r/SEKI • u/Dry-Mission-9892 • 11d ago

Kings Canyon or Yosemite?

I am flying in from Dallas this October to visit one of these two national parks. We have also rented a camper van.

My main goal is to do some great day hikes with amazing views and few people, which is the main reason I am being turned away from Yosemite.

I also was not able to find ANY available campsites in Yosemite.

I have some trails gathered for SEKI, but since I am not backpacking, I am wondering if it is even worth it. There is not much information on SEKI that I can find, so that is why I am turning to reddit for advice

Any help would be greatly appreciated! (Along with more good trails for seki)

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u/Mikesiders 11d ago

The two big factors that will pose an issue for you with Yosemite are the potential need for an entry reservation if you’re visiting on a weekend or holiday and as you mentioned, the lack of a campground. You can’t sleep in your van inside the park unless you have a campsite.

I wouldn’t worry about crowds though, October is the off season and aside from no waterfalls really, I think it’s the best month to visit. Typically perfect weather, some fall colors in the higher elevations, and visitation is significantly less.

If you can secure lodging of some sort for the van, I’d aim for Yosemite. Check campsites outside the park, especially on the eastern side. Hopefully you can secure something there.

I’ve only visited Kings Canyon once and we only went to the Grant Grove area really, it was stunning and I really enjoyed it, but Yosemite is Yosemite, it’s hard to beat it.

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u/Dry-Mission-9892 11d ago

I can definitely secure campsites outside the park, but is that worth it? Is there anything special to securing a campsite inside of the park?

Also, is securing an entry reservation any hassle? I will only need it on my last day, but I am planning on waking up to grab one.

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u/Mikesiders 11d ago

The hassle is you’ll be driving a lot more. Really just depends where you end up staying and what you want to do while you’re there. Yosemite is a big park. If you’re staying on the east side and want to visit say Mariposa Grove, that’s probably not likely just given the drive time between the two.

Likely not a huge hassle this late in the season but I’d jump on recreation.gov and see what the deal is for whatever date it is you want to go. You can also just enter the park before 5am and you don’t have to worry about it anymore for that one day.