Ever heard of Kings Canyon National Park? Perhaps not.
The fact that it’s a lessor-known destination is probably a major factor in why it’s such a great place to visit. That, and the actual canyon.
Only half as many people visit Kings Canyon as its southern neighbor, Sequoia, and Sequoia’s visitation is only one-third of Yosemite, the legendary park father north in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains.
My visit to Yosemite had brought a few moments of peace on trail-less-travelled followed by road construction, a noisy campground, crowds, and numerous closures.
But then, Kings Canyon brought me the quiet and adventure I was hoping to find out west.
Kings Canyon is immediately adjacent to Sequoia and the two are jointly managed by the National Park Service. Many visitors probably think that “Sequoia & Kings Canyon” is just one place but, in fact, they are actually two separate parks.
When I arrived at my reserved site in Kings Canyon’s Crystal Springs Campground, I was so stunned by the quality of my campsite that I checked three times to make sure I was actually in the right place before setting up camp! In contrast to the crowded group camping situation at Yosemite, my Kings Canyon site was only within visual distance of a few other sites and overlooked a small meadow where I saw deer eating (but fortunately not larger creatures).
To boot, the campground is only a few minutes away from a vendor’s takeout window (pricy but convenient) and there’s even cellular service in the area.
Crystal Springs is one of several campgrounds in the Grant Grove area, home to the General Grant tree and the area that was originally General Grant National Park before it was replaced with the larger Kings Canyon National Park. The easy path around the General Grant and other sequoias made a nice evening walk after setting up camp, followed by a drive up the narrow road to Panoramic Point for a shrouded sunset.
My first full day was devoted to visiting the actual Kings Canyon, and I was blown away before even getting into the canyon. The view gets better and better at every overlook as the road goes downhill.
My destination was at the end of the road. The trail to Mist Falls carries a high recommendation in the book I’ve been using on my adventures, “Your Guide to the National Parks,” and it did not disappoint. The eight-mile round trip is the perfect adventure for a dayhiker who wants a workout with great views!
The trail starts out as more of a stroll through the canyon but then gets more interesting as it follows the South Fork of the Kings River uphill, with an elevation gain of about 600 feet over the last mile and several stunning overlooks. A hiker headed downhill warned me not to stop at the first view of Mist Falls, and she was so right: the falls seem to go on for a half-mile or more along the trail, with several great spots to stop and enjoy the view. I kept going another half-mile or so beyond the main overlook, adding about another 400 feet of elevation gain, before deciding it was time to head back downhill.
After Mist Falls, it would be hard for anything else to top it, but I stopped off at a few other attractions before getting dinner at the Cedar Grove Lodge. There’s nothing as satisfying as a meal after a great hike!
My second full day in the park started with a spectacular hike that I wasn’t expecting: I checked out the Buena Vista Trail because of reports of wildflowers in bloom. Not only does the short trail, which runs through a fire-damaged area, offer a look at numerous wildflowers, the “good view” at the end is actually pretty spectacular. I was the only one there enjoying it, so I lingered longer than planned and didn’t regret a second of it.
After recovering from the euphoria of an unexpectedly spectacular hike, I headed across the park border to see the sights that everyone else was seeing in Sequoia. There, I hopped between shuttle busses (the park has four different routes) to see the General Sherman Tree, the Big Trees Trail, Moro Rock, and Crescent Meadow.
These are all relatively short walks and hikes, though the quarter-mile climb to the top of Moro Rock is a 300-foot ascent that required everyone to stop for a breath every once in a while, and bears lingering around two of the trails posed more of a threat than most people seemed to realize.
Bears must be a big attraction at Sequoia because the gift shop merchandise seemed to have more bear imagery than sequoias!
After the busyness of Sequoia, it was back to my quiet campsite on the Kings Canyon side of the border to rest up for the long journey home beginning the next day. It’s definitely a park, and a campsite, that I’ll want to return to again and again.
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