Redwoods vs Sequoias: Which Trees Are Worth Seeing More?

In this article I’m going to discuss everything you need to know between Redwoods vs Sequoias including how they differ in sizes (with photo comparisons), where to find them and where it’s better for you to spend your time checking them out.

The bottom line though is that you should ideally visit the 2 major places that have these trees and they are Sequoia NP and the Redwoods National And State Parks. Both are located in California (I’ll show you a map shortly) but visiting both of them on a single trip might be tough for most people so I’ll be providing you with all the info you need to decide which area is better for you to spend time in.

How to choose between seeing Redwoods or Sequioas:

It’s all based on the following criteria:

• Which region of California you start in (coastal = Redwoods, central/eastern = Sequioas)
• How much time you have (you can technically see both if you have 5 or more days available)

Let me give you a simple example:

If you wish to see the Redwood trees: Do it if you’re visiting cities like San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland or Sacramento and doing a Pacific Northwest road trip there, or looking for awesome hiking trails in the northern California coast, because that’s where you’ll find most of the Redwood trees.

Do note that there are also several locations for where you’ll see the Redwoods and it’s not just in Northern California, but also Oregon and Washington State. So you have a lot of different areas and regions to check them out in, but they are most common to find in Northern California.

If you wish to see Sequoia National Park: Do it if you’re visiting areas like LA, San Diego or even Las Vegas as it’s a few hours away from those cities and you can also check out other areas in the region such as the southern coast of California and even head east towards Nevada and check out places like Death Valley National Park and Kings Canyon NP. I would also like to add that all of these places are some of the best national parks on the west coast I recommend seeing (and more).

How to see both Sequioas and Redwoods on a single road trip:

Road trip idea 1:

• Start in San Francisco.
• See the Redwood trees there (Muir Woods).
• Work your way east to Sequoia National Park.
• Finish by working your way back to San Francisco.

Road trip idea 2:

• Start in Las Vegas or Los Angeles.
• Work your way north east to Sequoia National Park.
• Turn north west and finish in San Francisco.

Map of Redwoods and Sequoias:

How long is the drive from Redwood National Park to Sequoia National Park?

At least 5 hours and if you’re going to do a road trip covering both these areas, 3-4 days would be enough to explore both parks. Before we continue, let’s get one very common question about this topic out of the way:

Are Sequoias Redwoods?

The answer is technically yes (source) as they belong to the same parent species of Sequioas, but in terms of how they look, that’s actually quite different. I used to wonder this too and learned that from a scientific classification they are similar, but not looks and it wasn’t until I saw both trees in person that I was able to see how completely different they were both in size, height and the locations of where they are located in California as well as their color (Redwoods are darker, while Sequioas are more light brown).

I’ll explain more about this later on below but as you see the comparison pictures, it’ll become obvious. In fact, here is the first of many comparison photos from my personal road trips exploring these amazing trees (and the tree size comparison to a car):

My experiences seeing both trees:

The 2 major places I saw both these trees were in Redwoods National And State Parks and Sequioa National Park so I want to give you my take on the Sequoia National Park vs Redwood National Park topic in this section of the article:

Both of these parks are stunning so seeing both is mandatory in my opinion so you can decide which you like better. But for me, the first time I saw the Redwood trees, I was stunned as I had never seen such large trees in my life. So that first impression stayed with me for a long time.

A few years later I was able to see the Sequioa trees in their national park and that honestly took my breath away too. I didn’t think that I would have such an incredible time seeing Sequoias but their color and gargantuan sizes also took me by surprise. Not only that but the surrounding area of Sequoia National Park is also a huge treat to check out. 

Overall I can’t wait to see both these parks again and there really isn’t any preference. However there are notable differences in experiences when you visit both and I’ll point them out below to help you decide which is worth visiting more.

Comparison photos:

When Sequoia National Park is better to visit: 

(1) Sequoia trees are actually wider in many cases than Redwood trees: You also have one of the largest and longest living trees there too. There’s a famous one that is on the road with a hole cut out in it that you can drive through.

(2) Any area where you’ll find Sequoia trees are gorgeous: After personally seeing Sequoia National Park (and places like Kings Canyon where you can also find them), I was amazed at how beautiful Sequoia trees were. I not only got to see the national park in it’s entirety, but also saw the 2 biggest trees there:

• General Sherman.
• General Grant.

These are 2 of the biggest Sequoia trees in the park and possibly the world, and they are bigger than any Redwood trees too. On top of that, I also visited this park during mid autumn and it was snowing too, adding even more colors and beauty to the area.

(3) Yosemite National Park and other awesome national parks are “somewhat” close by. You have several national parks and other places to see if you visit Sequoia National Park and they include:

• Kings Canyon National Park (Its connected to Sequoia National Park)
• Joshua Tree
• Death Valley National Park
• Pinnacles National Park
• Yosemite National Park. That one is about 3 hours away
• There’s also Sequoia National Forest (not the same as the NP)

(4) The Sequoia National park scenic drive is slightly better than any scenic drive in the Redwoods I did: While I loved driving through the Redwood regions of California and rate that as a 4.8 out of 5, Sequoia National Park is a 5 out of 5 and that’s because there is more than just a scenic drive that lets you see these trees. There’s also a very long serpentine scenic drive on the southern end of the National Park which is stunning to explore, so there’s more variety to see in the scenic drive regard.

(5) Other mountain regions nearby so there’s a lot of other scenic views: This is all close to the Sierra Nevada mountains region and that is honestly one of the major reasons why Sequoia might be a better choice for you since this area is stunning.

When the Redwoods win:

(1) There’s many more towns to stop at when you’re exploring the Redwoods vs Sequoia: Most people who want to see the Redwoods will typically Route 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) and run into Redwoods as it is, but along the way there will be many more towns, hotels and places to see. With Sequoia Trees, you will have to drive a lot longer through more remote areas and when you’re in the park itself, there will be visitor centers and tourist attractions, but no major towns until you exit the park.

(2) Many Redwood trees are taller than  Sequoias: And I did have to stop several times because of how stunning huge they were. Being there really made me feel satisfied, as though I didn’t need to see Sequoia and I would guess anyone who visited the other park might think the same thing about the Redwoods. But if you do visit both, do tell me which one you preferred! Kayaking is also something you can do in this place.

(3) Redwood trees are much more accessible in general and it’s easier to see them year round vs Sequoia trees:

Sequoia National Park has limits on when you can visit it and even when it’s open, it’s usually very crowded. Redwood areas on the other hand are often more spaced out so there’s far less crowds around them depending on which ones you visit, plus checking them out in the winter is also possible.

(4) Most of the Redwoods are close to the Pacific Ocean and there’s also plenty of cool spots near those coastal areas: Here’s some of those spots:

• Glass Beach California.
• Fern Canyon trail.
• Natural Bridges Oregon.
• Secret Beach Oregon.
• Oregon Coast.
• Muir Woods (close to San Francisco)

(5) Again, there’s many more areas in California where you’ll find Redwoods (they’re more frequent than Sequoias): The more times I came back to explore the Pacific Coast Highway, the more I continued to find more and more places throughout the northern California coast area where Redwood Parks would just keep showing up on the way. With Sequoia NP, I had to rely on a much more out of the way drive to find them and even in the NP itself, I wouldn’t see of those trees as I would the Redwoods.

Similarities:

1. Obviously they are both gigantic trees.
2. Both areas in which they are in are beautiful.
3. Both have very scenic roads that are awesome to drive through.
4. Both areas with Sequoia and Redwood trees have several spots where you can drive your car inside one of the big trees there and here’s another comparison photo of that:

Now I also found a good Redwoods vs Sequoia thread on this subject where others who have been to both places explain their picks. But like I said, visiting both places would be idea. Additionally, there are 1 thing I wish I did when I was there (the Redwoods):

The Tree Walk attraction there. However, I know most people have to plan beforehand, so depending on your starting location:

• If you’re closer to the northern California coast (road 1), go with the Redwoods.
• If you’re at the south west coast and heading east, go to Sequoia. 

And of course, know that this tree walk spot isn’t the only place worth visiting and have plenty of other nature attractions nearby you can make a road trip out of.

Common questions:

What is better Sequoia or Redwood National Park?

Both parks are incredible and depending on which area of California you’re in determines which park to visit. If you are in southern California, Sequoia is the winner. If it’s northern California, then see the Redwoods.

Does Sequoia National Park have Redwoods?

No, there are different types of giant trees in Sequoia than in the Redwoods.

How far is Sequoia National Park from the Redwoods?

About 5 hours. If you start at Sequoia National Park and drive north west, the closest Redwood Park (Muir Woods) is north of San Francisco.

Where is the best place to see giant Redwoods?

Redwood trees can be found north of San Francisco all the way to South Oregon. The most popular areas to find them are the Muir Woods and Redwood National and State Park closer to the Oregon border.

Is a Sequoia and a redwood the same thing?

The only similarity is that they are both gigantic trees, but there are major differences. Sequoia trees are wider while Redwood trees are skinnier, though taller.

My final opinion:

Like I said in the beginning, you should absolutely visit both areas, and not just to compare the trees yourself and decide which are better, but also because each region has so much more to offer. With Sequoia, it’s the scenic drive and other national parks to explore nearby. With the Redwoods, it’s the coastal area of northern California which offers so much more.

I would gladly keep revisiting both regions of California and I intend to every time I visit California. But in the meantime which do you prefer? If you’ve been able to see both of these amazing trees, I’d love to know your thoughts on which park, region, and trees are better and why. Let me know below!