Tokopah Falls — Attraction in Exeter

A breathtaking & underrated hike, mostly shaded except the last 10 to 15 mins.

This gem is inside the Sequoia National park and of course General Sherman and Grant deserve all the attention. However this is one trail that not too difficult and shouldn't be missed.

It's a moderately difficult trail, but can be done if you pace and take breaks often. It naturally follows the river and hence you weave in and out of meadows and forests. The last 15 mins are exposed and rocky. The start of the trail is near a campground. I presume you could drive and park across the start of the trail, however I parked at Lodgepole visitor center, another 15 min walk away with better access to water, food and rest rooms. The entire hike would roughly take about 2 hours plus time you spend at the falls

PRO TIP

Plan to start hiking about hour and half or so to sunset, the entire hike is spectacular and you will be treated some magnificent lighting and views all along the way. Carry enough water. There are water filling stations at Lodgepole visitor center. Stay on trails - Appears everyone would follow it, but surprising the extremes people would go for a picture. No pic is worth your limb or life and off trails are often places of re-vegetation by NPS. Respect nature and the efforts...

This was one of my favorite things I did while on my vacation at Sequoia national park. The trail like every other i hiked was well kept. We went first thing in the morning cause I wanted to avoid big crowds and I'm so glad we did. Parking is limited if you want to park closest to the head trail. It was a moderate hike and it took us more than an hour to get to the falls but that will depend on your pace. The last 10 min of the trail it's rocky but doable. There are amazing views the whole way and pictures won't do them justice but take as many as you can. We encountered deers and a bear even follow us in a part of the trail...that was scary but a cool story now. The fall itself it's beautiful but dangerous so I wouldn't encourage to get as close as some people were when we visited. Take plenty of water and wear...

Hiked the morning of 5/25: went in with multiple jackets and were soon taking them off. The waterfall and river were beautiful. Bring sunscreen! This is the only place on our trip I really needed more sunscreen than I normally put on. Trail was snowy in parts and slick. A few points where the trail wasn’t super clear, usually when having to pass over the creeks. Downed tree over the path in one point that was a bit high to climb over for shorter people. Watch out for the marmots near the waterfall, they’re very bold and I can totally believe they regularly raid people’s bags. Definitely seemed like bear country but the biggest thing we saw was the marmots. If you park near the trailhead expect to put any food or scented items in a communal bear box. No one touched our stuff that we stowed in...