Parking
Park at Grizzly Falls Picnic Area on CA-180; the walk starts within the picnic area. The Forest Service site has no day-use fee and is open sunrise to sunset.
Overview
About Grizzly Falls Trail
Why go
- An 80-foot cascade is only a short walk from the road
- Picnic tables and a vault toilet at the start
Heads up
- The waterfall can be much smaller in lower-flow periods
- No drinking water or grills at the picnic area
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Kings Canyon map
Full mapElevation4,233–4,251 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
8 active Kings Canyon alerts
- 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
- ClosureGrant Grove trails and areas closed for prescribed fireSome 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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Kings Canyon Tour Guide
Your drive to Grizzly Falls Trail, 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 tourRecorded for this trailhead
Grizzly Falls0:00 / 0:26
“Grizzly Falls is coming up, just a short walk from its picnic area in Sequoia National Forest. Give it about twenty minutes for a look at the eighty-foot drop over granite.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Kings Canyon Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Black Bear Can Be Blond
- Deer Cove Trailhead and Grizzly Lakes
- The Songbird That Walks Underwater
- Lewis Creek Trailhead and Kennedy Pass
- 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.”
Trail guide
Hiking Grizzly Falls Trail
A quick waterfall stopGrizzly Falls Trail is a roughly 0.
Grizzly Falls Trail is a roughly 0.1-mile out-and-back from Grizzly Falls Picnic Area to the base of the falls and back. The cascade drops about 80 feet over granite, making this a quick roadside stop rather than a substantial hike; allow 15–30 minutes for the walk and a look around. The falls and picnic area are in Sequoia National Forest, about 4.6 miles from Cedar Grove Visitor Center.
The walk to the fallsA defined walkway runs through the picnic area before a short dirt footway heads toward the…
A defined walkway runs through the picnic area before a short dirt footway heads toward the cascade. The falls appear quickly, and the route ends on rocky ground at the base. The approach is easy, but the last steps are uneven. Grizzly Creek swells in early spring as snowmelt feeds it; when the flow drops, more granite shows and the waterfall narrows. From the end of the path, frame the full cascade with the granite face and boulders below.
Picnic-area practicalitiesStart at Grizzly Falls Picnic Area on CA-180.
Start at Grizzly Falls Picnic Area on CA-180. The Forest Service site is free for day use from sunrise to sunset, with picnic tables and a vault toilet but no drinking water or grills. Rocks around the falls become slippery when wet, so stay off the waterfall boulders.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Kings Canyon
227 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
385 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
188 sightingsMarmotMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
118 sightingsPikaMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
14 sightingsGolden TroutMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
32 sightingsRainbow TroutMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Kings Canyon. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
