Good Morning Dreamy Canyon!
Lets go visit Kings Canyon National Park! Okay so I started this trip in Las Vegas and drove six hours through the edges of the Mojave National Preserve, to make my way into California, and to the magical land in the southern parts of the Sierra Nevada! The drive took me through Bakersfield, and when I started to see rolling golden hills I knew I was getting closer to my destination!
Day 0:
I arrived after sunset and made my way to my campsite at Azalea Campground. The moon from my campsite was fantastic! The camp only had one working facilities area and was not my favorite NPS campground that I have ever stayed at, however, it was was super close to the hike I wanted to do the next day and that made it the perfect place to lay my head for the night.
Day 1:
The Next morning I headed to the iconic General Grants Grove Trail to see (DRUMROLLLL) the General Grant Tree! I recommend this hike and views 10/10. The massive nature of the trees was on full display here, along with the history of the park. I also got to see a fallen tree that had once been a home for a family. The roots of fallen trees bowed by weight of time and weather were close enough to touch and gave a corner stone for how large the trees were. I took so many photos and none of the photos do this magical place any good. All I can say is *go visit*!!
After taking in the majesty of the General Grant Grove I began making my way into the canyon proper. Driving into the canyon, the Kings river starts out to your left and snakes its way along with you on your journey. As you pass Boyden caves ( a place I did not manage to snag tickets to), the river snakes under you and begins a series of switchbacks which you are lucky to get so see as you drive over the various bridges and stop at pullouts.
This trip was magical... The sun hitting rocks and the fast moving water turned white with the speed of its churn was captivating. It cemented this as a national park that I wanted to spend more time in than this trip allowed.
After an hour or so of snaky roads and gorgeous vistas, I finally made it to the national park sign! This park definitely wanted you to have to drive nearly to its heart to get this picture!
The Park Ranger suggested I see two of the most visited areas with my limited time in the park. The first was Roaring River Falls, the second was Zumwalt Meadows. Both are pictured below and boy the park rangers did not lead me wrong! The views were absolutely stunning
Below are two of my favorite photos from the canyon! After my morning in the park it was time to make the winding drive back out of the mountain and over to Sequoia National Park!
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