Kings Canyon National Park — Attraction in Bishop

Except for the road in, which is winding and will get you carsick, as well as wear out your brakes and transmission, wonderful park. The heat can be unbearable down in the canyon, so stay up at Grant Grove atop the hill. Campsites are on a reserve basis now so who wants to drive 30 miles down canyon switchbacks to find that there is nowhere to camp. Too many people wash their dishes right in the bathroom sinks and leave their toilet paper on the floor next to the toilet. The bears are a real nuisance, you can't even cook a steak at 11 pm and leave food out without them coming in and rummaging through your coolers and climbing in your windows for Skittles. I tried leaving my dogs tired up to the picnic table while I left to keep them away, but they still came. The little hikers bell that I bought at the store didn't do anything except piss off other campers who were trying to sleep. Stellar Jay's mock you at every turn. They try and tear into your clothspin bags thinking there's food in there. Technically, you can't bring firewood into the park, and the rangers say you should only use firewood bought from the store or gathered from the immediate campsite areas, they don't want you to gather wood from the forested areas. Good thing that the forest is routinely picked clean though, as the last major fire that swept through here had less fuel to burn. Thanks campers for that. If you read this far down you'll know that I'm being facetious in many of my comments. This is a great Park but many people spoil it. If you're looking for a place to party and get drunk, please stay home. The canyon can get crowded at times especially during the weekends. The Rangers who are mostly trying to do their job and we do appreciate their service, but some of them are pretty clueless when they tell you not to gather wood from the forest. They should keep people from parking up in the middle of their campsites, off the asphalt, and police the party people who ruin the serenity for everyone else. It's too late to keep Kings Canyon pristine and serene, and the little-known Hidden Gem that it used to be. But I wish that it could be held in a little better reverence by those that camp there. My wife's family has camped here since the sixties, and seen many of the changes that have helped and hindered the park. The controlled Burns of the seventies where they burned areas that were far outside of the camp areas, they meant well and we're trying to be proactive, but some of those areas never recovered. The road in is much better now, even from when I started coming up in the early 90's. The road makes it easier to get in to the park, which is good but also makes it too convenient for the local party crowd. There are still many hidden gems up here that few people know of so I won't post them here. Have fun in Kings, be respectful,...

Well-earned views all around. Entered from Onion Valley over Kearsarge Pass. Stayed at Kearsarge Lakes, Rae Lakes and on the high trail Between Charlotte Lake and Bullfrog Lake. Made reservations and requested permits no earlier than two weeks in advance.

Doing a mountain pass each day is tough work. I recommend acclimating to the elevation one night before either at Gray Meadows or Onion Valley. If you only want an easier backpacking experience, I recommend doing the Rae Lakes Loop as there is only one mountain pass. It's easier to go clockwise vs. counter clockwise on that Loop.

Be sure to also have appropriate rain protection and sun protection (a Patagonia lightweight long sleeve hoody rated 50 SPF worked great for me) and that your sleeping bag is rated for 40°F or less. The weather can change from rainy to burning hot to freezing cold in a matter of 10 minutes.

Bring hiking poles... They really helped on the way down from mountain passes.

Plenty of water sources. I carried two 1L Smart Water bottles and used a CNOC 2L bag with a Sawyer Squeeze for my filtration system. Brought electrolyte tablets to prevent dehydration.

Not as many bugs as I thought. Didn't use my bug spray or bug net at all.

Please make sure you follow all proper Leave-No-Trace guidelines. We picked up trash along the trail and at our campsites. I also saw more people on the trail and at camp with bear bags INSTEAD of bear canisters. Unacceptable. A bear came into our camp and several other camps at Kearsarge Lakes. He found a bear bag full of food trash hanging from a tree and got it. CCC folx chased him off. Of course he came back several times looking for more. He seemed harmless as we kept chasing him away, but this is absolutely unacceptable. That bear may have to get shot now because of the carelessness of other people. Remember, a fed bear is a dead bear. There are plenty of places to rent bear cans if you do not have the means to buy one. Check out Elevation in Lone Pine or Mammoth Gear Exchange in Bishop. And ask your fellow hiker friends if they have a canister they can loan to you. Or go somewhere else... This valley may lose its bear population all because people don't care to store their food, trash and scented items properly.

Other than that, this is a beautiful place. Keep...

We visited several national parks in California this past April which included two days in the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon National Park. While the main road into the canyon remained closed for the season, we still quite enjoyed spending time hiking and viewing the sequoias of the Grant Grove at this time of year.

During our time in Kings Canyon National Park we stayed at the John Muir Lodge in the small Grant Grove Village. Unfortunately, our stay was not a good one at this property. However we very much liked the location being just a few miles from the grove. There is a village restaurant there that we found to be pretty good. A small market shop, gift shop and Visitor Centre where you can speak to the rangers about road and trail conditions are also situated within the small village.

The hike around the General Grant Tree and Grant Grove was pretty good, a nice way to spend a couple hours around the giant sequoias in the area. This grove was smaller than the Giant Forest Grove in nearby Sequoia National Park but still enjoyable. We didn't find parking to be an issue during our morning visit.

We were also able to drive a few extra miles to the Big Stump Trail to see the meadows full of giant sequoia stumps, the result of late 19th century logging in the area. The Mark Twain Tree Stump, with the staircase leading to the flat surface of the levelled sequoia was a sobering experience. This was a sad but impressionable place to see in the area.

In the end with main canyon being off limits during winter months, 1-2 days seemed plenty for exploring the open areas of the national park - namely the Grant Grove. Longer stays allowing time to explore the canyon would be better during warmer months...