Kings Canyon and Cedar Grove, Kings Canyon National Park

The road to Kings Canyon is usually closed for about five months of the year (November to mid April) because of snow and the danger of rockfalls, but when open the drive is quite spectacular. From the giant trees at Grant Grove, Highway 180 winds through more conventional forests of pine, fir and cedar but still with a few sequoia clusters, and it is a while before the great gorge comes into view.

The highway runs along a high, exposed ridge for several miles, passing a number places to stop and appreciate the tree-covered vistas that stretch for a long way east, west and down to the river far below, and across the valley to higher, more rocky peaks that fade into the distance.

After the ridge, the route descends over 4,000 feet to the South Fork of the Kings River via many sharp bends and steep grades, soon leaving behind the pine trees and crossing the chaparral zone, then finally reaching more desert like terrain where the barren mountain slopes bear scattered cacti and yucca. This part of the river gorge is formed of particularly sheer, jagged rocks - metamorphic in composition, quite different to the smooth granite slopes found further upstream, though the scenery around the road becomes more gentle after a few miles, and eventually the pine trees return.

The remaining 20 miles of the highway is at river level and so susceptible to great floods caused by melting snow that occasionally wash away parts of the pavement, such as during January 1997. Features en route (not part of the national park) include Grizzly Falls where the waters of a tributary stream drop 100 feet towards the Kings River, and Boyden Caverns which have various speleological features that can be visited on a guided tour.