Kings Canyon National Park, California

Bishop Pass, Kings Canyon National Park
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dusy_Basin_in_Kings_Canyon1.jpg
Josh Steinitz


Kings Canyon National Park is a national park in California. The park is located to the east of Fresco, in the southern Sierra Nevada. It is to the north of the Sequoia National Park and is contiguous to it.

Kings Canyon National Park covers 462,901 acres (187,329 ha) and was established in 1940. The area was visited by famous naturalist John Muir in 1873. It was Muir who made the park popular. He theorized that the landscape of Kings Canyon was the result of glaciers, similar to Yosemite Valley.

General Grant Tree, Kings Canyon National Park
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:General_Grant_Tree_in_Kings_Canyon_National_Park.jpg
Miguel.v


The person instrumental in creating Kings Canyon National Park was US Secretary of the Interior, Harold Ickes, who hired famous photographer Ansel Adams to take scenic shots of the landscape.

Kings Canyon National Park comprises the General Grant Grove section and the main portion of the park, comprising the headwaters of the South and Middle Forks of the Kings River, and the South Fork of the San Joaquin River.

Although the General Grant Grove part of Kings Canyon National Park comprise less than 10% of the park area, it is home to the largest remaining natural Giant Sequoia grove in the world. Covering 3,100 acres (1,300 ha), this area has some 15,800 sequoia trees wiith diameter exceeding one foot. Also within General Grant Grove are the famous General Grant Tree, the largest Giant Sequoia in the area, named after Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States. It is the second largest Giant Sequoia after the General Sherman tree in the Sequoia National Park.

Visiting Kings Canyon National Park, California

As Kings Canyon National Park is contiguous with Sequoia National Park, direction for getting there is similar. From Fresno, take California State Highway 180 heading east to reach Kings Canyon National Park (Highway 198 takes you to Sequoia National Park).

Both national parks are open all year round, although some parts of the parks may be snowed in from November through May. Highway 198 takes you from the Grant Grove area to Sequoia National Park.

Entrance fees of $20, valid over 7 days, allows you to enter Kings Canyon, Sequoia and the Hume Lake District of Sequoia National Forest/Giant Sequoia National Monument. Other permits are required for overnight backpacking, hiking in the Mt. Whitney area, fishing, visiting Crystal Cave (tickets available at Foothills and Lodgepole visitor centers), and commercial filming.

List of National Parks in the United States

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