Cheryl Strayed wrote in her book wild from lost to found on the Pacific Coast
trail. "It had nothing to do with gear or Footwear or the backpacking fads or
philosophies of any particular era, even with getting from point A to point B. It
had to do with how it felt to be in the wild, with what it was like to walk four
miles with no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and
meadows, mountains, and deserts, streams, and rocks, rivers and grasses, sunrises
and sunsets. The experience was powerful and fundamental. It seemed to me that it
had always felt like this to be human in the wild, and as long as the wild existed
it will always feel this way.." Have you ever heard of Kings Canyon National Park
in California? Well this very famous Pacific Crest Trail made famous by the
book "Wild" goes through it and Kings Canyon is spectacular. Often overshadowed
by its more famous neighbor Sequoia National Park and nearby Yosemite, Kings
Canyon National Park is often overlooked by visitors when in this area of
California. In this video we'll share our visit to the incredible Kings Canyon
National Park in central California. Welcome to hipfig, if you're a travel
enthusiast then join our community by subscribing to this channel. This is the
beautiful America travel guide series for visitors to u.s. national parks,
monuments, and natural reserves. This episode is the Kings Canyon National
Park in California travel guide for new visitors. Kings Canyon National Park is
located along California Highway 180 and generals highway also known as
California Highway 198 in central California. It's adjacent and north of
Sequoia National Park and south of Yosemite National Park. We flew from
Seattle to Fresno California with the airport code FAT
and rented a car. For more information on Fresno Yosemite International Airport
Yosemite and Sequoia national parks check out hipfig's video on our website or
youtube channel. We drove from Fresno on a beautiful sunny day in summer to Kings
Canyon national parks entrance at big stump along Highway 180. From Fresno Kings
Canyon park is about 60 miles and took us an
hour and a half which includes a short bathroom break. We took California
Highway 99 south and then exited at exit 133b on to California 180 East which
led us to the big step entrance of King Canyon National Park. If you are coming
from Sequoia National Park, take California Highway 198 East also known
as generals Highway to California 180 East to Kings Canyon visitor center. FYI
highway 198 goes through Sequoia National Park and ends when it meets
highway 180. If you're coming from your Yosemite national park from the southern
entrance at Wawona on Highway 41 Kings Canyon National Park is about 130 miles
and will take about three hours. Set your GPS to the big stump entrance of Kings
Canyon National Park. From San Francisco Kings Canyon National Park is 250 miles
and will take about five hours. Again set your GPS to the big stump entrance of
Kings Canyon National Park. In the valley driving up there were miles of farmland
with vineyards and fruit trees as well as cattle grazing in the open fields. For
your information as you go up the hill the road becomes narrower and windy so
please follow the posted speeds and enjoy the beautiful terrain as you drive
through the change of scenery from valley to alpine terrain. Once we got to
the big stump entrance of Kings Canyon there was a long line waiting to get in
the fee for Kings Canyon National Park is $35 per vehicle including all the
passengers, and individual entry is $20 for a single person traveling on foot or
by bike. The pass is valid for seven days in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National
Parks and Hume lake district of Sequoia National Forest giant Sequoia National
Monument. We have a National Park annual pass so we went through the express
booth on the left side to save time in line. You can purchase this pass and
others in advance at www.yourpassnow.com If you need to purchase a pass you can
pay by cash or credit card at the booth on the right. Once we got to the booth we
were greeted by the park ranger and given a map of the park. By the way if
you have kids and want to do the Junior Ranger program ask the Ranger if they
have the Junior Ranger book to get your kids started. Kings Canyon National Park
is similar terrain to Sequoia National Park in Yosemite Valley and it also
features the deepest Canyon in the United States at over a mile and a half
deep. In this Kings Canyon National Park in California you can not only see deep
valleys but mountainous trees and distinctive rock formations and caves
Kings Canyon has two distinct areas Grant Grove and Cedar Grove
the most popular area is grant grove and village this is where you'll find Kings
Canyon visitor center, accommodations market, restaurant, and the famous General
Grant tree. We drove to Grant Grove first as its closest from the big stump
entrance. The visitor center and Grant grove village is located three miles
east of big stump entrance. It was pretty busy but we got lucky and found a
parking spot. We started at the Kings Canyon visitor center in Grant Grove
Village. The Kings Canyon visitor centers opened daily around January 1st to
mid-march from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. from mid-march until mid-may from 9:00
a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from mid-may to Labor Day from 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and from
October 15th through December 31st from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
once we got to grant village we saw the John Muir Lodge there's also the Grant
Grove cabins which is less expensive and more basic accommodations. If you need to
eat or drink something there is the Grant Grove restaurant or the Grant
Grove market which we're very busy when we arrived. There's also an ATM and
a post office in this area. Once we entered the Kings Canyon visitor center, we talk
to the Rangers and learn more about various trails, the High Sierras, and the
Giant Sequoias through its displays and small movie area in the middle of the
center. There is an attached shop selling books maps and gifts. By the way the
Grand Grove Market is good for groceries, beer and wine, and camping
basics and the Grant Grove gift shop sells clothes, native-american arts, and
crafts and other local souvenirs. Just down highway 180 is the general grant
tree in Grant Grove in Kings Canyon National Park. From Grant Grove village
we made a right on highway 180. We drove about a mile and made a left towards the
Grant Grove area. Signs are posted along Highway 180
the General Grant tree is the second-largest tree in the world
standing 267 feet tall and nearly 29 feet wide at the base. The General Grant
tree is 3,000 years old and it is the second largest sequoia tree in the world
when we arrived in the parking lot of Grant Grove it was very full and busy
but people were always leaving so be patient and wait around for a parking
spot to open up. From the parking lot of Grant Grove there is a 1/3 mile paved
loop trail which leads to the General Grant tree we decided to go right on the
trail along this loop trail there are various giant trees as well as the
Fallen monarch and the Centennial stump
it's pretty amazing to walk around these giant sequoias trees just absolutely
beautiful and so so tall I especially enjoyed walking through the 300 plus
year old fallen monarch redwood tree aka the dead monarch which gives a sense of
how huge these trees actually are. By the way did you know that it was used as a
hotel and saloon as well as a stable back in the day? Make sure that you make
some time to go through this tree, it is absolutely amazing. We finally ended at
the trail at the General Grant tree the General Grant tree measures 270 feet
tall and 170 feet around its base then the tree was named in 1867 for ulysses s
grant and was coined the nation's Christmas tree by President Calvin
Coolidge
we continue through the trail and we passed the historic gamblin cabin built
in 1872 by the gamblin brothers. The gamblin Brothers cabin was repurposed
later as the first park ranger station when Kings Canyon became a national park
it's good for a quick look at life in the late 1800s.. Other trials you might be
interested in this area are the North groove loop which is a 1.5 mile trail
which goes past meadows and creeks, the Buena Vista peak which is a 2 mile round
trip hike up to Granite Peak or the redwood Canyon which is 2 miles down a
rough dirt road which leads into the largest of all the Sequoia groves. After
our leisurely hike we drove back and made a left on highway 180 toward Cedar
Grove passing through the overlook area (you'll see a typo next in this video it
should say overlook) the overlook area of Kings Canyon National Park eventually
leads to Cedar Grove in the valley. We continued on to Kings Canyon Scenic
Byway aka California Highway 180. As you drive down the overlook area there are
many pull outs on the road to see the North dome and Grand Sentinel rock
formations as well as the Sierra Nevada mountains. Highway 180 goes down 35 miles
east of Grant Grove and ends at Cedar Grove and at Cedar Grove you'll see
towering cliffs, massive trees, cascading waterfalls, the powerful Kings River in
Kings Canyon which inspired the parks name. The road into Cedar grows open
until noon on November 12th until November 12th. Wilderness permits can
only be obtained from the roads and permits stationed at the end of highway
180. Outside of the quota season permits are self issued and are located in a
drop box just outside of the station. Please be advised the road to the
canyon floor is windy and narrow please drive the posted speed and make
sure to use the downshift gear in your car when going down this stretch of highway
please put your gear shift in one, two, or low (L). The engine may make it louder but
it'll slow you down and it'll save your brakes from burning out
remember that frequent brake and can overheat brakes causing them to fail. If
you'd like to stop to view the scenery please pull into a paved turnout area
hot brakes and mufflers can start fires in dry grass. Remember that wildlife
always have the right-of-way in national parks and often their appearance to
visitors are a surprise encounter. Please drive slowly and cautiously and use
paved turnouts to view wildlife. The Cedar Grove area is one of the less
visited areas of Kings Canyon National Park. The drive down will take about an
hour or more depending on the number of stops. Cedar Grove is the deepest Canyon
in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Make sure to pack a picnic lunch, water,
bathing suit, sunscreen, and hiking shoes when visiting this area. Our first stop
was near picnic area along Kings River. We really enjoy picnicking along this
roaring River area. A few feet from this picnic area is the Boyden caverns for
additional fee of sixteen dollars, you can tour the caves. Please make sure you
are physically fit to take this tour. The walk up to the caverns is a very steep
walk that takes most people about 5 to 10 minutes. Once you're inside the cave
you'll need to duck, stoop, walk on loose rocks, walk up and down stairs and slopes
and navigate slippery areas. The tour will go about 750 feet into the cave
tours run at the top of each hour and runs 40 to 60 minutes roundtrip. You can
purchase tickets online or at the ticket booth inside the gift shop. We didn't go
on this cave tour as we had gone one on the Crystal Cave tour in Sequoia
National Park and wanted to explore the Cedar Grove valley with the time we had
the drive to Cedar Grove area is quite lovely as it goes along Kings River. We
stopped at grizzly Falls. There's a small parking lot and restrooms for this trail
you can access the base of this 80-foot grizzly waterfall via short and easy
.1 mile round-trip trail. Once we parked we walked up past the grizzly
Falls picnic area and on a dirt path we walked to the waterfall. We walked up to
the base and watched the waterfall crash on the granite rocks as we felt the
power when we got wet from the Mist. The amount of water depends on the time of
year and the amount of snow. Since we were there in summer the water was still
flowing. When we visited many people were playing at the base of the falls. We
lingered here for a while soaking up the Sun and playing in the water and when we
had our fill, we returned to our car. We continued on California Highway 180
to make our way to the Cedar Grove visitor center which is open in summer
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.. The visitors center generally closes after Labor Day
weekend. Cedar Grove is located at the bottom of Kings Canyon 30 miles east of
Grant Grove. It's next to sentinental campground
the Cedar Grove area in Kings Canyon National Park reminds me a lot of
Yosemite Valley but with a lot less people. The Cedar Grove area is King
canyons Valley which has a small visitor center, many campgrounds, and lots of
hiking trails. We wanted to drive to the end of highway 180 first. A popular trail
here is Zumwalt Meadow which is a 1.5 mile scenic trail which has views of the
granite walls, green meadows, and free-flowing Kings River. The trail is
flat and the meadow is lush especially in late spring and early summer. Parking for
Kings canyons Zumwalt meadow is available four miles east of Cedar Grove
Village turnoff
after zumwalt meadow, we drove to the end of highway 180 which leads to the
wilderness trails. highway 180 loops around at the end back to the road
towards Grant Grove. there are multiple parking lots here to park your car to go
on wilderness trails On the way back we drove to the Cedar Grove visitor center
when we reach the Cedar Grove visitor center and village we parked in the
parking lot. There was ample parking. The visitor center was small and in a cabin
the park ranger was friendly and helped us determine trails and gave us some
information about the area. In this area you can find the Don Cecil trailhead
which is a moderate trail that climbs the north-facing slope of the canyon
this historic trail was the major access route to Cedar Grove prior to the
completion of highway 180 in 1939. You can climb up a ravine for amazing view
of the monarch Divide if you go up one one further there's the
Glen with small waterfalls called the Sheep Creek cascade. For other trails in
this area including parts of the Pacific Crest Trail check at the
visitor center or the Mineral King ranger station which is open from May
24th to September 23rd 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Kings Canyon National Park is highly
recommended and will require at least one whole day or more depending on your
interest. happy travels! Go to hipfig.com for more information or go to our
hipfig travel channel on YouTube and be sure to subscribe for regular updates