- **Morning** Grant Grove & General Grant Tree (~40 min from the cabin) — half-mile loop, ~30 min; coffee and toilets at the village, the last until Cedar Grove
- **Late morning** Kings Canyon Scenic Byway descent — ~1 hr 15 min from Grant Grove to Road's End; drive straight through, saving the stops for the return
- **Early afternoon** Road's End — lunch by the river; short walk toward Muir Rock
- **Afternoon** Back up the byway with stops: Zumwalt Meadow loop → Roaring River Falls (5-min walk) → Canyon View turnout, just east of Cedar Grove village — the U-shaped glacial profile, 2-min stop → Cedar Grove village for toilets and drinks (lodge and snack bar usually close for the season around the end of September) → Grizzly Falls. Canyon walls catch the light from the west in the afternoon
- *Optional hike:* **Big Baldy** — 4.5 mi round trip, ~2 hrs, gentle ridge walk to a granite summit looking west over Redwood Canyon. Trailhead pullout on the Generals Hwy ~6.5 mi south of the Wye, just north of Montecito Sequoia Lodge. Fits in the afternoon between the canyon and Panoramic Point without moving anything else
- *Optional:* Boyden Cavern — marble cave ~10 mi below Grant Grove on the byway, guided tour 45–60 min plus a steep walk to the entrance, ~1.5 hrs total; concessioner-run, check season and tour times. Only if someone wants a cave
- **~5:00 PM** Leave the canyon; ~1 hr 15 back up to Grant Grove
- **~6:30 PM** Panoramic Point — 2.5-mile side road from Grant Grove Village, short walk to the overlook; faces east over the Sierra crest and Hume Lake, so evening light or the 6:55 PM sunset, not the morning
- **~7:15 PM** Back to Miramonte, ~45 min, for the final night
- **Recommended overnight base:** Burbank Airport / downtown Burbank — the best balance of a reasonable drive after the LAX arrival, hotels and dinner nearby, then a ~45–50 minute baseline drive to Vasquez Rocks
- **Pure driving-optimum alternative:** Valencia / Santa Clarita near I-5 — ~30 minutes to Vasquez Rocks the next morning, but a longer and less interesting late drive from LAX
- Avoid Santa Monica and DTLA for this particular night: they add backtracking before the Vasquez Rocks → Point Vicente → LAX route
| Gilmore Cabin — Miramonte | 48753 Todd Eymann Road, Miramonte, CA 93641 · PIN 2531 · host +1 559-790-6432 · no cell service | [search](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=48753+Todd+Eymann+Road+Miramonte+CA+93641) |
| General Grant Tree | Grant Grove, off Hwy 180 | [36.74806, -118.97111](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.74806,-118.97111) |
| Panoramic Point | 2.5-mile side road from Grant Grove Village, short walk from the lot | [36.75369, -118.94435](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.75369,-118.94435) |
| Big Baldy trailhead (optional) | Generals Hwy pullout ~6.5 mi south of the Wye, north of Montecito Sequoia Lodge; summit [36.67188, -118.88248](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.67188,-118.88248) | [search](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Big+Baldy+Trailhead+Sequoia+National+Forest) |
| Road's End | permit station and lots, end of Hwy 180 | [36.79474, -118.58274](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.79474,-118.58274) |
| Canyon View turnout | Hwy 180, just east of Cedar Grove | [36.78385, -118.65590](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.78385,-118.65590) |
| Cedar Grove village | lodge, market, toilets | [36.78987, -118.66803](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.78987,-118.66803) |
| Boyden Cavern (optional) | Hwy 180, national forest section below Grant Grove | [36.81495, -118.81764](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=36.81495,-118.81764) |
