There are a number of Douglas firs, some of them formidable in size, the Douglas fir and the redwood being the only two conifers occurring in the park in numbers. In Fern Canyon a Douglas fir 8 feet in diameter has been dedicated to the memory of Mr. Kent. Oxalis thrives, a green carpet, about the base of the redwood, pale-pink blossoms adding a bit of color to the spring greenery. Gigantic ferns of several varieties and a thick growth of huckleberry transform the canyon walls and the banks of Sequoia Creek. Sweet vernal, or vanilla grass, adds to the fragrance of the trails, especially in the spring and early summer months.
Animal life is plentiful, also.
Deer wander freely into the canyon from the upper slopes at dusk and at dawn. They are very tame. Raccoons and wildcats are abundant, and the long blue-gray Douglas squirrels scamper everywhere gathering their winter stores of bay and hazel nuts. The chatter of blue jays echoes up and down the canyon, their scoldings seldom silenced except at night, and the tiny hummingbird also is found here. There is a singular absence of other birds.