Road's End - Mist Falls - Muir Rock - Road's End
- Distance: 14.5km (9mi)
- Duration (with breaks): 4h 00min
- Duration (only hiking): 3h 00min
- Route type: to the falls and back
- Start/end: Road's End
- Highest point: Mist Falls (1740m)
- Elevation gain/loss: 245m/245m
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
- When did we hike: end of August
Why this hike?
Most of Kings Canyon’s beauty lies deeper in the wilderness. Initially, we wanted to hike Rae Lakes Loop, but unfortunately, we did not get the permits. So I was glad to find Mist Falls day hike, which offers pretty nice views of the Kings Canyon peaks, even if only for a day.
How to get there?
As far as I saw, there is only one way to get to the trail and it is by car. The closest village is Cedar Grove, from which you should follow road 180 until Road’s End, which is literally the end of this road 🙂 There are a few parking lots and we had no trouble parking our camper van. From the parking, we headed to the wilderness permit station, from which the trail starts.
So how was it?
The trail began with a flat shaded walk, which was highly appreciated in more than 30 degrees (Celsius) heat. This was our very first hike in the USA, so we had no idea what to expect. Since we were in a bear territory, I was hiking in a slightly alarmed mode, especially in areas with lots of boulders, and I had the urge to shout “hey bear” once in a while.
The first half of the hike to the falls follows a forested trail alongside the river. Here the main challenge is to avoid all the bugs from flying in your mouth or eyes. They were damn annoying!
As we climbed higher, the views got better and the bugs finally left us alone. That also meant that we had less shade. Once in a while we’d come close to the roaring Kings river (either next to it or just above it). Since it was late August, the river was not crazy deep, but still crazy cold and fast 🙂
Once we reached the Mist Falls, there were still quite some rocks in a shade to hide from the scorching sun while enjoying the views of the falls.
After chilling at the Mist Falls, we came back the same way until the three-way junction where, instead of coming back to Road’s End, we crossed the river, followed Bubbs Creek trail for a bit until we reached Kanawyer Loop trail, and followed it to Road’s End.
This trail goes on the other side of Kings river and offers some nice views of the rocks around the trail since most of it is in a meadow. We did not meet anyone else on this trail, so it might also be a good alternative if you’re hiking during the peak days.
It is a bit longer route back, which finishes with a crossing Kings river again. We saw quite a few people swimming (or dipping) in the river, so that was also where we ended our hike.
Tips
- If you have a bug net, bring it. It'll come in handy in forested areas.
- Take plenty of water or water purifier as there are no facilities alongside the trail