Autumn in Kings Canyon N.P.

Oct. 2021

We had made reservations at an RV park outside of Fresno a few months previously, before lightning started a forest fire that closed Sequoia and Kings Canyon Natl. Parks. These 2 parks share a border and are managed together. Right before we were scheduled to be in the area, Kings Canyon was reopened, as the fire had been contained in that area. However, all of Sequoia was still closed, so we will have to return another time to see that park.

Thankfully, however, the fire did not destroy the giant sequoias in either park. We were able to go to Grant Grove in Kings Canyon to see the third largest tree in the world by volume, the General Grant tree. It had snowed a few days before our visit, and because it’s at an elevation of 6000’, the trail through the grove of sequoias was still covered in snow, although the roads were clear. We had to walk in the snow and we weren’t wearing our boots! However, our hiking shoes had good tread, and they dried quickly.

The extra-wide angle of the phone camera distorts the trees, so they look slanted instead of straight, but it was the only way to fit the whole tree in the picture!

In the Grant Grove, there was a fallen sequoia that was so big, that we could stand straight up inside the trunk. At one time many years ago, people camped in beds inside the log, and the cavalry kept their horses in it.

After that, we headed down into the canyon. We stopped for a picnic lunch here, where there was a great view! In the bottom right of the picture is the winding road we drove down.

Kings Canyon is an undiscovered gem. There were hardly any people there the day we visited, especially on the canyon floor. It was a great time of year to visit, because the fall colors in the canyon were right at their peak and the sun made the yellow leaves glow.