ninja to hike on the PCT.  Even a 0.9 mile hike is worth enjoying the PCT with your family.

Trip Report Details

Who: One Adult and two toddlers

Mileage: 1.8 miles (0.9 miles on the PCT)

Time: 1 hour (51 minutes to be exact)

Elevation: 7 ft - very flat

Family Friendly: Very Easy

I truly had lots of fun with my kids at Vasquez Rocks, knowing that it was a hideout for the California Bandido 

Tiburcio Vasquez

 (hence the namesake) and with all the Hollywood film history, makes hiking at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park out of this world!

Join in on the conversation by leaving a comment here! You can also join in on the conversations on 

Chasqui Mom's Facebook

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 and 

Twitter

 that is updated daily with outdoor activities and other wonderful posts and links from #OutdoorFamilies!

Related Posts and Links:

1. Family Desert Hiking: Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area
2. The Pacific Crest Trail Association
3. SoCal Hiker: Hiking the PCT in Vasquez Rocks

Family Desert Hiking: Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area

On a little trip to the greater Los Angeles area, we decided to get out of the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles and headed out for a desert hike at

Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area

in Pearblossom, California near Palmdale.  The park is very remote, far away from the "main civilization" of Palmdale, on the skirts of the San Gabriel Mountains.  We arrived on a perfect fall day but I could imagine how hot the park gets in the middle of summer.

Devil's Punchbowl Visitor Center

The parking lot was pretty empty and I was not expecting the visitor center to be open at all, so I was surprised to find it open and was glad we decided to check it out!  There was no mention on the website that the visitor center had animals so it was quite surprising to see all the live spiders, snakes and insects as well as some taxidermy animals.  The ranger was very happy to show us the around the tiny Visitor Center, gave us a little lesson on the Honey Ants that you can eat alive.  We didn't want to eat them but apparently they taste sweet, like candy!  They also had a neat Animal Track Chalkboard Art.

RATTLESNAKES

~ The ranger told us the baby rattle snake (collage featured above) was born a few days prior to our visit.  He blew air into the vent which made the rattle snakes shake their rattles, something we've never experienced!  My son cried to leave but he still wanted to see the snakes, intriguing fear!

Punchbowl Loop Trail (1 Mile)

I don't know why I still have the belief that we could quickly hike five miles with our toddlers, but we opted out to hike

Punchbowl Loop Trail

 which started in the Visitor Center/Picnic Area, the ranger suggestion.  The canyon looked deep, deserted and dry which would be great to find a dry creek bed for the kids to play in, so down we went into the canyon.  How can long can one mile take?

With having to touch every rock, spiky bush, sand piles and climb every rock my children encountered this one-mile loop took us a whopping two hours for this family of four!  It was a beautiful day to hike, the weather would get nice an warm when the sun was shinning and would cool off when the sun hid behind the clouds.  We sat took pictures, let the kids roll around in the trail, though after visiting the visitor center I was a little paranoid of snakes!

The Dry Creek Bed

We took a little off shoot trail down to the dry creek bed before head out of the canyon.  Earlier the ranger explained to us that normally there is "some" water all year round but the minimal rain has cause the creek to go dry.  A little sad but a dry creek bed is also fun to explore with little ones.  There were amazing sand rock formations as well as seeing how the creek has shaped the boulders over hundreds of years.  My kids also love sand and the creek bed provided lots of soft sand for them to play with, better than a playground sand box!

Lunch, climbing boulders, throwing rocks, playing in the sand and maybe some napping in the dessert sun took place in that dry river bed.  There may or may not have been some "Flash Flood" survivor reenactment ala Bear Grylls down in the creek bed, just in cased it rained on us.  Having so much fun in the creek, we reluctantly packed up and started hiking up hill out of the canyon.

Up and Out of Canyon

Hiking up hill is always a little challenging with toddlers and we had about 0.5 miles left.  My kids can barrel down the mountain on a slight down hill, but throw in a little uphill with a tiny bit of warm temperature and they wilt!  It's rather irritating how long it takes to hike up hill, knowing that my son has the ability and energy to hike five miles...it's a mental block he has but then again he's only four.

We got to see the creek from a different perspective going up the trail and saw lots of birds hanging out in the canyon rocks across the creek.  We coaxed the kids with candy all the way back to the parking lot.  My son sprinted on the flat sections of the trail but then wilted then instant we hit an uphill section.

Taking an Uphill Break!

My only complaint about Punchbowl Loop Trail is the trash I saw thrown into the canyon near the parking lot.  If you start hiking near the Visitor Center (counter clockwise on the trail map) it's very clean until you start hiking up hill towards the parking lot.  So many cans, bottles, food wrappers...I always pick up trash on the trail but there was so much thrown into the canyon.  Seems like a place people come to hangout after hours to drink.

Trail Report Details

Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area - Trail: Punchbowl Loop

Mileage: 1-1.5 miles (extra to the creek bed)

Elevation Change: 343 ft (per

Strava

)

Time with Toddlers: 2 hours

Family Friendly: Yes - Check weather!

Devil's Punchbowl has lots of geological features, Native American history, as well as being very near by the San Andreas fault and other smaller faults.  It's a great small park to visit if you are in the Palmdale area!  For more information please visit their website at 

Devils-Punchbowl.com

or visit their

Facebook Page

.

This was our first time hiking in the desert! Where have you been desert hiking with your family?

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