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McGee Overlook in Kings Canyon National Park

Scenic pullout · Kings Canyon National Park

McGee Overlook

A quick stop for fire-scarred slopes and westward sunset views.

Type
Scenic pullout
Nearest trail
1.3 mi
Audio stories
6 nearby
  • Parking
  • Scenic viewpoint
  • Exhibit
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

McGee Overlook

Overview

About McGee Overlook

Why stop

  • The fire story and a broad west-facing view share one quick stop.

Map

Where it is

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Full map
Scenic pulloutMcGee Overlook36.77294, -118.96087
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Plan your stop

Before you go

8 active Kings Canyon alerts

  • ClosureGrant Grove trails and areas closed for prescribed fireMentions Grant Grove, referenced in this guideSome trails and areas around Grant Grove and the General Grant Tree are closed during an active prescribed burn; stay out until crews clear hazards and reopen them.Official details
  • CautionStage 1 fire restrictionsStage 1 fire restrictions are active because high fire danger raises the risk of accidental human-caused fires that could threaten visitors and employees.Official details
See all 8 alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Kings Canyon Tour Guide

Your drive to McGee Overlook, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Kings Canyon National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

See the Kings Canyon audio tour

Recorded for this place

McGee Overlook
0:00 / 0:20
“McGee Overlook is coming up, a quick roadside stop looking west across fire-scarred slopes. The nineteen fifty-five McGee Fire burned here, and the Rough Fire returned to part of the same ground in twenty fifteen.”

Plays as you drive up to McGee Overlook in the Parkwolf Kings Canyon Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • Chicago Stump Access
  • North Boundary and Lone Pine Loop
  • Boole Tree and Stump Meadow Access
  • Panoramic Point
  • 55 audio storiesacross Kings Canyon’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Mule Deer, Marmot, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 77 trails, 61 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
★★★★★
“…The kids and my husband and I all agree that the narration really added to our experience driving through the parks. We learned so much about the history and the flora & fauna.”
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4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Guide

More about McGee Overlook

A quick stop with a storyMcGee Overlook is a roadside pullout on CA-180, about three miles north of Grant Grove Village,…

McGee Overlook is a roadside pullout on CA-180, about three miles north of Grant Grove Village, on Forest Service land. It looks west across a fire-scarred drainage. Set aside a few minutes for the fire-history panel and open valley view.

Read the fire scarsThe 2015 Rough Fire burned back through part of the 1955 McGee Fire area, about 60 years later.

The 2015 Rough Fire burned back through part of the 1955 McGee Fire area, about 60 years later. Standing burned trunks still mark the slopes. The earlier fire also changed how naturalists thought about long-term fire suppression and the role of prescribed burns, so the view has a bigger story than the scars alone.

Pull in carefullySunset is the strongest time to stop: the view faces west, and multiple visitors single out the…

Sunset is the strongest time to stop: the view faces west, and multiple visitors single out the light across the valley. Traffic moves quickly here and sight distance is limited when entering or leaving, so take care at the pullout. There is parking and a fire-history exhibit, but no restrooms, potable water or picnic tables.

overlookfiresunsethistoryviewpoint

Wildlife

Wildlife in Kings Canyon

All Kings Canyon wildlife maps
Black Bear227 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapMule Deer385 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapMarmot188 sightingsMarmotMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapPika118 sightingsPikaMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapGolden Trout14 sightingsGolden TroutMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapRainbow Trout32 sightingsRainbow TroutMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Kings Canyon. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near McGee Overlook

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

ModerateNorth Boundary–Lone Pine Loop4.5 mi · 2.3 hr · 1.3 mi awayA quieter forest loop with a brief giant sequoia highlightEasyPanoramic Point Trail0.5 mi · 24 min · 1.5 mi awayA paved half-mile loop over Hume Lake and the High Sierra.ModeratePark Ridge Trail to Park Ridge Fire Lookout5.2 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.6 mi awayWalk the ridge to a historic fire lookout and wide Sierra views.ModerateNorth Grove Loop1.8 mi · 1 hr · 1.9 mi awayA quieter sequoia loop through meadows and creek-side forest.EasyNorth Grove and Dead Giant Loops2.8 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.9 mi awayWalk two sequoia loops to a standing dead giant and lake viewModerateSunset Trail and Ella Falls Loop6.3 mi · 4 hr · 2.3 mi awayA granite cascade and a screened lake view reward this forest loop.ModerateViola Falls Trail3.9 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayA forested descent from Grant Grove ends at a granite cascade.ModerateManzanita and Azalea Trail4.3 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayA forest circuit around Wilsonia opens onto High Sierra views.

More stops nearby

Sight · 1.6 mi awayPanoramic Point OverlookHume Lake and the High Sierra share one sweeping overlook.Sight · 1.8 mi awayGamlin CabinA 1872 cabin on the paved General Grant Tree loop.Sight · 1.8 mi awayChicago StumpA 20-foot stump makes a stark, useful stop for sequoia history.Sight · 1.8 mi awayGeneral Grant TreeA giant sequoia with its own Christmas Day tradition.Sight · 1.8 mi awayCentennial StumpA sequoia stump with a Philadelphia story on the General Grant loop.Sight · 1.9 mi awayFallen MonarchWalk through a hollow sequoia on a short paved loop.Campground · 1.9 mi awayCrystal Springs CampgroundCamp among conifers with Grant Grove’s sequoia walks nearby.Sight · 2 mi awayGrant Grove StablesSee Grant Grove's giant sequoias from the saddle.

Parkwolf’s Kings Canyon ranking

Top sights in Kings Canyon

All 61 places
  1. 1General Grant TreeSight
  2. 2Zumwalt MeadowSight
  3. 3Roaring River FallsSight
  4. 4Panoramic Point OverlookSight
  5. 5Grizzly FallsSight
  6. 6Boyden CavernSight

Take Parkwolf to Kings Canyon.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

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