Sequoia National Park

The trees here are so wide that a full-grown adult standing at the base can't see the top without leaning back until their neck aches. Most people who pass through Sequoia make a point of walking up to the General Sherman Tree — it's the kind of thing where you read the sign telling you how big it is and still don't quite believe it until you're standing right in front of it. A lot of folks also drive through the Tunnel Log, an actual fallen sequoia with a road cut right through the middle of it, which sounds gimmicky until you do it and realize it's just genuinely strange and worth the two-minute detour. For overnight stops, Lodgepole Campground is where most road-trippers end up, and camp cooking there after a long day of walking among the trees has a way of feeling exactly right. When people want a real meal, the Wuksachi Lodge Dining Room is the go-to — it's inside the park, the food is solid, and you don't have to drive back down the mountain afterward. If you're mapping out a California road trip and wondering whether Sequoia deserves more than a quick pass-through, the families who've done it tend to build in at least a full day once they actually get there.