On excursions to Kings Canyon, John Muir would allegedly give talks on this large, flat river boulder, a short walk from the Road's End parking lot and less than a mile past Zumwalt Meadow. A sandy river beach here is taken over by gleeful swimmers in midsummer. Don’t jump in when the raging waters, swollen with snowmelt, are dangerous. Ask at the Road's End ranger station if conditions are calm enough for a dip.
Muir Rock
Kings Canyon National Park
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
29.13 MILES
The setting for countless ride-‘em-out movies, the popular Lone Ranger TV series and, more recently, parts of Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008) and Quentin…
-
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
15.28 MILES
Joined by a high-altitude roadway bisecting a national forest and contiguous with a number of wilderness areas, these two parks combined offer vast…
Manzanar National Historic Site
24.83 MILES
A stark wooden guard tower alerts drivers to one of US history's darkest chapters, which unfolded on a barren, windy sweep of land some 5 miles south of…
27.42 MILES
A scenic subalpine valley at 7500ft, Mineral King is Sequoia’s backpacking mecca and a good place to find solitude. Gorgeous and gigantic, its glacially…
16.78 MILES
This 3-sq-mile grove protects the park’s most gargantuan tree specimens. Among them is the world’s biggest, the General Sherman tree, rocketing 275ft into…
21.87 MILES
West of Lone Pine, the jagged incisors of the Sierra surge skyward in all their raw and fierce glory. Cradled by scores of smaller pinnacles, Mt Whitney…
-
19.63 MILES
A quarter-mile staircase climbs 350 steps (over 300ft) to the top of Sequoia’s iconic granite dome at an elevation of 6725ft, offering mind-boggling views…
-
21.77 MILES
This sequoia grove off Generals Hwy is astounding. The paved half-mile General Grant Tree Trail is an interpretive walk that visits a number of mature…
Nearby Kings Canyon National Park attractions
0.3 MILES
Six miles east of Cedar Grove Village is the end of the road for cars. A seasonal ranger station issues wilderness permits, sells maps and hiking guides,…
1.56 MILES
This verdant meadow, bordered by the Kings River and soaring granite walls, offers phenomenal views. In the early morning, the air hums with birdsong, the…
2.14 MILES
A five-minute walk on a paved trail (0.3 miles) leads to one of the park’s most accessible waterfalls, a 40ft chute gushing into a granite bowl. In late…
2.5 MILES
One of the most popular destinations for a day hike from the Cedar Grove area of Kings Canyon, Mist Falls is an Edenic spot, with massive boulders,…
2.93 MILES
During the 1920s, wealthy Santa Barbara businessman George Knapp built this simple wood-shingled cabin to store gear in during his extravagant fishing and…
4.75 MILES
Cedar Grove, at the bottom of Kings Canyon, is the last outpost of civilization before you reach the rugged grandeur of the Sierra Nevada backcountry. The…
8.89 MILES
The base of these 80ft falls is a short walk from Hwy 180, about 4 miles west of Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon. There's a picnic area here with bathrooms.
10.89 MILES
A stunning wilderness area 44,000 acres in size and bisected by the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway (Hwy 180). Monarch includes dramatic, high-elevation alpine…