Packsaddle Grove

Packsaddle Grove is a medium-sized sequoia grove on Giant Sequoia National Monument located in the South Creek of the Kern River watershed. It is a fairly wet grove as it straddles Packsaddle Creek and its tributaries.

Packsaddle Grove
Geography
Location	Tulare County, California, United States
Coordinates	35°55′26″N 118°35′34″W
Elevation	6,760 ft (2,060 m)
Ecology
Dominant tree species	Sequoiadendron giganteum

This compact grove offers a rare look at a truly old growth forest where California condors have lived, and may once again do. The main access to this grove is via dirt roads and cross-country hiking. The terrain is steep, so it's a difficult hike. You can only visit this grove in the summer when the roads are open. The main option for seeing the grove itself is to hike cross-country through it.

This grove was heavily impacted by the Windy Fire in 2021, with over a third of the grove burning at high severity.^[1]

Noteworthy trees

• Packsaddle Giant, which was killed in the Windy Fire. It had a volume of approx. 32,156 cubic feet (910.6 m³) and the fourth-largest ground perimeter of any sequoia at 107 feet (33 m), making it the largest giant sequoia south of Stagg.^[2]
• Candelabra Tree, with a volume of 26,341 cubic feet (745.9 m³), It has many large limbs that lead to a great crown of foliage.
• Ghost Tree (sometimes referred to as General Lee Tree, of which however exist several in different groves), a once much larger tree with a heavily broken top, but growing a new top shoot (leader). This tree has a volume of 25,047 cubic feet (709.3 m³). It was heavily damaged in the Windy Fire.^[2]

See also

• List of giant sequoia groves