Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Kings Canyon National Park has two developed areas with markets, lodging, showers and
visitor information. Grant Grove Village is only 4 miles past the Big Stump entrance (in
the park's west), while Cedar Grove Village is 31 miles east at the bottom of the canyon.
The two are separated by the Giant Sequoia National Monument and are linked by Kings
Canyon Scenic Byway/Hwy 180.
Grant Grove
General Grant Grove
FOREST
This sequoia grove is nothing short of magnificent. The paved half-mile
General Grant
Tree Trail
is an interpretive walk that visits a number of mature sequoias, including the
27-story
General Grant Tree
. This giant holds triple honors as the world's third-largest
living tree, a memorial to US soldiers killed in war, and as the nation's Christmas tree. The
nearby
Fallen Monarch
, a massive, fire-hollowed trunk that you can walk through, has
been a cabin, hotel, saloon and stables for US Cavalry horses.
Panoramic Point
LOOKOUT
For a breathtaking view of Kings Canyon, head 2.3 miles up narrow, steep and winding
Panoramic Point Rd (trailers and RVs aren't recommended), which branches off Hwy 180.
Follow a short paved trail uphill from the parking lot to the viewpoint, where precipitous
canyons and the snowcapped peaks of the Great Western Divide unfold below you. Snow
closes the road to vehicles during winter, when it becomes a cross-country ski and snow-
shoe route.
Redwood Canyon
CANYON
South of Grant Grove Village, more than 15,000 sequoias cluster in this secluded and
pristine corner of the park, making it the world's largest such grove. Relatively inaccess-
ible, this area lets you enjoy the majesty of the giants away from the crowds on several
moderate-to-strenuous trails. The trailhead is at the end of an unsigned, 2-mile bumpy dirt
