South Lake to Roads End in Kings Canyon National Park - Day and Section Hikes - page 83

a dramatic suspension bridge over Woods Creek to an established campsite with bear
boxes. Instead continue a gradual rollicking descent with the grand towers of Castle
Domes on the right and Woods Creek on the left.
The trail continues rolling downward through the narrow canyon walls. Inter-
mittent campsites are easily found amid the meadows and aspen groves, although it's
a bit of a struggle to get to the water due to streamside shrubs. Cross the South Fork
Kings River on an impressively robust stone-and-steel bridge built in 2006 to reach
the campsites of Upper Paradise Valley (6,876 feet), where camping is restricted to
one night in designated spots in an effort to help this fragile area recover from fre-
quent use. There are bear boxes, a pit toilet, and numbered sites at each Paradise Val-
ley campground (lower, middle, and upper). Drop another 2.2 miles through black-
berry bushes and open meadow to Middle Paradise Valley (6,619 feet), where sugar
and ponderosa pines provide shade and there's a sandy riverside beach. Travel a final
1.1 miles downhill through ferns and forest to Lower Paradise Valley (6,586 feet).
The streamside campsites on the left are the nicest in terms of shade and proximity
to water. Bear sightings are frequent here.
Leaving Lower Paradise Valley, the trail becomes steeper and rockier along the
river. The descent to Mist Falls (5,563 feet) is an excruciating series of granite stairs
that mock tired knees. The reward is a magnificent display of thundering cataracts
and cooling mist, as per the waterfall's name. Continue down and turn right at the
junction with the Bubb's Creek Trail. From here, it's a flat 2-mile walk to the trail-
head, but the wide sandy road can be scorching on a summer day as it absorbs and
reflects the heat. Cross Copper Creek on a small footbridge to reach the parking lot
and ranger station at Roads End (5,036 feet). At the parking lot there are decadently
luxurious amenities such as a bathroom with a pit toilet, toilet paper (usually), a wa-
ter spigot, some picnic tables, garbage-disposal cans, and bear boxes. Ah, civiliza-
tion.
P ERMIT INFORMATION: Permits that originate in the Inyo National Forest can be re-
served by contacting the Wilderness Permit Reservation Office (351 Pacu Lane,
Suite 200, Bishop, CA 93514). They are open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily from June 1
to October 1, and Monday through Friday during the rest of the year. You can re-
serve over the phone at [phone], by fax at [phone], or by mail. You
will need to provide the following information: name; address; daytime phone num-
ber; number of people in the party; method of travel (foot); number of stock (if ap-
plicable); start and end dates; entry and exit trailheads (South Lake entry, Roads
End exit); principal destination; credit-card number and expiration date, money or-
der, or check for a nonrefundable $5-per-person processing fee.