For the hike up, the parks offer plenty of backpacking opportunities from Cedar Grove at the bottom of Kings Canyon, from Lodgepole, near the geographical center of the parks, and from Mineral King, a recent addition at the southern end of the parks. A few of these may be suitable for day trips for the fit and determined walker. Then there is Moro Rock, a granite monolith that juts out of the end of a ridge like a thumb popping out of an old mitten. It is 6,725 feet in elevation, with a footpath built in 1917 that goes to the very top. Twin national parks in California's Sierra Nevada, featuring the largest living thing, the General Sherman Sequoia Tree.
Summer is high season with mild temperatures and long days.
California 180 enters the park from the north, and California 198 enters from the south. Grant Grove Lodge open all year, but the lodges at Giant Forest and Cedar Grove are open seasonally. Check on the Web. All rights reserved.