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Tokopah Falls probably has the tallest cumulative drop of the known and accessible waterfalls in Sequoia National Park.
Said to drop some 1200ft at the head of Tokopah Valley, this cascade tumbles as it twists and turns its way down into the Marble Fork Kaweah River. Watching over the whole scene is the so-called Watchtower - a pointy rock formation across the river on Tokopah Valley, which you can start to see at roughly the 1/2-way point of the roughly 3.4-mile round trip trail all the way to its end at the falls.
This waterfall can dry up in late summer so it's best to come here during the peak of the spring thaw around late May. However, we were here on Memorial Day Weekend in 2005 (when California received record precipitation) and snow still lingered here. It is also possible to look down upon this impressive cascade on a different, more strenuous trail to the Watchtower, which leaves from Wolverton. But that latter option was something we haven't tried so we can't say more on that.
Assuming you've found the correct trailhead (see directions below), the trail pretty much follows the Marble Fork Kaweah River the whole way to Tokopah Falls. Most of the fairly benign elevation gain occurs towards the end of the hike where the trail becomes rockier. But throughout most of the hike, it's mostly flat and is always within earshot of the river (which can be raging in the Spring). You'll start to see the Watchtower across the river around the half-way point of the hike, and as you continue on, you'll see it in various shapes as your view angle changes.
Eventually, after ducking and going around boulders near the end of the trail, you'll be right at the official end of the trail where you can get a pretty clean view of the closest drop of the long cascade. But you get more fuller views of the falls on the approach from the bouldery part of the hike.
Once at the falls, you can also look downstream towards the rugged Tokopah Valley while also looking at the pointy Watchtower. Depending on the time of year, you might also spot a surprise ephemeral waterfall coming down a slope near the base of the Watchtower. There might also be other ephemeral waterfalls closer to the Tokopah Falls due to the snowmelt.
Directions: To get to the trailhead, you first have to get to the Lodgepole Campground turnoff, which sits right at the heart of the vehicle-accessible part of Sequoia National Park (about 75-90 minutes from Three Rivers at the south entrance of the park). Turn into the campground and its large car park and drive about 3/4-mile to the Log Bridge part of Lodgepole Camp. There's a bridge traversing the Marble Fork Kaweah River here, and the trail starts immediately to the right just after crossing the bridge and follows the creek.
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Correction on Tokopah Falls
The article about Tokopah Falls is incorrect. Tokopah is not on the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River as stated in the article. Instead, Tokopah Falls ...
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