Kings Canyon National Park

Kings Canyon National Park

ByChris Cagle

Kings Canyon National Park is only the 20th largest National Park in the US. It is slightly larger than the neighboring Sequoia National Park, and smaller than the more popular Yosemite National Park to the north.

VISIT Kings Canyon National Park:

Park Details

Kings Canyon National Park was established on October 1, 1890, and has a total area of 461,901 acres (722 square miles, or 1,870 square kilometers).

Address 47050 Generals Highway, Three Rivers, CA, 93271
Phone559-565-3341
HoursOpen 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Entrance Fee$35 per vehicle, valid for 7 days. Includes access to Sequoia
Learn MoreOfficial Website

When to Visit: Weather vs. Peak Visitation

Kings Canyon National Park is the 107th most visited park in the country.

We crunched 30 years of historical weather and/or park service data to find the best months to visit Kings Canyon National Park. We looked for the optimal temperatures, the least amount of snow and rain, and stayed away from peak visitation months if we could help it. All this data then helped us paint a picture as to what the absolute best time to visit Kings Canyon National Park is.

Our data shows the best months to visit Kings Canyon National Park are August, July, June & April.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Park Visits27,70121,65318,57137,14882,199104,953117,40877,70723,59510,99127,37613,617
Precipitation658062425035624129273154
Avg Temp302934405060676559503930
Max Temp414145536270747167605143
Avg Temp161518223038464538302115
Min Temp-4-4-161522363323143-5
Temperature values in °F; Precipitation in Inches

Kings Canyon National Park Road Trips

Many family vacations consist of stringing one or more national parks together during a week-long trip. Creating these types of trips is our specialty! Here are the road trips we've created where Kings Canyon National Park is visited.

Trip NameTrip MilesTrip Days
Death Valley, Sherman Pass, Sequoia & Kings Canyon5458
Pinnacles, Sequoia, Kings Canyon to Santa Monica Mountains6638
Death Valley, Sequoia, Kings Canyon to Yosemite85810
Yosemite, Kings Canyon to Sequoia National Parks5439

Other Nearby National Park Sites

From national monuments, to historic sites to seashores and more, here are the other parks closest to Kings Canyon National Park.

NameDistance
Sequoia National Park20 mi
Manzanar National Historic Site29 mi
Devils Postpile National Monument62 mi
Yosemite National Park83 mi
César E. Chávez National Monument108 mi
Death Valley National Park109 mi
Pinnacles National Park140 mi
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area185 mi
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument192 mi
Channel Islands National Park197 mi

Nearby Campsites & RV Parks

If you are looking to pitch a tent or park an RV at a campsite near Kings Canyon National Park, here is a list of the closest campsites in the surrounding area. They all have slightly different amenitites, so its best to check them all out instead of just chosing the first on the list.

NameDetailsMiles Away
Sentinel - Sequoia and Kings Canyon National ParkCedar Grove, CA more 0 miles
Sheep Creek - Kings Canyon National ParkCedar Grove, CA more 0 miles
Canyon View - Sequoia and Kings Canyon National ParkCedar Grove, CA more 0 miles
Moraine - Kings Canyon National ParkCedar Grove, CA more 1 miles
Convict FlatCA more 9 miles
Big MeadowCA more 9 miles
Eastern Big Meadow RoadCA more 10 miles
Buck RockCA more 11 miles
LandslideHume, CA more 12 miles
Upper Stony CreekDunlap, CA more 12 miles

Nearest Ski Resorts

For those of you who are the diehard outdoors type, visiting a national park on a ski trip can be quite the adventure. Here are the ski resorts within 100 miles of Kings Canyon National Park:

NameLocationSummitDifficulty Score™Distance
Big Bear MountainBig Bear Lake, CA8,805 ft50%32 mi
Mammoth MountainMammoth Lakes, CA11,053 ft70%62 mi
June MountainJune Lake, CA10,090 ft68%71 mi

Nearest Airports

When visiting a National park, many people are faced with either a very long drive across country, or a much shorter flight. For those of you looking to fly into Kings Canyon National Park, we've listed the closest airports in the area.

Large Airports

A large airport has scheduled major airline service with millions of passengers per year. This type of airport always accepts international flights. Here are the closest large airports to Kings Canyon National Park.

NameCodeCityDistance
Norman Y. Mineta San José International AirportSJCSan Jose, CA184 mi
Reno–Tahoe International AirportRNOReno, NV196 mi
Los Angeles International AirportLAXLos Angeles, CA197 mi
Ontario International AirportONTOntario, CA198 mi
Harry Reid International AirportLASLas Vegas, NV202 mi
Oakland International AirportOAKOakland, CA205 mi
Sacramento International AirportSMFSacramento, CA207 mi
Medium Airports

A medium-sized airport has scheduled regional airline service. This type of airport may or may not accept international flights. Here are the closest medium-sized airports to Kings Canyon National Park.

NameCodeCityDistance
Fresno Yosemite International AirportFATFresno, CA58 mi
Meadows FieldBFLBakersfield, CA96 mi
San Luis County Regional AirportSBPSan Luis Obispo, CA154 mi
Santa Maria Public Airport Captain G Allan Hancock FieldSMXSanta Maria, CA164 mi
Santa Barbara Municipal AirportSBASanta Barbara, CA176 mi
Monterey Peninsula AirportMRYMonterey, CA176 mi
Hollywood Burbank AirportBURBurbank, CA180 mi

Credits: Campground data provided by USCampgrounds.info. Map shapes from CartographyVectors. Weather data from NOAA. Airport data from OurAirports.com. Images from Unsplash, Flickr and Parks&Trips. All data has also been updated and augmented by Parks&Trips.