The Kings Canyon Highway comes to an end at Cedar Grove, beyond which only backcountry hikes allow further penetration of the high-elevation wilderness areas lying to the north and south. At a lower level, much shorter and simpler treks include the Zumwalt Meadow Trail, leading to a lush patch of grass, speckled in spring by wildflowers and popular with deer, who show up to feed in the cool of early morning and early evening. A 2-mile continuation of the trail (and a short walk from a marked roadside stop/car-park) reaches Roaring River Falls, living up to their name spectacularly during the early summer.

Detour – Landscape Drive – Kings canyon Highway

From Grant Grove, the Kings Canyon Highway – built by prison labourers during the 1930s – makes an hour-long winding descent into the canyon which gives Kings Canyon National Park its name, and concludes at Cedar Grove. Carved by the Kings River, the sides of the steep, V-shaped canyon are marked by exposed granite and broad expanses of chaparral, studded in places by the yellow spikes of yucca plants.