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Kings Canyon National Park, Grant Grove Village, CA

Photo: Crd637, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sport & OutdoorIconicOutdoor Adventure

Kings Canyon National Park

Big Stump Entrance, CA-180 · Grant Grove Village, CA

Why you should go…

Kings Canyon National Park pairs sequoia groves with a rugged glacier-carved valley more than a mile deep. At Grant Grove you walk among giant sequoias including the General Grant Tree, the second largest tree in the world by trunk volume. From there Highway 180 runs about 30 miles east to Cedar Grove on the canyon floor, where cliffs, waterfalls and the Kings River line trails such as Zumwalt Meadow and Mist Falls. One entrance pass also covers Sequoia National Park.

  • #national park
  • #giant sequoias
  • #hiking
  • #scenic drive
  • #canyon

Good to know

General sport & outdoor guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Weather calls the shots

    Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.

  • Shoes, water, sun cover

    The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.

  • Parking and launches fill early

    On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.

  • Daylight shrinks in shoulder season

    Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Kings Canyon National Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    General Sherman Tree

    $25–$50

    Walk a paved half-mile trail through Giant Forest to stand at the base of the largest tree on Earth by volume.

    15 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Iconic

    Sequoia National Park

    $25–$50

    Walk among giant sequoias, stand at the base of the General Sherman Tree and climb the stairway up Moro Rock.

    16 mi awayMore like this

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Outdoor Adventure

    Mount Whitney

    Under $25

    Hike 22 miles round trip from Whitney Portal to the highest summit in the contiguous United States, with a permit.

    26 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Manzanar National Historic Site

    Free

    Tour the site of a World War II camp where more than 11,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated.

    29 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Outdoor Adventure

    Alabama Hills

    Free

    Walk among rounded granite boulders and natural arches below Mount Whitney, on land where Westerns have been filmed since 1920.

    33 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    Outdoor Adventure

    Bishop

    Free

    Eastern Sierra gateway town near Mammoth Lakes with access to hiking, fishing and Bishop Creek Canyon.

    43 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing