Fantastically beautiful mountain region
Kings Canyon National Park is located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the US state of California. Deep canyons, meadows, rivers, lakes and impressive waterfalls characterize Kings Canyon National Park. The park’s forests are home to the famous giant sequoias of the Sierra Nevada. The high-altitude national park has about 20 mountain peaks that reach the height of 4,000 meters. The size of the national park is 462,000 hectares.
Mountain scenery along the Bubbs Creek Trail – Kings Canyon National Park
According to act-test-centers, Kings Canyon National Park is adjacent to Sequoia National Park. In 1940, the two national parks were administratively combined. Both national parks together are about 3,500 km². Up to 1.5 million visitors visit the national parks every year.
Sequoia & Kings Canyon
The landscape is quite similar in both national parks. Sequoia National Park has the largest number of Giant Sequoia trees. The core area of Kings Canyon National Park is the eponymous Kings Canyon, the deepest canyon in the USA. The famous Giant Sequoia named “General Grant” is located in Kings Canyon National Park.
Kings Canyon – largely untouched nature
The national park has large areas that are hardly ever frequented by people. The majority of the natural treasures in the protected area remain hidden from the visitor; this ensures their permanent protection. The national park in the Sierra Nevada mountains is very well suited for hiking. In addition to the extensive forests, there are also beautiful, open areas in the national park. Rafting tours through Kings Canyon National Park can be undertaken on the Kings River.
Wooden bridge in Kings Canyon National Park
The drive to the national park is an adventure in itself. You approach the protected region on serpentines. Access to the high mountain national park is only possible via a fixed route, which must also be used to exit the national park. The high mountains and beautiful landscapes impress every seeing eye. Kings Canyon National Park can be visited from spring to autumn. The area is not quite as crowded as protected areas in the USA.
Snow – that’s for sure!
In winter, the park is not accessible due to the large amounts of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains. In the spring, the otherwise tame watercourses in the national park are transformed into raging rivers by the melting meltwater of the Sierra Nevada. In the eastern part of the national park are the middle and south forks of the Kings River. The South Fork Canyon there is a very deep gorge. It is located south of nearby Yosemite National Park.
High mountain scenery Kings Canyon National Park
Camping in the high mountains
In summer it is advisable to look for a place to stay outside of the national park, as accommodation in the park itself is quickly exhausted. Kings Canyon has seven campgrounds. There are four campgrounds in the Cedar Grove area and three in the Giant Grove area. The facilities at the campsites vary. The national park can be reached via Highway 180 from Fresno (about 90 km away). The highway runs parallel to the Kings River.
Grant Grove & Cedar Grove
There are only two visitor centers in the park, Grant Grove and Cedar Grove. There the park visitor receives important and useful information about the national park. The national park can only be explored on footpaths, there are no developed roads through the park. It should be noted that there are bears in Kings Canyon National Park. Giant Sequoias can be found in the fairly accessible area of Grant Grove, bordering Sequoia National Park.
Sights in Kings Canyon NP & Sequoia NP
- Big Stump Basin
- Boyden Cavern
- Cedar Grove Village
- Crystal Cave
- General Sherman Tree
- General’s Highway
- Giant Forest
- Giant Forest Museum
- Grant Grove
- Grant Grove Visitor Center
- Hospital Rock
- Hume Lake
- King’s Canyon
- King’s Canyon Scenic Byway
- Mineral King Road
- Mineral King Valley
- Mount Whitney
- Moro Rock
- Panoramic Point
- Roaring River Falls
Hiking trails in Kings Canyon NP & Sequoia NP
- Big Tree’s Trail
- Cedar Springs Trail
- Congress Trail
- Crescent Meadow Loop
- General Grant Tree Trail
- Lakes Trail in Sequoia National Park
- North Grove Loop Trail
- Redwood Canyon Trail
- Sardine Lakes Trail
- South Boundary Loop Trail
- Trail of 100 giants
- Weaver Lake Trail
- Zumwalt Meadow Trail
