Kings Canyon National Park

With a dramatic cleft deeper than the Grand Canyon, rugged Kings Canyon offers true adventure to those who crave seemingly endless verdant trails, rushing streams and gargantuan rock formations. The camping, backcountry exploring and climbing here are all superb. While its neighbor, Sequoia National Park, gets all the glory, Kings Canyon also has groves of enormous Sequoias and its trails are far less trafficked. Grant Grove is where you'll find General Grant, the second-largest tree in the world. Peaks more than 14,000ft high occupy other parts of the park, most of which is designated wilderness, although the main road Kings Canyon Scenic Byway (Hwy180) is quite the drive – it twists and bends through some of the most dramatic scenery in California (only open end April to October). The Big Stump Entrance, not far from Grant Grove Village, is Kings Canyon National Park's only entrance station.