8.2 KiB
8.2 KiB
Sep 25 (Fri) — Kings Canyon / LK → Los Angeles
Group stay: Gilmore Cabin — Miramonte LK stay: Brand Plaza Hotel — Glendale
Logistics
- LK departs Kansas City independently for Los Angeles: MCI 4:20 PM CDT on
E279K7; flight number remains TBC - LK's user-reported LAX arrival is 18:08 PDT; she has no checked baggage
- LK collects the Budget rental, booked for 18:45 PDT. Budget LAX is open 24 hours; from Arrivals, follow the purple Rental Car Shuttles sign across the pickup island and take the Budget bus to the Consolidated Rent-A-Car facility
- Entrance pass: re-entry at Big Stump for Kings Canyon is covered by the 2026 America the Beautiful Non-Resident Annual Pass. Keep the digital/PDF pass and MS's photo ID available; an unstaffed station may require the displayed physical/PDF pass. See the pass record.
Group plan
Menu:
parks_sights.md
- 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 (no longer a loop: the boardwalk and a bridge washed out in 2019, so it is an out-and-back to the meadow view, ~1.5 mi) → 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 market open to mid-October) → 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
LK plan
- 18:08 PDT Arrive at LAX; with no checked baggage, go directly to the Budget shuttle
- 18:45–19:30 PDT target Collect the Budget rental. Put any belongings out of sight in the trunk before leaving the rental facility
- If leaving Budget by 19:30 PDT, drive directly to the Glendale Galleria garage; Friday-evening traffic makes the arrival time variable
- ~20:15–20:55 PDT target Shop for shoes at JD Sports, Glendale Galleria, Level 1 near Target. The store closes at 21:00 PDT. If she is not out of Budget by 19:40 PDT, shopping becomes unreliable and should be skipped
- After shopping Drive to the Brand Plaza Hotel, check in, leave belongings, and confirm the off-site parking location and fee
- ~21:15 PDT dinner: primary choice Raffi's Place for Persian grills, open Friday until 22:00 PDT; order ahead if possible. Din Tai Fung in the Galleria is open until 22:00 PDT but currently advertises a 60–90 minute wait, so use it only if she joins the waitlist before shopping and the timing works. Shake Shack on Brand is the reliable late fallback, open Friday until 03:00 PDT
Drive / walk
One road out and back: Hwy 180 from Grant Grove down into the canyon to Road's End, then the same road up. Every stop is on it.
- Drive Cabin → Hwy 245 north → Hwy 180 east → Big Stump entrance → left at the Wye → Grant Grove Village. 25–40 min. Coffee and toilets
- Walk General Grant Tree, ½-mile paved loop from the Grant Tree lot. 30 min, flat
- Drive Grant Grove → Road's End, 34 mi, 1 h, no stops. Leaves the park, passes Boyden Cavern, drops 3,000 ft along the river, re-enters at Cedar Grove
- Walk Road's End to Muir Rock along the river, a few hundred yards. Lunch. 20 min
- Drive back up the canyon with stops, in order:
- Zumwalt Meadow, 2 mi — walk 1.5 mi out and back, flat, 45 min
- Roaring River Falls, 3 mi further — walk 5 min paved
- Canyon View turnout, before Cedar Grove — pull over, 2 min
- Cedar Grove village — toilets and drinks
- Grizzly Falls, 6 mi past Cedar Grove — pull over, 5 min
- then the climb out, 1 h to Grant Grove
- Drive Panoramic Point side road from Grant Grove Village, 2.5 mi. Walk ¼ mi paved up to the overlook
- Drive Grant Grove → cabin, 35 min
Walking ~3.5 mi, all flat and short. Driving ~3.5 h, 4 with the pullouts, on one winding canyon road. Big Baldy and Boyden Cavern are not on this list.
Addresses
| Place | Address | Map |
|---|---|---|
| Gilmore Cabin — Miramonte | 48753 Todd Eymann Road, Miramonte, CA 93641 · door code 0110 + unlock · Booking PIN 2531 · host +1 559-790-6432 · no cell service | search |
| General Grant Tree | Grant Grove, off Hwy 180 | 36.74806, -118.97111 |
| Panoramic Point | 2.5-mile side road from Grant Grove Village, short walk from the lot | 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 | search |
| Road's End | permit station and lots, end of Hwy 180 | 36.79474, -118.58274 |
| Canyon View turnout | Hwy 180, just east of Cedar Grove | 36.78385, -118.65590 |
| Cedar Grove village | lodge, market, toilets | 36.78987, -118.66803 |
| Boyden Cavern (optional) | Hwy 180, national forest section below Grant Grove | 36.81495, -118.81764 |
| Zumwalt Meadow | Hwy 180 | 36.79161, -118.59612 |
| Roaring River Falls | Hwy 180 | 36.78147, -118.62190 |
| Brand Plaza Hotel — LK | 339 1/2 N Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91203 · off-site paid parking | search |
| Budget rental — LK | 5251 W 98th St, Los Angeles, CA 90045 · LAX · itinerary 73544810702403 |
search |
| JD Sports — Glendale Galleria | 100 W Broadway B001, Glendale, CA 91210 · Level 1 near Target | search |
| Raffi's Place | 211 E Broadway, Glendale, CA 91205 | search |
| Din Tai Fung — Glendale Galleria | 1164 Galleria Way, Glendale, CA 91210 | search |
| Shake Shack — Glendale | 252 S Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91204 | search |