Kings Canyon National Park

 Oct 3rd, 2025

I woke up a few times throughout the night, as it was raining almost the entire time, accompanied by consistent lightning and thunderstorms. I stayed cozy in my sleeping bag and tried to fall back asleep each time.

Woke up around 7 a.m., made some coffee, and there was one more place I needed to check before leaving Yosemite: El Capitan, the world’s largest granite monolith. I only wanted to see it from the valley this time. Hiking to the top can wait for the next visit, when I’m here again for backpacking; it’s only about 16 miles. Ever since I watched Alex Honnold’s documentary, I’ve always wanted to come see this place. Alex is the first and only person to free solo El Capitan.

Drove through Yosemite Valley and arrived at the trail for El Capitan around 7:30 am. Hiked about a mile and a half. It was beautiful, powerful, and tall. Encountered some wildlife and saw one climber just starting their climb (not solo). It was a lovely morning.

Around 8:30, I set my GPS toward the next park, Kings Canyon National Park, almost three and a half hours away. While exiting the park, I stopped at a few spots, including Glacier Point, but it was raining and cloudy, and not much was visible.

The drive was through the city of Fresno, and by 12:30, I entered the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which is home to both Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Park, both located on the same range, with Kings Canyon to the north. The weather seemed cold today, and some areas of the mountain road were slippery and looked like it had snowed a bit last night. Stopped at a few vista points before approaching the General Grant Grove area, my first hike of the day, 1.50 miles. Grant Grove is a section of Kings Canyon famous for its giant sequoia trees, including the General Grant Tree, the world’s second-largest tree and the nation’s official Christmas tree.

I planned to camp in the park for the night, but every public campground was closed. I checked a few lodges too, but they were full. Finally, after driving through the park, I found a spot at Kings Canyon RV Resort & Campground, privately owned and most importantly with Wi-Fi and with nice amenities. The man told me there were only two more reservations for the night.

I wanted to check out Hume Lake; however, the road was closed due to the weather, and there were very few visitors in the park overall. My second hike was the Cedar Grove Overlook, almost 5 miles. The Cedar Grove area includes the Cedar Grove Visitor Center and Cedar Grove Pack Station, with plenty of campgrounds; however, everything felt abandoned, with only a few people walking nearby and one ranger. No connection in this part of the park at all, which made navigation difficult.

The weather started getting better, and the hike to the Cedar Grove Overlook was stunning in every way possible. I enjoyed every step along the way. I was alone in a very remote area and didn’t find a single person during the entire hike. The landscape was healing, beautiful meadows, the sounds of nature everywhere, and the weather was beautiful and quiet. The open sky, the dramatic clouds, and the golden light wrapping around the hills made me feel lucky to be here in every way, as if the world was gently reminding me to slow down, breathe, and simply exist in this beauty, surrounded by so many wildflowers and colors.

The hike was moderate; I finished almost 5 miles in an hour and 40 minutes and was back to my car by 5 p.m. So much beauty and so much to do in this park, but the day was nearing to end and I needed to wrap up. My last hike was at the very end of the park, in the Kanawyers area. I hiked about a mile and a half; I was too tired to reach Bailey Bridge. Encountered a lot of deer, which made my day. Summer seems like the best time to visit this park and spend about a week, maybe a month 😊.

Some other places in the park to explore:
Avalanche Canyon, Cooper Creek, Granite Creek
Boyden Cavern Adventures
Zumwalt Meadows Trailhead
Roaring River Falls
Grizzly Falls

At Kanawyers, there are two major backpacking trails, Bubbs Creek and Rae Lakes Loop Trailhead, and the Copper Creek Trailhead. Something I didn’t know: Kings Canyon National Park offers a wilderness experience with over 800 miles of trails, from day hikes to multi-day expeditions. Popular routes include the challenging Rae Lakes Loop and the Paradise Valley Trail, leading through deep canyons, high-country lakes, and meadows beneath stunning granite cliffs.

The drive back to my camping spot through the canyon was amazing; the sunset and clouds were lighting up with different colors. I arrived back at my camping spot around 7 p.m. It was very quiet, with the powerful presence of the Kings Canyon mountains all around me. I set up my camp, made a fire, ate some noodles, and, as usual, made ginger tea before trying to get some sleep for the night.