Trip Date: 5/14/2016
Location: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park
Permit/Pass: $30 Vehicle Pass - valid 1 through 7 days. Valid for Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and the Hume Lake District of Sequoia National Forest/Giant Sequoia National Monument.
$15 Individual Entry Pass - valid 1 through 7 days. Per person entrance fee for a visitor traveling on foot, bicycle, or for individuals traveling together in a vehicle as a non-commercial, organized group.
Trail Map: NPS Map, AmericanSouthwest.net
Directions: From California Highway 198 in Visalia take California Highway 63 north for 29 and a half miles to a junction with CA Hwy 180 (Kings Canyon Road). Turn right on 180 and proceed about 25 miles to a junction with in CA Hwy 198 on the right. Continue for 35 and a half miles on Hwy 180 as it veers left (north) and passes Grant Grove before circling to the east and descending through Kings Canyon. You pass Cedar Grove and Roaring River Falls before coming to the parking area for the Road's End permit station on the right. The trail begins next to the permit building on the east side of the parking area.
Synopsis: Bailey Bridge crosses the south fork of the Kings River about two miles down a flat, sandy and pretty path between the tall granite walls of Kings Canyon. It's a wonderful hike for those arriving in the Cedar Grove area too late to do the eight mile hike to Mist Falls, or a nice little warm-up for backpackers heading out to do the Rae Lakes Loop.
Trail sequence: Wood's Creek trail / Bailey Bridge / Bubb's Creek trail / Wood's Creek
Type: Out and back
Distance: 4.7 miles
Elevation: Min. - 5000', Max. - 5239'
Profile:
Rating: Easy (factors: water crossings)
Notes: This hike can, and was supposed to, be done as a loop. But the return trip along the Bubb's Creek trail was impassable due to high water, so we followed Bubb's Creek in the opposite direction for a few hundred yards, crossing four dramatic bridges spanning rushing creeks before returning to head back across Bailey Bridge and retrace our outward path to the trailhead.
Track: Bailey Bridge - Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP: GaiaGPS, Everytrail
Turn by Turn:
-- Begin the hike at the trailhead next to the permit building. You head east on a level, sandy path, crossing a few small creeks along the way.
-- At around two miles you reach a junction. The left fork head up and north to Mist Falls. The right fork take the hiker over to Bailey Bridge and the Kings River.
-- Crossing over the bridge and walking a few yards along the path brings you to a meeting with Bubb's Creek trail. We turned right (west) to try to loop back to the trailhead, but soon found the usually small creeks impassable (we could have crossed if we'd really needed to but didn't want to go to the trouble of getting wet). So we decided to explore along Bubb's Creek to the east, crossing over several short wooden bridges before turning back.
-- After crossing Bailey Bridge again we picked up Wood's Creek trail and returned the two miles to the parking area.
Photos: Flickr
Video: Youtube