Tulare County

Understand

Tulare County was established in 1852, and named after the now-dry Tulare Lake, which at the time was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi; the site of the former lake today lies in neighboring Kings County, which was created in 1893 from the western portion of Tulare County.

The county's economy is dominated by agriculture, particularly the dairy industry which accounts for over $1 billion annually. Because of its position as one of the leading agricultural counties in the country, the World Ag Expo, the largest outdoor agricultural exposition, has been held annually in Tulare and attracts more than 100,000 attendees.

Cities

• Dinuba
• Exeter
• Pixley
• Porterville
• Three Rivers
• Tulare
• Visalia

Other destinations

• Sequoia National Park - Established in 1890, this national park is home to numerous groves of giant sequoia trees, including the largest tree on earth - the General Sherman tree. In addition to its awe-inspiring trees, the park features a vertical relief of nearly 13,000 feet, providing incredible hiking and backpacking opportunities in the remote wilderness at the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
• Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park - Preserves a farming community that is the only California place founded by African-Americans.

Get in

The primary north-south route through the county is California State Route 99, which traverses the eastern side of the Central Valley from just north of the Grapevine up to Sacramento before ending in the northern part of the state near Red Bluff.

Go next

• - Tulare County's eastern neighbor is a land of extremes, covering a massive 10,000 square mile expanse of the Eastern Sierra and California Desert. Inyo County is home to Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous states, as well as Death Valley National Park, the largest national park in the contiguous states and host to Earth's hottest temperatures and the continent's lowest elevation. Ancient bristlecone pine trees can be found within the White Mountains, the oldest of which is estimated to be around 5,000 years old.
• - Bordering Tulare County to the south, Kern County extends across a number of geographic regions: the western portion is in the San Joaquin Valley, the northeastern portion is in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and the southeastern part is in the desert. Visitors to the county are most likely to be heading to Bakersfield, one of California's largest cities, or traveling along Interstate 5 past oil fields and agricultural areas.
• - Located west of Tulare County, rural Kings County is responsible for billions of dollars of annual agricultural production, much of it from the dairy industry. Travelers passing through on Interstate 5 may find the area lacking in attractions, although there are a few hotels and other amenities in the county's small towns.
• - Tulare County's neighbor to the north, sprawling Fresno County is home to Fresno, California's fifth-largest city, and vast agricultural areas. The eastern side of the county is mountainous, featuring the remote wilderness of Kings Canyon National Park, which attracts visitors to its giant sequoias and unspoiled meadows that lie at the crest of the Sierra Nevada range.