Kings Canyon National Park

Kings Canyon National Park - originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, it was greatly expanded and renamed to Kings Canyon National Park on March 4, 1940.  Its namesake, Kings Canyon, is a rugged glacier-carved valley more than a mile deep; the park also includes multiple 14,000-foot peaks, high mountain meadows, swift-flowing rivers, and some of the world's largest stands of giant sequoia trees. Tourist facilities are concentrated in two areas: Grant Grove, home to General Grant (the second largest tree in the world, measured by trunk volume) and Cedar Grove/Kanawyers, located in the heart of Kings Canyon.

The park is retained as a more natural environment restricted to simpler recreation such as hiking and camping.  It has only limited services and lodgings despite its size.  Due to this and the lack of road access to most of the park, Kings Canyon remains the least visited of the major Sierra parks, with just over 600,000 visitors in 2016 compared to 1.2 million visitors at Sequoia and over 5 million at Yosemite.

Depending on the amount of time you have, decide whether you will visit Grant Grove or Cedar Grove.

GRANT GROVE

At Grant Grove, near the Kings Canyon entrance, you'll want ample time to see the General Grant Tree. The General Grant is the second-largest tree on Earth. From the parking area, take a gently graded 0.3-mile, self-guiding trail that passes by other impressive giant sequoias, historic Gamlin Cabin and Fallen Monarch Tree, in which the cavalry guarding the park in the 1890s stabled their horses. At 268.1 feet tall and 107.5 feet around, it was discovered by Joseph Hardin Thomas in 1862 and named by Lucretia P. Baker in 1867 to honor Ulysses S. Grant. While still a youngster at 1,800 to 2,000 years old, the beautiful behemoth is the star attraction of a grove of 2,000 to 3,000-year-old sequoias. The General Grant tree is called "The Nation's Christmas Tree," and the town of Sanger, California, hosts a special Yuletide celebration under its snow-laden branches every year.

PANORAMIC POINT
At Grant Grove Village, you can take a steep and narrow 2.5-mile road that snakes east to Panoramic Point. From the parking area, take the 0.25-mile trail to the 7,520-foot ridge. The view is a magnificent stretch of the High Sierra. You can see Hume Lake in Sequoia National Forest and, just beyond a low ridge behind the lake,

CEDAR GROVE

If you decide to visit Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon, you will be treated to a lush place of tumbling waterfalls, meadows and miles of quiet trails. Half the excitement is the 1-hour drive getting there on Highway 180, which zigzags down into the canyon through Sequoia National Forest. Be sure to stop at Junction View on the way. Sheer canyon walls seem to close in around you as the wild South Fork of the Kings River surges over rapids far below.

Cedar Grove attractions include North Dome, which some say resembles Yosemite's Half Dome, noisy and powerful Roaring River Falls and scenic Zumwalt Meadow.

Roaring River Falls is less than a five-minute stroll from the parking area. During years of heavy runoff, the river pours through the gorge and over the falls with a tremendous roar. Even during the dry season the falls are impressive, thundering into a cold, green pool.

If you have an hour, walk around Zumwalt Meadow, a lovely meadow dotted with ponderosa pine. The striking rock formations of Grand Sentinel and North Dome rise protectively on opposite sides of the meadow.

Things to do:

• General Grant Tree Trail - One of the world's largest living trees. President Coolidge proclaimed it the Nation's Christmas tree in 1926.  Visit the Fallen Monarch along this 1/3 mile paved trail. North and west of the Kings Canyon Visitor Center 1 mile.
• North Grove Loop - This lightly traveled, 1 1/2 mile trail provides an opportunity for a close look at the big trees.  Enjoy a quiet walk past meadows and creeks, through mixed conifer and sequoia forest. The trailhead is at the Grant Tree parking area.
• USFS National Forest Area Converse Basin - This trail is located 6 miles north of Grant Grove. It was once the world's largest sequoia grove, until virtually every mature tree was cut down early in the 1900s.  The Boole Tree was spared, along with a few other less accessible giants.  Boole is the world's eighth largest sequoia.  Converse Basin is accessible by a graded dirt road off Highway 180.  A 2-mile round trip loop trail leads to the Boole Tree from a parking area at the end of the road.
• Roaring River Falls - A very short, shady walk (0.3 miles) to a powerful waterfall rushing through a granite chute.
• Zumwalt Meadow - This 1.5-mile trail passes high granite walls, lush meadows, and the Kings River. Trailhead parking is 4.5 miles east of Cedar Grove Village road.  Allow 1 hour.  From the parking area, over the bridge, and to the boardwalk, the river washed away hardened surfaces, so some spots are now more difficult for wheelchair travel.  The boardwalk remains passable, but beyond that, where the trail paralleled the river, the river washed over the trail leaving softened, more uneven surfaces. Repairs were being made.
  - Highway 180 ends 40 miles from the entrance to Kings Canyon National Park in the famous Kings Canyon itself. Cedar Grove, nestled in a mile-deep section of Kings Canyon, is near two spectacular granite formations: Grand Sentinel at 8,518 feet in elevation and North Dome at 8,717 feet in elevation. The precipitous Grand Sentinel rises 3,500 feet above the canyon floor. The best place in the park to see these features is on the Zumwalt Meadow Trail.

North Dome