11 Popular Things to Do in Kings Canyon National Park, California

Kings Canyon National Park is filled with vibrant panoramas, stunning sequoias, challenging hikes, and a rich history. Discover the best things to do in Kings Canyon National Park, especially when you only have a few days to explore.

Are two or three days enough to properly see Kings Canyon National Park? Well, not really.

Two or three days is not enough time to spend in any of the United States National Parks, BUT… a few days is a good start to see some of the main features of Kings Canyon with giant sequoias, wildlife, and epic views along the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway. Just enough to get you excited to return and explore some more!

11 Things to Do In Kings Canyon National Park

Surrounded by the rugged foothills of Kings Canyon National Park, within the huge mountains of the Sierra Nevada mountain range—America’s longest mountain range—you’ll also discover deep canyons and some of the world’s largest trees growing in a diverse landscape.

1. Stay in Kings Canyon National Park

When planning your Kings Canyon adventure along a California National Park road trip and looking for things to do in Kings Canyon National Park, your adventure begins when you choose a Kings Canyon accommodation. Your options include:

• John Muir Lodge at Grant Grove
• Wuksachi Village & Lodge
• Grant Grove Cabins
• Rio Sierra Riverhouse
• Buckeye Tree Lodge & Cabins

If you are staying in the Grant Grove area, your camping options are Azalea Campground, Crystal Springs Campground, and Sunset Campground.

While in Kings Canyon National Park, Chris and I stayed with our youngest daughter at the John Muir Lodge at Grant Grove. It was a fun experience staying within the park and being within driving and hiking distance of magnificent sites.

The lodge could do with an upgrade. 

You definitely have to plan to “unplug” when you visit the area. The WiFi was pretty much non-existent in the rooms; you will need to relax in the lobby to get even the slowest connection.

If you need a microwave, there is a small one in the lobby as well.

A short distance below the lodge you’ll find rustic cabins in both timber and tent style. Some of the cabins feature a bathroom and others offer a shared central bathhouse.

Grant Grove also features a gift shop, a post office, the market, a visitor center, and a small but busy takeout restaurant. There is an eat-in portion of the Grant Grove Restaurant available as well (it was closed due to Covid when we visited).

You can order food from the takeout window and then enjoy the seating on the patio or walk back up to the lodge to eat on picnic tables there. You might HOPE that you can access WiFi outside of the lodge, but you really have to be inside the lobby.

With that being said, we loved being close to many things to do in Kings Canyon National Park during our stay in Grant Grove. We spontaneously drove to Panoramic Point and enjoyed an amazing sunset, we explored the campground, and hiked through Grant Grove.

2. Visit Grant Grove

Grant Grove features giant sequoia trees (as well as a variety of other trees), and specifically the General Grant Tree. It is just a short driving distance from the lodge. See the map above in item #1.

As the second largest tree in the world, the 3,000-year-old General Grant Tree stands 267 feet talls and is almost 29 feet wide at its base. (Recent estimates suggest it is closer to 1,650 years old according to Wikipedia.) Read the Frequently Asked Questions at the end of the post to learn the difference between redwood trees vs sequoia trees.

3. Hike to the General Grant Tree

The hike to the General Grant Tree is one of the relatively short and easy hikes in Kings Canyon that is suitable for many skill levels. Begin at the General Grant Tree Parking area and follow the 1/3 mile (0.5 km) paved travel past the Gamlin Cabin and the Fallen Monarch before reaching the General Grant Tree.

The General Grant Tree was named to honor Ulysses S. Grant (the 18th president of the United States) in 1867. It received the distinction as “The Nation’s Christmas Tree” in 1926 by President Calvin Coolidge.

4. Watch the Sunset at Panoramic Point

Panoramic Point is about a ten-minute drive above the John Muir Lodge. You can visit the point at any time during the day, but I would highly recommend visiting at sunset.

The road to access the point is quite narrow; two cars passing makes for a tight squeeze. But the sunset and surrounding views are rewarding.

In fact, if you are searching for the best place to take some Instagram-worthy sunset photos, continue walking/hiking past Panoramic Point (going toward the Fire Lookout) for less than half a mile until the trees open up and your view becomes stunning and expansive.

You can’t go wrong taking photos with your cell phone or a camera… or both.

Are you in the market for a new phone, camera, or accessories? Check out all of my favorite photography things on my Amazon storefront to meet all of your photography gear and gadget needs.

5. Panoramic Point Hike

The Panoramic Point vista requires a short 0.5 mile (0.8 km) hike from the parking area. The trail to the viewing area is a moderately-sloped and accessible though may be a challenge for some to navigate. Follow the path to reach a stunning overlook of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

If you love the flora and fauna of a location, you’ll love the variety of pika and foxtail pines and other species of plants and animals in the alpine zone at the top of the mountain.

6. Hike to the Park Ridge Fire Lookout from Panoramic Point

I recommend getting an early start if you plan to hike to the Park Ridge Fire Lookout from Panoramic Point. Continue on past the Panoramic Point overlook for a more challenging 2.6 miles (4.2 km) on an unpaved trail.

When Chris and I visited Kings Canyon National Park in May of 2021, this part of California was experiencing a heat wave. Be sure to bring a backpack with plenty of water.

Chris and I pack our respective The NorthFace Recon Backpacks with all of our hiking gear. Be prepared for YOUR hike with the 10 Essentials For Your Best Day Hikes.

I always carry my Canon 6d Mark II camera with my newest lens.

The hikes in Kings Canyon are beautiful; Park Ridge Fire Lookout especially so as it takes you along the ridge line of the mountain. At times you can look down into the north and south valleys simultaneously.

The trees do provide some shade, but you’ll still be in the sun and the day warms up fast. Starting early helps to avoid the intense afternoon heat.

Be sure to wear a hat or visor and your sunglasses.

The hike to the Park Ridge Fire Lookout in Kings Canyon National Park is 5.3 miles round trip with just over 1000 feet of elevation gain. A lot of that gain is at the very beginning of the hike as you climb to Panoramic Point.

7. Climb up to the Park Ridge Fire Lookout Platform

As Chris and I reached the Park Ridge Fire Lookout, the volunteer fire spotter invited us to climb the stairs to the viewing platform. As you might imagine, he had a pretty grand view of the surrounding mountains of Kings Canyon National Park. 

Chris and I hiked back to the Panoramic Point and down to our car in the parking lot. Already the lot was full and people were creatively parking outside of the designated parking spots. Another good reason to get an early start. There are restroom facilities at the parking lot.

8. Drive Kings Canyon Scenic Byway to Road’s End

If you are looking for awesome things to do in Kings Canyon National Park, you’ll definitely want to drive the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway to the Road’s End Permit Station. It is pretty much a road to nowhere within Kings Canyon National Park that follows a zigzagging road winding 6000 feet in elevation down the mountainside to the valley floor.

You will pass a lot of viewpoints; pull over to take in the magnificent vistas. 

There were a number of pull-outs for slower cars, and amazingly, the cars in front of us pulled over quite often for the vehicles behind them.

Get an early start for the day especially if you are exploring on a holiday weekend. The traffic down to the valley was minimal; however, there were a lot of cars already in the parking lots making us think that hikers and backpackers got a day’s jump on the weekend traffic.

AllTrails catalogs 55 of the best hikes in Kings Canyon National Park. Their top 8 picks are:

• General Grant Trail
• Big Baldy Ridge
• Big Stump Loop
• Mist Falls (Not to be confused with the Mist Trail in Yosemite National Park)
• Rae Lakes Loop
• Zumwalt Meadow
• Paradise Valley Trail
• Roaring River Falls

9. Hike through Zumwalt Meadow

There are numerous hikes of varying lengths and difficulty leaving from the Road’s End Permit Station. Check AllTrails to pick the best one for you.

If you are looking for a relatively easy and short hike from the permit station, meander toward the Zumwalt Meadow as you marvel at towering granite cliffs around you, the brilliant green meadow, and calm pools of water. Sadly, the meadow was closed for us but it may open up later in the season.

Need some good hiking boots? I love these Oboz for the support and comfort.

10. Watch for Wildlife

As you start your return back up the winding Kings Canyon Scenic Byway along the mountainside outside of the national park (and perhaps drive toward Sequoia National Park), keep your eyes open! We spied a momma bear and her two tiny cubs. 

The rangers were watching over the bears carefully, and even our slowing down to watch the bears earned a “whoop” from the ranger’s car siren. I would have liked to snap a picture or two, but no such luck.

11. Stop for Gas and Ice Cream Along the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway

If you happen to need gas while driving along the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway of the national park, the Kings Canyon Lodge RV and Tent Camping site has a gas station with two of America’s oldest double gravity pumps still in good working order.

This station is one of the few gas options along the way. BUT… be prepared to pay a premium price per gallon.

As an added bonus, you can indulge in an ice cream cone while you wait.

National Parks Close to Kings Canyon National Park

If you are embarking on a California National Park road trip, you really need to plan a few days to visit Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Death Valley National Park. These parks are all within a short distance of Kings Canyon National Park.

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is nestled in a vibrant valley in the heart of the Sierra Nevada mountain range of Central California. The park features dynamic granite mountains, dramatic waterfalls, giant sequoia groves, and stunning wilderness landscapes.

If you want to really enjoy a day or two in Yosemite National Park, check out the GuideAlong Audio Tours (formerly known as GyPSy Guide Audio Tours).

“It’s just like having a tour guide along for the ride. You’ll hear stories, local tips & navigation play automatically, all based on your location.  Best of all they don’t need cell signal, they work offline with GPS.”

GuideAlong tours of Yosemite (and other destinations), provide fun information, history of the area, significant contributions of local people, and random information as you drive along.

It is one of the best tours of Yosemite from the comfort of your own car.

Sequoia National Park

If you are already in Kings Canyon National Park, including Sequoia National Park as a day trip is totally doable. You can reach the park from the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway. Here you will be able to see the world’s largest tree—the General Sherman Tree.

As Chris and I were visiting later in the afternoon, the traffic was crazy busy. We had thought to take a shuttle into the park, but the pick up spot was a couple miles away. We just opted to drive to the lot ourselves and see if we could find a parking spot.

We were in luck as tourists were coming and going pretty constantly.

The hike down to the General Sherman Tree is a steep descent and signs are posted all around warning people of the decline as well as to be prepared for the steep incline climb on the way back up.

If you plan to visit the General Sherman, know that it is on the bucket list for a lot of other tourists as well.

The famous tree was thronged by people. I had about three seconds to take a picture before another family jumped in to take pictures with the iconic tree.

Death Valley National Park

Death Valley is on my “must see” bucket list. According to NPS.gov, Death Valley has the distinction of being the “Hottest, Driest and Lowest National Park” in the United States. It is located below sea level, suffers from a continuous drought, and claims record high temperatures in the summer. Despite being called Death Valley, a wide diversity of life flourishes in the the national park.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Final Thoughts on 11 Popular Things to Do in Kings Canyon National Park

Planning to spend a few days in California touring the national parks? You’ll love the variety of things to do in Kings Canyon National Park. If hiking is your thing, there are a number of hikes with varying skill levels to choose from. If you enjoy scenic byways and snapping photos along the way, the scenery in the park can’t be beat.

How about a picnic lunch? Be sure to drive to Road’s End to enjoy the peaceful surroundings.

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