These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
Zumwalt Meadow is one of Kings Canyon National Park’s most iconic meadows. It is situated at the most dramatic part of the canyon, tucked between two imposing, vertical granite cliffs. This meadow is also home to much wildlife, such as bears, marmots, deer, and more. For that reason, the short Zumwalt Meadow trail is one of the most popular day hikes in the Cedar Grove area in Kings Canyon.
Zumwalt Meadow Trailhead:
36.793765, -118.598499
There is a decent size paved parking lot in front of the trailhead.
Kings Canyon National Park charges a fee to enter. The fee varies depending on the vehicle used to enter the park (car, motorcycle, bike, on foot, or on horseback). For more information, click here. If you have an America the Beautiful Pass, you can use that instead.
1.5 mi R.T.
157 ft
Easy
Take about 40 minutes to 1 hour
The best times to visit this trail are May through October. It is a popular trail, so it can get busy on weekends.
Vault toilet at parking lot
Pets are not allowed on the trail!
Highway 180 to Zumwalt Meadow closes for the winter in mid-November through the end of April. Reopening is conducted by CalTrans.
The trailhead for the Zumwalt Meadow Trail is located along Highway 180, about 0.7 miles before the Road’s End. It is about 4.6 miles from the intersection of Highway 180 and North Side Drive for Cedar Grove Village. There is a big sign for “Zumwalt Meadow Trail” on Highway 180 before turning into the parking lot.
Since Zumwalt Meadow Trail is a very popular trail, the parking lot can get full during weekends and peak seasons. So, we recommend getting there either early or late in the day so it won’t be too busy.
Zumwalt Meadow Trail used to be a loop trail. However, in 2019, the boardwalk and a portion of the loop on the parking lot side were washed away due to large snowfall. For now, this trail is an out-and-back.
Even before we started our hike, we were greeted with a stunning view of the Kings River and the impressive granite cliffs towering over it. If you’re lucky enough, you could even see the bald eagles here. We actually saw some, but we couldn’t get any photos of them.
After leaving the trailhead, we followed the wide, flat dirt trail tracing along the river. En route, there were multiple spots to take a detour to the river’s edge. We recommend taking some of these detours because the view of the river is beautiful!
After about 0.3 miles, we reached a super cool suspension bridge. We love suspension bridges. They’re just fun to walk across. This suspension bridge hangs above the deep, fast-moving river. After crossing the suspension bridge, we turned left to continue the trail. If you go right, you will continue on the River Trail to connect to the beautiful Roaring River Falls. When we were there, the trail was very busy until you passed the suspension bridges. It seems like many people turned back after this bridge.
Once we turned left, the trail weaved through the forest before quickly coming to the start of the old Zumwalt Meadow Loop trail. At this point, the trail to the left is closed. There are traffic cones and signage there warning you not to go. So, we kept right to continue on our way. Soon, we reached my favorite section, the talus section. Here, the trail snakes through big granite boulders. I love it because there are several little caves to explore. We love scrambling, so it was fun for us. By the way, be careful of snakes when exploring these caves. The trail gets quite rocky in this section, so watch your step. From here, we could see a glimpse of the meadow below.
After we passed this talus section, we quickly came to a viewpoint for the Zumwalt Meadow. You can’t enter the meadow. The entrance is blocked by a fallen tree and a “No Enter” sign. However, you could get a glimpse of how beautiful and lush this meadow is. The trail continues onward up the rocky slope. As we climbed higher, we got a better view of the meadow below. Finally, the trail descends the rocky steps back down to the meadow.
Once we got to the bottom of the rocky steps, the trail turned back into a dirt trail. It ran around the eastern end of the Zumwalt Meadow. We turned back the same way at the intersection of Zumwalt Meadow Trail and the River Trail. Going right will continue for another mile to the Road’s End. Going left is used to complete the loop for the Zumwalt Meadow Trail. Unfortunately, this section of the loop trail got washed away, so you can’t continue. It’s too bad because this last stretch is the best section. Hopefully, the trail will open back up soon enough.
One of our favorite meadow hikes is actually in Mammoth Lakes, the Sky Meadows Trail. If you’re in the area, we highly recommend hiking that. Since you’re in Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Park, don’t forget to check out some of our favorite hikes such as the General Grant Tree, Big Stump Tree, Moro Rock, and the Congress Trail.
Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to check out the related posts below for more inspiration on your upcoming adventures. While at it, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel! We’ll love you forever!
These are the gear that we personally use and find helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
If you tend to have foot blisters on hikes, get this! We use this all the time.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
It's always good to bring a GPS tracker with you. We use the Garmin inReach.
This is Vy's favorite hiking bag! It has tons of room for snacks and water!
Our favorite biodegradable, eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen!
This is our go-to camera for all of our adventures. It comes with us everywhere!
Compact GoPro pole that extends to 25", perfect to bring on your adventure.
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Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of Live That Adventure. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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