Mist Falls Trail

Mist Falls is no joke. After the 5 mile-​ish hike starting at «Roads End», you will hit a majestic waterfall with a view that is breath-​taking. Of course there are wonderful photo-​ops along the trail that looks back into Kings Canyon as well as the Kings River. The hike has a lot of inclines and is quite difficult for those who are not used to longer rigorous activities. I come here every year since 2005 with my family and friends to enjoy some time in the great outdoors and we never fail to take this trail. Mist Falls also is quite refreshing to stand around after the hike since the hike is long and does get quite hot during the summer time. On top of that, there is a small pool of water where you can swim in if you can put up with the cold water. Caution to those who cannot swim well! All in all this trail is a must if you are visiting the area, just make sure you have proper equipment/​attire as well as food/​snacks and water because it does take anywhere between 3 to 6 hours round trip! Happy trailblazing my fellow Unilocalers!

A fantastic hike, 9 miles round through pines, following the Kings River, up to Mist Falls. Stunning views, left and right, and a gradual climb of only a 1,000 feet, so an easy day by foot. We started at 64 degrees and finished at 80 degrees – starting to cook. Good we were in shade maybe 70% of the way. At the Mist Falls, waters streamed, slid down the smooth rock, falls face in places. Water careened around cracks and crevices. Water poured and crashed the river pool below. There were many facets and colors, and water speeds, that made it a wonder to sit and ponder the Mist Falls awhile. Of the black bear reports on the trail, we were not lucky to see one.
Awesome, see my pic of the Falls!

This trail gets 5 stars because the end result is absolutely worth it. Yeah, it was kinda hard for me because I’m out of shape, but I did it! If you have good endurance and hike a lot or regularly keep your heart rate up for extended periods of time, then it probably won’t be a problem for you. My boyfriend does manual labor for 8 – 10 hours a day, and he was cruising. I made us stop a few times along the way and also going back down. Going up, I was just dang tired. Going down, my feet and shins hurt. And oh lord, the mosquitoes. THE MOSQUITOESSSSS. Make sure you spray the crap out of yourself with repellant. I don’t know what went wrong, but I got 20 bites and my boyfriend only got one. We both sprayed each other thoroughly. Maybe they just love my half-​Pacific Islander blood ;P. Anyway, it’s a HIKE. Bring a small backpack, plenty of water, some snacks, sunscreen, bug spray, and a camera (or at least your phone!).
The hike starts out lightly through some flat-​ish areas with trees sort of scattered. Then it gets a little thicker, and I think about 2 miles in (halfway?) you start to really head up through rocky areas. Then back down a little. Then up more. The landscape seems to change from what I mentioned before, to more rocky and canyon-​y, to almost marsh-​like and very forest-​y? Then you know you’re getting closer when you start to hear rushing water. Once you’re more out in the open air and going up, look behind you every now and then. The view of the canyon looking south towards the direction you came gets more and more INCREDIBLE. Then it’s not much further, and man, the mist from that waterfall is amaaaazing after that hike. I actually was afraid to have my camera out for too long because everything got so wet! The scenery is just so, so beautiful. The falls — refreshing and powerful. The overall area is majestic. We were lucky enough to do this hike when it was cloudy and overcast on the way up, so the only sun we got was right when we got to the falls and on the way back down. Also, if you want to feel more refreshed after you get back to your car at Road’s End, you can walk a minute down to Muir Rock and go for an ice cold swim. The pictures I got from this hike were incredible, but they somehow still don’t do it justice.

As great as Yosemite and sequoia national park is, one thing you can’t hide is that it is an outdoors tourist destination so more than half of the time, the peace of seclusion hikes are mostly absent during your visit but luckily there is this park that no one really talks about, which is Kings canyons… a backpackers dream!
The drive to Roads End trailhead (where mist fall starts) itself is a magnificent experience. The road passes through the high part of the canyons above the long trench of river offering an incredible view of this vast wilderness. It then connects the drive next to the raging rapids of the river never making the drive at all dull. Be aware though that this road winds a lot so if you have a passenger that gets car sickness easily, bring a paper bag along.
Once you’ve reached your trailhead, there is a warning sign about bears and boy they weren’t kidding. Do not leave food or anything that will leave a scent of it because bears will investigate your vehicle because I came back later that day with bear paws marked on the back of my trunk. And during this hike I ran to a bear on the trail but as tempting as it is, do not feed the bear or entertain yourself by following it to take more pictures of it. Last thing you want to do is to provoke it or accompany humans as a food source by giving it handouts. It would be sad to see a bear taken down because of human ignorance of wildlife. The bear just gave a small bluff charge since we were on the same trail headed on the opposite direction but I showed him my killer biceps and he appropriately got out the way. Black bears are usually harmless. I’m glad no grizzly exist in these area cuz my bicep would just have been an appetizer for it.
Now the hike itself. Mist fall is about a 9mi round trip with 4.5 uphill and back downhill. I give it a 6 out of 10 when it comes to difficulty of the hike. As long as you have good endurance, this hike should be no problem. I only ran into several hikers with no group larger than 3 so it was very secluded and peaceful. Once you get to mist fall, it’s about a 60ft fall with strong rapids and of course very misty. Don’t be an idiot and jump in the river. Most have drowned this way. If you get caught in the rapids, likely of you getting out is unlikely. If you continue on, the trail leads you to paradise valley. A perfect place to camp out for the night if you brought your overnight gears but be sure you have a wilderness pass to spend the night. You can also discover other trails which I did, totaling my hike to 15mi and burning up over 3400 calories! But I had ice cream and pizza after that.
I will visit this place again for sure to do the overnight experience. It’s only 88 miles east of Fresno.

Aside from the smoke coming from the Sheep Creek fire (
) and the incessant gnats, I loved this hike. The fire made its presence known everyday that I camped in Cedar Grove and thankfully the inversion layer and westerly winds took out most of the smoke by noon. While hiking, the smoke made it smell like a pleasant camp fire rather than messing up my breathing. If anything, I had to hydrate more to prevent drying out. The more annoying part was the gnats. I figured they weren’t mosquitoes because after the first few minutes of being pestered by clouds of these buggers, I wasn’t bitten.
From the Road’s End parking lot, the trailhead sign reads 4.6 miles (
) and according to my GPS, it’s more like 3.6. The beginning of the hike is really beautiful, flat and easy (
). The path is really wide and soft. This was helpful for me and the few horses that I shared this portion of trail with. More so for me because I was concentrated on swatting away the buggers and spitting out the ones that I swallowed.
Thankfully by the time I hit the junction that splits off to Bubb’s Creek on Bailey Bridge (
), the flies cleared out a little. After this junction the trail begins to climb a little also. This portion alternates between dense shade with ferns and Mormon Tea beneath the canopy and then exposed rock portions.
Your arrival to the falls will be pretty obvious. You don’t really sneak up on it from around a curve… there’s a long view from a straightaway. There’s also hitching posts for horses that’ll clue you in. Bring a lunch. The surrounding area is relaxing and there’s many spots/​big rock to lay on for a nap. If you want to cool down, hike a little more to the base of the falls. It was more of a private spot with a better view and spray (
).
The way back was a little blah because the view out was prettier and the hike is an out-​and-​back.