Mist Falls Trail

Mist Falls is an 8-mile out-and-back from Road’s End, following the South Fork of the Kings River through forest and chaparral to a broad waterfall. Allow four to five hours. The first part is fairly level, but the last mile climbs about 600 feet, so this is a real half-day walk rather than a quick waterfall stop. I’d choose it when you want the canyon and river as much as the falls; the route gives you rapids and cascades on the way out, then the waterfall as its payoff.

Park at Road’s End at the end of Kings Canyon Road. The trailhead is just past the Road’s End Permit Station. About two miles in, you reach the junction where the Rae Lakes Loop begins. Turn left toward Mist Falls. The Rae Lakes Loop continues into the backcountry and is a much longer trip; the Mist Falls hike turns around at the falls and returns on the same trail.

Road’s End serves several backcountry routes, not just this day hike. Summer parking demand can vary as overnight hikers leave cars there. Gnats and mosquitoes can be a real nuisance here; if they are active, a head net can make the open sections more comfortable.

The sandy trail runs through the bottom of the glaciated South Fork Canyon, alternating forest and chaparral while following rapids and smaller cascades. The first roughly two miles are relatively flat and exposed. It can feel warmer and sunnier than the wooded finish, and the valley north of you starts to open up before the Rae Lakes junction. Beyond that fork, the path re-enters the forest and stays more shaded toward the falls.

The walking gets steeper near the end: the final mile gains about 600 feet. The waterfall is roughly 100 feet high and pours over granite beside the South Fork. It is one of the largest waterfalls in Sequoia and Kings Canyon. The south-facing viewpoint before the falls is worth a pause; it is one of the route’s signature views.

Mist and spray can make the rocks around the falls hazardous. Stay back from slick edges and fast water; the river changes with snowmelt, so access to the water is not something to count on. The falls change dramatically through the season, from high spring flow to a different shape later in summer.

The South Fork runs through a glaciated canyon, and the trail makes that scale easy to read: steep granite walls rise above a river corridor cut by cascades. The rapids are part of the experience for most of the walk, not just scenery at the end. The falls themselves drop through a steep granite slope, so the view is about the moving water against rock as much as the height of the drop.

No wilderness permit is needed for this day hike; permits are for overnight trips. Pets are prohibited on trails in both parks. Cedar Grove access is usually seasonal, typically from May through early or mid-November, and opening dates can shift with weather.