Kings Canyon National Park, sister park to Sequoia, was the final stop on our epic four National Park California road trip. While most feel it is not as grand as her neighboring sister or upstate cousin Yosemite, by some measures we felt it was much more and had saved the best for last. Most noteable is the fact that the park holds the deepest gorge in the United States and is home to the General Grant Tree–the third largest tree in the world. But most enjoyable for us was the fact that the park was far less crowded and unspoiled. Driving the winding scenic Highway 180 with its deep valley, skyscraping trees and rugged rock outcroppings made for an unforgettable day. We stopped countless times at every available pull out to photograph the breathtaking views, Redwood Mountain Grove, and almost hourly changing weather as we climbed and descended the road through the park–I swear we experienced all four seasons in just 8 hours–snowing at the top and sunny and 70’s at the bottom. Our only regret was that we had only allowed for a one day visit and due to rain/sleet/snow rolling in and out the entire day, we didn’t get to do much hiking.
And again, as written in my previous post on Sequoia National Park, there is no way I could post about Kings Canyon without giving a huge shout out to our home away from home for the three days we were there–our amazing vrbo rental Crystal Cove in Three Rivers. For pictures and a short video highlighting the property, you can either click here for the Sequoia National Park post or click directly on the Crystal Cove link above.
Get out and hug a tree today – I just dare you to try and wrap your arms around one of these beasts!
These two are probably a few of the reasons I felt we were being watched….
Once again our view from Crystal Cove and an evening bonfire with wine. If you go, don’t stay anywhere else!
If you would like to read more about this trip, you might like these posts:
