NO CROWDS, Hidden Gem National Park! | Kings Canyon Travel Guide

giant sequoia trees rushing waterfalls mountain caves massive canyons and maybe most importantly fewer crowds it's something that's tough to come by in the national parks these days but in this place you won't see nearly as many people so join me as i guide you through some of its top places and to what just might be its best view this is kings canyon national park [Music] welcome to dantrax and first things first you're probably wondering about that drone shot in the beginning since drones are definitely not allowed in national parks i can assure you though i wasn't breaking any rules and in just a bit i'll tell you how and even where to find that view for now though let's dive into king's canyon america's national parks are pretty popular and crowds in the busy seasons can make for a less than enjoyable experience but you probably won't have to worry about that if you decide to visit king's canyon only an hour from the city of fresno and its airport it's relatively easy to get to as well and while it does share a border with the extremely busy sequoia national park you're only going to see a fraction of the visitors that its neighbor does kings canyon is known for its sequoias too and that brings us to our first stop if you're coming in from fresno keep an eye out just past the park entrance for the big stump grove [Music] if you're hoping to see some giant sequoias on this relatively easy 1.6 mile long hike well there's actually a pretty amazing one just past the parking lot where the trail starts unfortunately there's a reason that this grove is called big stump most of the giant sequoias here were actually cut down at the turn of the 20th century ironically enough sequoia wood is soft brittle and kind of worthless not a single company who logged sequoias here ever actually ended up turning a profit [Music] heading down into the grove you'll pass several massive sequoia stumps before reaching the big stump meadow which is home to even more remnants of fallen sequoias you'll also pass a sequoia that was cut down that actually shattered upon impact with the ground known as the shattered giant [Music] when they fell the mass of trees would literally explode upon impact and much of the wood would be unusable to counter this loggers would make a feather bed of branches and leaves to soften the impact and you can actually check one of these out a little further down the trail one of the main attractions here is the mark twain stump the remnants of a sequoia that was cut down in 1891 the tree itself was shipped to the american museum of natural history in new york city today there's a staircase to reach the top of the stump so visitors can fully appreciate just how massive this tree was honestly while interesting this whole trail is a little bit depressing thankfully the logging of giant sequoias was outlawed in the early 1900s so if you want to see some standing sequoias as opposed to lifeless dead stumps head just up the road to what is definitely going to be the busiest spot in the entire park this is grant grove village it's pretty much the main hub of kings canyon national park here you'll find the visitor center full-service restaurant market and even post office it's also where the park's main hotel is the john muir lodge you can choose a modest room in the main building or from the handful of cabins just down the hill if you prefer the cheaper option which i usually do there's three different campgrounds in the grant grove area azalea sunset and crystal springs all three require advanced reservations made online but let's get back to the sequoias the ones still standing that is this is grant grove itself easily the most popular part of the entire park and home to the second largest tree in the entire world the general grant tree [Music] find the trail to it down the road just past the visitor center this .7 mile long loop trail takes you past some pretty impressive giant sequoias including a downed one called the fallen monarch that you can actually walk through there's also gambling's cabin built in 1872 by a pair of aspiring timberman the main attraction here is the tree itself named after union general and later president ulysses s grant it stands 267 feet tall and 29 feet wide and also has the honor of being the nation's christmas tree it's impressive but this is where you're going to see the most crowds not only at this grove but at this very tree and if you're a little anti-social like me you probably want to get away from all of these people right there's actually another grove of sequoias literally just down the road that sees far fewer visitors so continue down the road past the twin sequoia trees on your left where you'll find a small parking lot and gate signaling the start of the north grove trail this 1.7 mile long loop trail descends deeper into the forest and allows hikers a much quieter and closer experience with these amazing big trees [Music] there's actually a few more pretty amazing sequoia groves in king's canyon unfortunately quite a few were almost completely destroyed in the 2020 castle fire and the 2021 knp complex fire for those of you that have watched my sequoia national park video linked above you know that these big trees are relatively fire resistant so it's pretty shocking that entire groves are burning down in fact since 2020 alone nearly 20 percent of the giant sequoia population has been destroyed by these extreme wildfires it's pretty alarming and it's why i'm actually working on a documentary titled big trees exploring the history of past present and future threats to the sequoias to tell their story help raise awareness and just maybe help save these amazing trees check out the link in the description below for the official website concept film and gofundme page all right enough self-promotion back to king's canyon that wasn't always the name of this place though it used to be called general grant national park and only encompassed this small area where the sequoia groves are located the much larger and more diverse eastern section wasn't added until 1940 and then renamed to kings canyon national park there was actually a protracted conflict between environmentalists and the city of los angeles who filed claims to dam the king's river and flood the canyon creating reservoirs and producing hydroelectric power for the city but preservation prevailed and if you want an impressive view of the park's namesake head back up from the general grant tree and across the street passing the john muir lodge for our next stop at panoramic point generally only open in the late spring summer and early fall this road leads you to a parking lot for the short half mile round trip trail to the point you get an absolutely stunning view of the sierra nevada mountains hume lake and into kings canyon itself but we're still in the busy section up here so it's time to leave the crowds behind and make the drive into the canyon itself take highway 180 past the grand tree turn-off following signs for cedar grove it's also important to mention this road is generally closed from november until the last week in april so you'll want to plan your visit accordingly it takes about an hour to drive from the top to the bottom of king's canyon and down to cedar grove this road is pretty steep so low gear on your vehicle is a must [Music] so about all of these drone shots the area that the highway takes you through between the upper and lower parts of king's canyon is actually national forest land sequoia national forest to be exact where as long as you're outside of designated wilderness and there's no temporary restrictions in place drone flights are perfectly legal [Music] there's also some pretty cool places to explore here too like the chicago stump the remnants of a massive sequoia that was cut down in 1892 and sent to chicago for the world's colombian exposition or the stump meadow of converse basin a grove that was heavily logged in the late 1800s and then there's the bull tree a huge sequoia that holds the title of sixth largest tree in the entire world look for a video from me on these in the future but if you can't wait my written guides to them are in the description below but back to the drive to the bottom of kings canyon the views on the way down are amazing and there's plenty of pull offs along the way to stop for pictures at the bottom the first place you're going to want to stop at is a pretty easy one to reach grizzly falls [Music] keep an eye out for the signs pointing to the grizzly falls picnic area on the left from the small parking lot it's maybe a two minute walk to the base of the waterfall itself most impressive in the spring by late summer there's a pretty good chance that grizzly falls could be completely dry don't worry though there's even more waterfalls waiting for you just a little bit deeper into the park now that you're down in the canyon you may have been wondering can you go inside the mountains alright there was probably nobody wondering that well regardless of whether you were wondering it or not you're going to pass a large parking lot on your right for boyden cavern where you can in fact go inside some of these mountains the cave is only accessible by a guided tour costing around 18 dollars per person [Music] while it's possible to get walk-up tickets i'd recommend booking ahead of time online link in the description below there's no service down here either so make sure you have a copy of your tickets saved to your phone tours last about an hour taking you to some of the most impressive formations inside while also telling the cave story apparently a logger who worked up closer to grant grove called this place home in the early 1900s i guess it beats being homeless at the tour's conclusion you have the option to leave from the way you came in or take the wild cave exit which has you walking through an extremely shallow stream and through some tight spaces before popping out just beneath the regular exit it's a cool way to end the tour if you're up for it if you go this way it's best to bring some waterproof shoes or hiking sandals though your feet are bound to get wet now that we're done going under the mountains it's time to venture into the heart of king's canyon itself cedar grove [Music] the green blue glacial water of the kings river follows the road for most of the way and while it may look tempting to swim in especially since it's usually quite a bit hotter down here at the bottom of the canyon looks can be deceiving the current is extremely strong and very dangerous probably best to pass on taking a dip in this river here at cedar grove you'll find a visitor center four campgrounds and even a small lodge with a market for this trip we decided to get a spot in moraine campground and we had no trouble getting a site last minute this is kind of what i mean by solitude down here i only counted a handful of other tents granted this was early september do as i say and not as i do though probably best not to wait until the 11th hour just in case and since i filmed this they don't allow walk-up reservations anymore it all has to be done in advance online at recreation.gov we were tired and it was dinner time but tomorrow there were a few short trails down here that we wanted to check out before heading to what i consider to be one of the best views in all of kings canyon [Music] so you wake up and find yourself with a whole day down here in cedar grove at the bottom of kings canyon what do you do the road down here isn't very long and there's only a handful of short hikes before you reach the road's end where backpackers generally park to start long treks into the backcountry we'll get there soon enough for now though it's best to take in the views of the mountains down here there's a reason king's canyon is often described as a mini yosemite but our next stop comes up pretty quick on your right roaring river falls this extremely short trail is .3 miles round trip and takes you through the woods to a relatively small but powerful waterfall coming from a tributary of the king's river roaring river falls is an example of just how strong the current is down here you probably won't spend that long here and what is arguably the most popular hike in the cedar grove area is just up ahead zumwalt meadow look for signs marking the meadow and then pull off in the parking lot to begin the trail or what's currently open of it is about one and a half miles round trip i say what's currently open because the boardwalk section of this hike has been out for about four years now and still hasn't been repaired unfortunately [Music] normally the trail is a complete loop around the meadow hopefully the boardwalk is fixed soon but for now start the trail and take the bridge across the river through the woods and across a rocky moraine which then pops you out and an amazing view of the meadow itself with north and grand sentinel domes towering up above it [Music] you can continue on for a bit but you'll have to backtrack out since the loop is closed maybe by the time that you do this hike the boardwalk will have finally been repaired [Music] but i'm always trying to find the best view and this spot definitely gets my vote for kings canyon and that view is of paradise valley via the mist falls trail this hike is about nine miles round trip but i would say that about seven and a half miles of it is relatively level with only about 870 feet of elevation gain most of that coming at the very end i do recommend an early start especially because the first mile or so is completely exposed and temperatures can get pretty hot down here in the summer find the trail at the roads and parking lot just next to the ranger station if you're doing this as a day hike then there's no need to have a permit but if you plan on backpacking and camping out for the night in the backcountry then you will need to go ahead and get one if you do choose to hike in the early morning be a little more cautious and keep an eye out for wildlife namely black bears so maybe make a little extra noise on the trail and if you do spot one give them at least 100 yards of space the trail is pretty sandy to start out which can make hiking it may be a little more difficult than usual but you're treated to some amazing views of the granite mountains of kings canyon on either side of you as well as the rushing waters of the south fork of the kings river on your right the trail eventually descends into some pretty dense forest which is a great opportunity to cool off a little bit nine miles might sound like a lot but we quickly realized that we were absolutely flying through this hike it really is mostly flat up until the very last part keep following the signs for mist falls and eventually the trail will begin to turn and put you right alongside the river from here it starts to ascend up the rocks keep heading up and maybe look behind you once in a while you'll notice a familiar view becoming more and more visible you've officially entered paradise valley eventually you'll reach a large relatively flat slab of granite that's a perfect stop to turn around and take in the view it's a pretty famous shot and it's easy to see why just a little further up and you'll reach the trail's namesake mist falls if you can find some shade it's a great spot to take a break the trail continues on through paradise valley for a long time it's a route that a lot of backpackers take into the amazing back country of king's canyon but since we were doing this as a day hike it was time to turn around and head back and that was about it for our kings canyon adventure if you haven't visited its sister park yet then do yourself a favor and head over to sequoia national park it's spectacular countless groves of giant sequoias mountain views and the largest living thing on earth check out my video guide on it to see some of these sites and even more [Music]

Channel: Dan Treks

Views: 34,208

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Id: gEmWLCtHkN4

Length: 20min 41sec (1241 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 02 2022