Kings Canyon National Park Waterfalls

Kings Canyon National Park has several waterfalls to enjoy on your visit, including Roaring River Falls (easily accessible) and Mist Falls. Grizzly Falls is also located on the way to Kings Canyon in Sequoia National Forest and is easily accessible from the road.

Grizzly Falls

Grizzly Falls is the beautiful 75 foot waterfall in Grizzly Creek visible from the parking area on the north side of Kings Canyon Scenic Byway. It is located in Sequoia National Forest on the way to Kings Canyon National Park, not far from where Grizzly Creek runs into the South Fork of the Kings River. In the spring and early summer, the snowfall runoff cascades over the waterfall and sprays mist throughout the picnic area here. This was what we saw in mid-June in a heavy snowfall year:

Later in the year, the falls contains a lower volume of water and looks very different when it is a small stream rather than a raging river.

Roaring River Falls

Roaring River Falls in Kings Canyon National Park is reached by a short, paved .3 mile out and back trail from the parking area off Kings Canyon Scenic Byway. The river cascades over the short waterfall through a narrow granite canyon. The parking area is 1.5 miles west of the Zumwalt Meadow trailhead.

Roaring River is a 16 mile tributary of the South Fork of the Kings River that lies entirely within Kings Canyon National Park. It originates at Triple Divide Peak in the Great Western Divide before intersecting with the South Fork shortly after the falls.

When we were there in mid-June, the river was indeed roaring and the area looked very different than it does when the surrounding area’s snowfall has melted.

Mist Falls

Mist Falls is a cascading 100 foot waterfall of the South Fork of the Kings River. It is accessed by a four plus mile one way trail hike from Roads End (Kanawyer). The first half of the trail is flat and the second half is uphill. Most people turn around at the falls, but the trail does continue past Mist Falls to Paradise Valley via a series of switchbacks.