Best time to visit Kings Canyon National Park
May, September and October are the best balance at Kings Canyon: mild and dry for the park (average highs 58° to 70°F), with crowds from moderate to busy. July is busiest, with about 118,000 visitors. March is the quietest, with highs near 45°F.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Lodgepole, CA USC00045026
- Lat / lon
- 36.60, -118.73
- Elevation
- 6,735 ft
- From park center
- 20.2 mi
- Second station
- Independence, CA 3,950 ft
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | Maybest | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sepbest | Octbest | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 39° | 41° | 45° | 50° | 58° | 68° | 76° | 76° | 70° | 59° | 47° | 37° | 56° |
| Low, °F | 17° | 18° | 22° | 26° | 33° | 40° | 46° | 44° | 39° | 31° | 23° | 17° | 30° |
| High at 3,950 ft, °F | 58° | 61° | 69° | 76° | 85° | 96° | 102° | 101° | 93° | 81° | 67° | 57° | 79° |
| Precipitation, in | 8.7 | 7.9 | 6.4 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 6.9 | 43.2 |
| Snow, in | 42.4 | 61.5 | 37.1 | 22.2 | 6.0 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 | 11.7 | 35.0 | 220.4 |
| Daylight, h:mm | 9:53 | 10:47 | 11:51 | 13:05 | 14:07 | 14:40 | 14:27 | 13:34 | 12:22 | 11:11 | 10:09 | 9:39 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 18 | 15 | 14 | 34 | 86 | 115 | 118 | 103 | 88 | 64 | 33 | 22 | 707 |
| Crowds | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Busy | Very busy | Very busy | Very busy | Busy | Moderate | Quiet | Quiet | |
| Weather | Cold | Cool | Cool | Cool | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild | Cool | Cold |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | High at 3,950 ft | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 17° | 58° | 8.7 | 42.4 | 9:53 | 18,000 | Quiet | Cold |
| February | 41° | 18° | 61° | 7.9 | 61.5 | 10:47 | 15,000 | Quiet | Cool |
| March | 45° | 22° | 69° | 6.4 | 37.1 | 11:51 | 14,000 | Quiet | Cool |
| April | 50° | 26° | 76° | 3.2 | 22.2 | 13:05 | 34,000 | Quiet | Cool |
| Maybest | 58° | 33° | 85° | 2.0 | 6.0 | 14:07 | 86,000 | Busy | Mild |
| June | 68° | 40° | 96° | 0.7 | 1.1 | 14:40 | 115,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| July | 76° | 46° | 102° | 0.6 | 0 | 14:27 | 118,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| August | 76° | 44° | 101° | 0.1 | 0 | 13:34 | 103,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| Septemberbest | 70° | 39° | 93° | 0.7 | 0 | 12:22 | 88,000 | Busy | Mild |
| Octoberbest | 59° | 31° | 81° | 2.3 | 3.4 | 11:11 | 64,000 | Moderate | Mild |
| November | 47° | 23° | 67° | 3.6 | 11.7 | 10:09 | 33,000 | Quiet | Cool |
| December | 37° | 17° | 57° | 6.9 | 35.0 | 9:39 | 22,000 | Quiet | Cold |
| Year | 56° | 30° | 79° | 43.2 | 220.4 | 707,000 | |||
Year: average high and low, total precipitation and snowfall, total visitors. T = trace (under 0.05 in). – = not measured at this station. Updated .
- Hottest July, average high 76°F
- Coldest nights December, average low 17°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 707,000 (2023–2025 average)
- State California
Elevation matters here: the record's second station, Independence, CA, sits at 3,950 ft, against 6,735 ft for Lodgepole, CA. Expect conditions between the two depending on where you go.
Closures, reservations and alerts: Kings Canyon National Park on nps.gov
Nearby
- Sequoia National ParkBest: May, Jun and Oct · California
- Manzanar National Historic SiteBest: Apr · California
- Devils Postpile National MonumentBest: Jun, Sep and Oct · California
- Death Valley National ParkBest: Nov · California and Nevada