Kings Canyon National Park

Picture Highlights!

We were a bit more excited to get into the mountains. The peaks in Kings are way more dramatic. Looking back, I kind of wish we’d spent more time in Sequoia—there’s definitely more to see—but we were in a bit of a time crunch, and a quicker pass-through is just how it worked out.

By the time the weekend hit, we were both absolutely beat. We got to a small campground just outside of Kings Canyon on Saturday night. A couple of other rigs pulled in late, and we spent the evening getting settled before sleeping in until about 10 a.m.—finally feeling secure in a mountain campground with no bears.

We took that next day really slow, we were still recovering. Not much else happened, but we did have a realization about how we want to approach the rest of our trip. While looking for water (which has been a challenge—most facilities are still closed), we stopped at a lodge halfway through Kings and ran into another guy with a rig. We chatted for a bit—he was really friendly and offered us suggestions, even offered to help fill our water jugs. We thanked him but kept moving. Later, we realized he ended up at the same campsite as us. We gave a quick friendly wave, but that was it.

Looking back, we kind of wished we’d spent more time talking with him. We’ve decided we want to be more intentional about making friends—or at least friendly connections—as we travel. So we’re working on showing a bit more warmth and openness as we go, since those are the kinds of memories we’re hoping to build.

One of the biggest reasons we’ve moved through some of these areas so quickly is that most things are closed. There’s barely any running water, no showers, and very few campgrounds open. It’s been frustrating. It’s made trip planning tricky, especially with a lot of hikes still closed. We’re realizing we didn’t think through how much of a factor the weather in May would be.

We’re hoping to slow down a bit, let the temps warm up before we hit key areas in Oregon and Washington.

For the last two days in Kings, we stayed at a campground inside Kings Canyon itself (no water). If all you have time for is the scenic drive through the canyon—it’s still totally worth it. The road hugs the canyon wall, with steep drop-offs to the river, jagged peaks, and tons of wildflowers.

We really enjoyed it and just wish it had been warmer so we could’ve done more hiking. Sarah especially loved this campground—it was much warmer than the one we stayed at near Hume Lake, which was freezing.

View from warm campground 🤗🌻❤️

view from cold campground 🫠😰

Thankfully, we dodged most of the mosquitoes, though we did get bit a few times.

We headed over to a few hikes, kings canyon is beautiful. We often wondered why no body was here- it is such a stunning park. Then we remembered it was freezing cold and none of the campgrounds were open.

Zumwalt meadows

You’ll have to check out Mist Falls. The highway getting to the trails on the northern end of the park are beautiful. Mist falls was nice, some stunning views of the rock faces, and an easy/fairly flat 8 miles. We did it on a tortilla and slice of lunch meat, so not much energy required lol (a new favorite). The falls are more powerful than photogenic, but still impressive. The hike to get there was the cooler part.

Mist Falls

Raging river!

Ethan spotted an owl

Moss monster!

Wow look how misty

Power

The only ones in the whole park!

Big stump/General Grant/More Touristy Hikes

We did some of the more touristy hikes around the central area of the park before we headed out. We have been really bad about taking pics/ bringing the camera on these hikes, so many memories not captured. We will do better.

They hollowed this tree

And they chopped down all the sequoias in this area for fences 😡

It took them 9 days to get through each of these bad boys. Sequoias put up a good fight

Me trying to get off the stump + a little OOTD for the day — one of my better looks

A quaint little lake with the cutest cabin (sequoia lake overlook)

We left the park, wishing we could have spent a little more time there. On our way out, we saw the most beautiful sunset near the city Dunlap. And then finished the drive to Fresno in the dark. Sarah assured me I wasn't missing any beautiful country near Fresno.

This was the most beautiful view in Fresno. Our first non freezing sink showers all week! Absolutely beautiful. Something so liberating about walking into the gym and not working out.

Here are some additional pics from our adventures!