Click on photos for more information.A Trip to the Great Canyon of the Kings
by Laurie Schwaller
The southern part of Kings Canyon National Park is in Tulare County, including readily-accessible sequoia groves, such as the southern part of General Grant Grove, the Redwood Meadow Grove, and the Buena Vista Grove. Take the trail to the top of Buena Vista Peak, an easy day hike, for terrific views.
For a wonderful backcountry experience, hike from the Lodgepole Visitor Center area in Sequoia National Park into the spectacular Sequoia Kings Canyon Wilderness section of Kings Canyon National Park, where peaks, meadows, lakes, streams, and many beautiful trails await you. (You can also hike out of Wolverton and over the Tablelands into this wilderness portion of Kings Canyon National Park.)
However, if you’re here during the three seasons when the road to it is open, you must see also the great canyon of the Kings River for which Kings Canyon National Park was named, and to do that, you must leave Tulare County (although that tremendous canyon was within our county, until boundary changes in the 1870s put it into Fresno County). From the Kings Canyon Visitor Center in Grant Grove Village (in Tulare County), take Highway 180 north, cross the county line, and drive through the northern section of Giant Sequoia National Monument (where you’ll glimpse the effects of the logging over 100 years ago in the sequoia groves that impelled the campaigns to save these giants).
After winding steeply down the flanks of the vast canyon (on a good, paved 2-lane road with many curves), stop for sensational views of the Wild and Scenic Kings River at Junction Vista and again at Horseshoe Bend, just before you finally reach the level of the river, where you can tour beautiful Boyden Cavern (guided tours only; fee).
Now follow the tree-lined Kings River up-canyon and stop to visit marvelous Grizzly Falls, just a few steps from the roadside picnic tables.
Soon after that, you’ll re-enter Kings Canyon National Park, with several campground options, a lodge, a restaurant, a ranger station, a riding and packing stable, picnic areas, abundant wildlife, trails for people of all abilities and inclinations, ranger programs, and some of the most sensational scenery in the nation.
John Muir called Kings Canyon “another Yosemite,” and the forests, flowers, meadows, rivers, creeks, waterfalls, lakes, cliffs, and peaks calling you to explore and enjoy them make spending at least one night, and preferably several, in this richly rewarding environment a must.
Be sure to take the short walk (paved trail) to Roaring River Falls, the easy walk along the river at Zumwalt Meadows, and the quick walk to the huge rock in the river where John Muir spoke. The trails on the canyon floor are almost flat, and you’re sure to see wildlife along them.
When other commitments force you to leave this gigantically grand and yet invitingly intimate canyon, there’s only one road out: take Highway 180 back to Grant Grove and be amazed all over again by the views going the other way.
May, 2014
“Susan Priscilla Thew[‘s] . . . enthusiasm and energy left a lasting impact on Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. . . . [In 1923] Thew [resident of Exeter] hoped to capture a still untouched landscape in images and words that would make clear the need for its preservation. Little did Thew know that her work would succeed in nearly tripling the park’s acreage . . . .” — National Park Service/Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
“She spent several summers traversing some of the most rugged terrain in the continental United States . . . photographing the landscape in hopes of conveying . . . its beauty.” — National Park Service/Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
“With these images, the largest and most complete photographic record of the region to date, Thew produced a publication for distribution to members of Congress promoting the park idea. . . .” — NPS/Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
“Shall we place under the supervision of the National Park Service for Federal protection a distinctive scenic area, whose greatest value to you – the people – is for the advancement of science in various forms, for the protection of watersheds, the perpetuation of the oldest living family of trees, the preservation of wild life, and as an incomparable wilderness playground.” – – Susan P. Thew
“This is an appeal to you to help save for posterity one of the most splendid portions of the High Sierras, the wild country to the north, northeast, and east of the present Sequoia National Park, by expanding this park to larger boundaries.” – – Susan P. Thew
“After passage of the bill, the director of the National Park Service sent a telegram to Susan in recognition of her efforts. . . . her persuasiveness and ardor were undoubtedly the deciding factor in the push for park expansion.” — NPS/Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
“During the campaign to create Kings Canyon National Park in 1940, Thew’s approach was used again. Photographer Ansel Adams created a portfolio of stunning images for distribution among members of Congress and, like Thew, his efforts contributed to success in passing an expansion bill.” — NPS/Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
“If you are weary with the battle, either of business or the greater game of life, and would like to find your way back to sound nerves and a new interest in life, I know of no better place than the wild loveliness of some chosen spot in the High Sierra in which, when you have lost your physical self, you have found your mental and spiritual re-awakening.” — Susan P. Thew (1920s)
“In 1918, Susan Thew discovered something she loved and devoted all her efforts to making a change. She not only found a new source of personal energy in the parks, she ensured that generations to come would have the same opportunity.” — NPS/Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
“To honor her efforts on behalf of Sequoia National Park and her love of the High Sierra, in 2023 the newly-renovated theater inside the parks’ Lodgepole Visitor Center was dedicated as the Susan Thew Wilderness Theater.” — National Park Service/Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Text above excerpted from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks History & Culture
