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Kings Canyon National Park

Best Hiking Trails in Kings Canyon National Park

178 reviews

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Overview

It's difficult to separate Kings Canyon National Park from its neighbor, Sequoia National Park, as both call the rugged southern Sierra Nevada Mountain range home, and are jointly managed by the National Park Service. Visit towering trees, canyons and cliffs in beautiful pristine wilderness.

Getting Started

Kings Canyon is close to some major metropolitan areas, including Los Angeles and San Francisco only a few hours away. Neighboring Sequoia National Park, Yosemite and Death Valley are well worth the extra drive.

With so many hiking options, it's hard to know where to start! Peruse our “popular hikes” section below, and choose your own adventure. The Pacific Crest Trail and John Muir Trail are incredibly worthy, if you're up for a challenge. Check out places to go and things to do in both parks. Looking for somewhere to sleep? You'll have plenty of camping and lodging options, but try booking ahead, especially in the busy summer months or on weekends. Don't forget a visit to the visitor center, where the friendly rangers can give great advice.

Find winter conditions, weather reports, park conditions and more, here.

When to Go

July and August are summer prime-time, but the shoulder seasons will help you beat the crowds. Winter can be beautiful, but with unpredictable weather, so be prepared.

Permits

Like most national parks, fees are required. Check out this page for wilderness permits and head for the hills.

Dog Info

Dogs are only permitted in designated campgrounds, roads and picnic areas, and must be kept on a leash no longer than 6-feet in length at all times. Get details, here.

GaleKayak5363 9 months, 1 week ago

Rae Lakes Loop

Rae Lakes loop was a stunning 3 night backpack. The weather and sun exposure was the biggest downfall, we were told we had a heat wave. Expected much cooler temps at 10K ft of elevation, but we guessed it was 80-90 Fahrenheit the week of August 10th 2025. Overall, fantastic hike….prepare for the sun and heat.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

GaleKayak5363 9 months, 1 week ago

Rae Lakes Loop

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Emily Hardy 1 year, 2 months ago

General Grant Tree Loop via General Grant Trail

This is an easy hike for beginners and the historical landmarks are really cool to see. I would definitely recommend.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

EarlyPack5004 1 year, 5 months ago

Track (6/23/24, 5:34:35AM)

This is not a trip for newcomers. A very beautiful but challenging section of the Sierras. My group was going against the direction of PCT’ers of which we met many on our journey. I highly recommend this trail, but maybe a month later in the season to allow more snow to melt on Forrester pass.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Kjell Hult 1 year, 8 months ago

Lower Rae Lake Loop via PCT

Solo hike over 5 days in mid September 2024 - first night at Upper Paradise Valley -- established sites were way too close to the trail and to each other. I tramped off trail for a while to find something secluded but then couldn't have a fire. The river is especially pretty here with beautiful pools for swimming. Fishing was great. Second night at Arrowhead Lake - this day was a bit of a slog uphill after the bridge. Nuts to butts on the JMT here - very busy part of the trail. The hike along Woods Creek is very pretty and gentle; once over the bridge and heading south it gets a bit steeper. I was racing rain and was happy to get to Arrowhead before the rain got too bad. I definitely recommend Arrowhead over Dollar. Pretty sites at Arrowhead and fishing once again amazing. I only hiked about a mile the third day - I wanted to maximize my time in the valley and enjoy some time relaxing. Hiked just the bit to Middle Rae and scored the best site on the lake early in the am after the people before me moved on. Absolutely gorgeous lake with incredible views, especially at sunset and sunrise. Fishing incredible again - for a while I'd catch a fish every cast for a stretch of ~20 casts or so. Those fish are hungry!! I got an early start the next morning to get over Glen Pass before it got too hot. It's a push but really not bad at all. The switchbacks are fairly gentle. After the tarns, you'll have 29 switchbacks to the top. No sweat! Once over, it's quite literally all downhill from there. The climb down is steep, but once past Charlotte, the climb down to Vidette Meadows is even steeper. Glad I wasn't going the other way. I camped at Junction Meadows - once again they've packed all the established sites right next to each other. It's very pretty but I wish they had spread the campsites around a bit. The river here (Bubbs) wasn't quite as good for fishing and swimming was a bit tougher as the river is faster without the nice deep quiet pools of Woods Creek. The last day I did the ~8 miles (easy fast downhill) to the car. Easy hike and got to my car in just over 3.5 hours. No bears, great weather, amazing fishing, all good. My only complaint is that the established campsites are too dang close to the trail and to each other. But amazing loop nonetheless.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

sandra.george512 1 year, 10 months ago

In at Kearsarge Pass Trail to South Fork River then back to out at Bishop Pass Trail JMT

. . .

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Temecula Dan 2 years, 7 months ago

Bishop Pass

Solo day hiked Fri 10/27/2023 – Early start with the moon at 98% full power and a lot of howls and movement in the bushes (made me think of “Night at the Museum”). Veered directly west off the BP Trail halfway between Saddlerock & Bishop Lakes and skirted the north shore of Bishop Lake. Picked up a use trail just before the surveyor’s cabin and followed it SSW as it climbed to the base of the east face of Mt. No Goode without having to bushwhack along the way. Decided to climb the vertical headwall south of No Goode for extra fun to get up on the ridge-line and catch the warmth of the sun when it eventually rose up over Mt. Agassiz. It was a cold start to this hike with 2 Merino base layers, soft shell and hand warmers in mid wt. gloves but warm after 15 minutes of moving. The talus was surprisingly stable going up to and along the ridge-line, a welcome break compared to recent weeks ascending the chutes of Agassiz and Picture Puzzle. Great fun on the ridge from Mt. No-Goode to Goode Pass and Mt. Goode including going up and down the high points in between (not really false summits). The views from both summit pairs were fantastic as the cloud line remained high enough to get a 360° panorama of all the prominent peaks. Down climbed the larger rocks heading SE until picking up the SE use trail which I followed all the way back to the BP Trail, although it disappeared at times in the meadow grass when approaching the lakes. Easy to avoid the snow but I insisted on crossing the NE chute before the base and found it to be very firm for mid-day. A few of the shallower streams were frozen over and some slippery slabs/rocks with the ice forming thicker verglas layers but the afternoon still brought T shirt weather with it. A really fun class 2/3 route where you can add class 4 on the west ridge side if you get bored. BP Trail itself is very scenic (in the daylight) and now is a great time to see the fall colors before the snow comes. Just bring extra layers and warm gloves for the morning! Logged 11.8 miles/3569 vertical ft. with Gaia ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Solo day hiked Fri 10/20/2023 – Spent the night at Forks campground and was lucky enough to see the Orionid meteor shower. Early hike out to Ruwau Lake and then up the north face of Picture Puzzle. Went too far west and was climbing class 4 too early so back east (towards Cloudripper) and up the bigger north chute talus field to the right of the snow. Crossed to the left side of the chute near the top of the ridge and ran into a flock of mountain chickadees picking through the snow. The talus was fun to climb but more unstable than even Agassiz with some of the largest boulders frequently moving in spite of careful hold placement/testing. The few sliding scree sections were ridiculous to cross but the snow was good and the ice not too bad. Took the ledges around the pinnacles and climbed up the last one just north of the summit notch. Descended down to the NE couloir /notch after trying a few different routes and took off my pack for the last summit climb. Found 2 great chimneys that started from a point 30 feet down the notch’s west chute to start up the real summit which was a much easier ascent than what it looked like from the notch. Views from the summit were spectacular with the wind just starting up. Summit register was an empty water bottle with a note pad and a golf tee but no pen. The down climb was long and uneventful until a 3 x 4 boulder dislodged and rolled about 50 feet downward which added some real excitement and had me snugging my helmet straps. Got back to Ruwau Lake and hiked up Chocolate Peak which was well worth the views from the top. Took the Chocolate Lakes Loop back to Bishop Pass to finish off another day of awesome hiking/climbing weather. Highly recommend Picture Puzzle for the scramble/climb/views and Chocolate Peaks for the hike/views. Logged 10.5 miles/4103 vertical ft. with Gaia _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Solo hiked Thurs 10/5/2023 – Plenty of shooting stars on the way to Agassiz with a bright moon. Early start snow climbing the first 1500 ft. of Mt. Agassiz R/H west chute with axe and crampons until the snow wouldn’t hold. Then on to the SW rocks/slabs to the summit which was great fun and fast, good holds even with some ice and more snow from last week than I planned on. Spent an hour taking in the incredible views from the summit before heading down. Since the snow in the chute was unstable/unconsolidated with a few 1 foot diameter pinwheels mid slope and the warming weather, I decided not to descend on it. And so the rock down climbing trek began with choosing the steepest slope to right of the chute to try and make it down faster (larger down steps). It was fun for the first 1000 feet but just tiring for the last 1000. I would recommend waiting for either winter climbing snow or dry rocks as the snow and ice on the rocks dragged out a simple down climb. Couldn't resist trying to glissade the last 200 feet but the snow was too soft. Went out south past Bishop Pass to a Dusy Basin overlook to recover with an 1-1/2 hour lunchbreak before heading down to Bull Lake for another stop to enjoy perfect October weather for a bit. Longer day than I planned on but really enjoyed the trail on the way out. If you decide to go up the Agassiz, it needs a new summit canister as the current one is a cracked plastic container that was full of snow. I let the note pad dry for an hour before putting it in a few vented zip lock bags I had but the canister is useless. Logged 13.7 miles/4139 vertical ft. with Gaia

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

1GOSOR5x 3 years, 2 months ago

Boat ramp via John Muir Trail and Bishop Pass Trail

I r

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Terri P 3 years, 9 months ago

Bubbs creek

Hiked up to junction meadows saw 2 bears. Set up camp in rain second night. Made the decision to turn around day 3 and hike out. Met lots of nice backpackers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

MildRiver4362 3 years, 10 months ago

Mist Trail Kings Canyon

Great trail! Sandy, not too much elevation gain, beautiful views of the canyon, and an amazing falls at the end. Very peaceful. Saw a small black bear and her two cubs.

★ ★ ★ ★

Dan Waldner 3 years, 10 months ago

Roads End West to East 6/24/22

The views are beautiful but this is a grueling hike. It is up hill all the way, so be prepared to be a lot slower than on normal hikes, especially as you reach the point to climb to Kearsarg Pass.

★ ★

SoftGaze7231 3 years, 11 months ago

General Grant

Easy hike, big tree and downed log you can walk through.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

StarkTent2646 4 years, 7 months ago

Mount Whitney via John Muir Trail

Great hike 26 hour hike. Started at 11pm got back at 1am 26 hours later. The crest trail the toughest part IMHO. It’s all in the open sun and no trees to get sun shade from. Next time I do it I’ll do a 2 day permit so I can see the lower half of the hike.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Terri P 4 years, 8 months ago

Track (8/22/21, 6:26:44AM)

Very challenging: smoky air, hot, terrain and altitude. We had a bright full moon, only bugs were annoying knats ! We found good camp sites, respectful people. Most sections had water to filter. Signs everywhere about active, sneaky bears,. Saw and heard about bears but no issues. We used a bearacaide and carried nothing smelly outside the can. Leave no trace!!!! My first solo backpack down. Beautiful vistas, lakes and mountains.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

BoldMaple7818 4 years, 9 months ago

South lake to North Lake Via Bishop, Muir & Piute passed

Hiked from South lake to North lake. This direction seemed steeper up and less steep down. Endless scenery. Tough hike with Piute Canyon unexpectedly challenging. Low water which meant few mosquitoes and dry creeks + easy river crossings. Despite low lakes this was a stunning trip with plenty of water.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★