| Height: | 223.80+ ft | (68.21+ m) | Elevation: | 6,908 ft (2,106 m) | GPS Latitude: | 36.56771 |
| Volume: | 43,440 ft3 | (1,230 m3) | Creek: | Little Deer Creek | GPS Longitude: | -118.75865 |
| Width: | 24.35 ft | (7.42 m) | Grove: | Giant Forest | Discovery Date: | 1948 |
| Age: | Park: | Sequoia NP | Discovered By: | Wendell D. Flint |
Notes: Franklin, also known as Near Washington (Franklin is 630 ft (192 m) southeast of Washington), is the world's 8th largest tree, the 7th largest giant redwood, the 4th largest tree in Sequoia National Park, and the 4th largest tree in Giant Forest. Naturalist Wendell D. Flint named the tree to honor Benjamin Franklin, a Founding Father of the United States.
Drive: Franklin is 218 mi (351 km) southeast of San Francisco near Fresno.
Northbound: From U.S. Interstate 5 North, transfer to California State Route 99 North toward Bakersfield. Drive north 97 mi (156 km) on California State Route 99 and transfer to California State Route 198 East toward Visalia. Drive east 58 mi (93 km) on California State Route 198 (Generals Highway), past Four Guardsmen, and turn left into the Pinewood Picnic Area parking lot.
Southbound: From U.S. Interstate 5 South in Sacramento, transfer to U.S. Highway 50 East toward South Lake Tahoe. Drive east 1.7 mi (2.7 km) on U.S. Highway 50 and transfer to California State Highway 99 South. Near Fresno, transfer to California State Route 180 East. Drive east 56 mi (90 km) on California State Route 180, and turn right onto California State Route 198 West. Drive south 28 mi (45 km) on California State Route 198 (Generals Highway) and turn right into the Pinewood Picnic Area parking lot.
Hike: From the parking lot, walk south across California State Route 198 (Generals Highway) to an
unpaved road marked Authorized Vehicles Only
. Hike south/uphill 0.2 mi (0.3 km) on the unpaved road to the
junction with Rimrock Trail. Turn left and hike east 0.7 mi (1.1 km) on Rimrock Trail to
Lincoln near the junction with Alta Trail. Turn right and hike southwest 0.3 mi (0.5 km) on
Alta Trail, past the junction to Bears Bathtub, to the junction with Washington Tree Trail.
Turn left and hike southeast 0.2 mi (0.3 km) on Washington Tree Trail, past an
unnamed spur trail to Washington, to
Franklin which stands beside the trail on your right.
| Rating: | Easy | One-Way Distance: | 1.4 mi | (2.3 km) | Ascent: | 742 ft | (226 m) |
| Time: | 40 min | Off-Trail: | 0 ft | (0 m) | Descent: | 413 ft | (126 m) |
View Franklin Tree location in Google Maps
Panoramas: Click panoramas to take a virtual tour of Franklin Tree
Photos: Pictures of Franklin Tree taken from different sides
