Visiting Kings Canyon National Park
We share some of our recommendations for this great place in California.
If I’m being honest, Kings Canyon wasn’t even a park I was familiar with, and I couldn’t have even told you it existed before I started researching places to see in California. As I planned our big road trip through the state, I was looking at the map to see what was worth seeing and came across this park. Since we’re all about seeing National Parks, I knew this needed to be added to the agenda.
Kings Canyon National Park is connected to Sequoia National Park and sits directly north of it. Both parks lie in the Sierra Nevada, east of Fresno, California. Interestingly, much of the scenic drive through Kings Canyon lies within the Giant Sequoia National Monument, not within Kings Canyon National Park. So if you’re visiting this area, you’ll not only be able to check Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks off your list, but you’ll also get a National Monument checked off as well.
Depending on what you like to do while visiting a park, this is definitely a park you can see in a day if you’re just looking to check it out and take in some amazing views. We spent just one day seeing it, and here are the things I recommend checking out.
Official Sign
We always love to take a pic at the official park sign, but unfortunately, we never found one for Kings Canyon. I don’t know if we just missed it or if there isn’t one. I’m assuming we missed it, but I have no idea where it could have been if there is one.
We found a sign for the Giant Sequoia National Monument as we headed toward the Kings Canyon Big Stump entrance. It was along a narrow highway and a ways beyond the pull-off area, and I didn’t want to walk that close to the road, so we opted to take our pic from a distance. haha!
Big Stump of the Mark Twain Tree
Had I done a little more research about this area before we went, I probably would have seen that there is a stop near this entrance for Big Stump, but I never saw that while we were there, unfortunately, so we didn’t see that. But it sounds like it’s a pretty cool thing so I would add that to your agenda.
King Canyon Visitor Center
I always enjoy visiting all the visitor centers in a park because they’re different, with a variety of things to learn about. This one was nice, with lots of displays where you could learn all about the trees and the area's landscape. And of course, you can get your NP passport book stamped and grab some souvenirs if you’d like!
General Grant Tree Trail
This is a beautiful area! When we got to this area, we walked the trail to see the General Grant tree. This tree is the 3rd largest tree in the world by volume! It’s impossible to capture in a picture how amazing these trees truly are. The perspective just isn’t there with a photo. But the trees on this trail are just incredible.
One in particular is one that is a fallen tree. It’s so large that you can walk through the inside of it with plenty of space. It’s a pretty cool feature along this trail because you can enter from either end of the tree and walk through the whole thing, going right through the middle of the whole trail loop.
Once we finished walking this trail, we decided to pull out our cooler and have a little picnic lunch on the back of our truck overlooking a little valley. It was such a peaceful area and it was nice to sit and listen to the sounds of nature.
Panoramic Point Overlook
This overlook is accessible by road if the road is open. Unfortunately, it was not the day we were there, but I would definitely include this on your route if it’s available.
Highway 180 — scenic drive through the canyon
As I mentioned before, this part of the park is actually part of Giant Sequoia National Monument until you’re almost to the Cedar Grove Visitor Center. This road was open to Grizzly Falls that day, so that was as far as we could go, and then we turned around to head back.
There are several pull-off areas, viewpoints, and overlooks along this route. They all offer amazing views of the area. You can see things like the canyon, waterfalls, the Kings River, and, of course, beautiful mountain views.
I will warn you, some sections of the road are a little scary! haha! You’re driving along the edge of the mountain, and the canyon is a steep drop off the side of the road, so be prepared for that! Thankfully, the majority of it isn’t like that, and it’s just a nice, scenic drive.
Hume Lake
Once we came back through the canyon after reaching Grizzly Falls, we took the turnoff for Hume Lake to take that drive down to the south to meet up with Generals Highway. We discovered even more beautiful areas down this road and this is definitely a route I’d recommend.
Hume is pretty amazing. Not only is it a beautiful lake area, but it also has a huge campground and a little town with shops and other essentials to take care of your basic necessities. There are plenty of outdoor activities to enjoy, so you could easily spend several days in Hume and still have plenty to do.
Generals Highway Overlooks
Our last stops on our adventure through Kings Canyon National Park were Redwood Mountain Overlook and Kings Canyon Overlook — both of which are on the Generals Highway east of the Big Stump entrance. Both of these overlooks offer gorgeous views, and it’s a nice way to wrap up the day.
We loved this area, with some amazing views, so it’s definitely worth a visit. If you have more time and can venture off the road to hike, maybe explore Boyden Cavern (extra cost), or camp at any of the many campgrounds. This could be a place you easily spend much more time. But if you’re like us and you just want to take a day to drive through and see the highlights, this will help you do just that.