Cedar Grove Village is more about the ‘journey’ to Roads End (closes mid November until mid April). Allow 3 hours round trip on Hwy 180 (Kings Canyon Scenic Byway) from Grant Grove Village. Plus more time out of the car to take advantage of several stunning viewpoints, falls, caves, hikes, meals and a drive that needs to be relished for its spectacular beauty!
We spent double the recommended time on this roundtrip drive (unless you stay at the village) and loved every minute of it!
What you see when you get to the village is a car park, rustic lodge, camping areas, basic restaurant, small general/gift store, laundromat, shower facilities, restrooms, Visitors Centre, Wilderness Permit Station and then miles upon miles of solitude – hence the permit station.
We found this region of the park less crowded than Grant Grove or Sequoia NP and It not hard to find places where there is just you and nature. One mile east of Cedar Grove is a turnoff to Canyon View, where we saw the U-shape of Kings Canyon carved out by a glacier.
It’s inconceivable to think plans to flood Kings Canyon by damming the Kings River would have buried Cedar Grove beneath a deep lake! Many visitors may miss this drive and it really is a ‘must do’ if coming to Kings Canyon or Grant Grove Village. It will take you a whole day to really take in the many exceptional canyon features on the way to/from Cedar Grove.
Enjoy your journey!
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.