SEKI Wilderness Permit — Cedar Grove — Woods Creek

Woods Creek (Cedar Grove): what makes it different

Woods Creek is the Cedar Grove entry point that starts the Rae Lakes Loop clockwise. Recreation.gov sells 25 people a day here, the first legal camp is 6.5 miles up in Lower Paradise Valley, and the permit cannot be used to start the loop in the other direction.^1,4

Getting to the start

Permits for this trail come only from the Road's End Permit Station, and you park at Road's End. NPS lists the station's quota-season desk hours as 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and says hours can vary.^2,3,1

NPS puts the trailhead at 5,035 feet. The Woods Creek and Bubbs Creek trails share the first couple of miles and split at a signed junction. Trip writers put that junction at 2.3 miles, about 2 miles, and 1.9 miles, so treat it as roughly 2.^4,6,7,9

Backpacker's guide puts the Road's End station six miles past Cedar Grove. One 2021 writer slept in Squaw Valley, about 1.5 hours from the trailhead, and noted that Cedar Grove Lodge is about 10 minutes away.^9,8

The first leg

NPS calls the Woods Creek Trail a steady, moderate climb on a very busy trail. Recreation.gov says the first allowed camping is 6.5 miles from Road's End, at Lower Paradise Valley, so day one is a real walk before you can stop.^3,1

An April 2013 report on Backcountrycow found the first two miles flat, sandy and open to the sun, even in April. It logged the Bubbs junction at mile 2.3, Mist Falls at 4.5 and a Lower Paradise camp at 7.4. A 2021 writer clocked Mist Falls at 4.6 miles.^6,8

Past Mist Falls the grade picks up. Backpacker's route guide describes almost 1,000 feet of climbing in the 1.6 miles to the Lower Paradise Valley camps, after about 600 feet in the two miles before the falls.⁹

Terrain and difficulty

NPS sells this trail on vistas, rivers and high lakes. Backpacker adds cascades and granite walls over 3,000 feet tall along the river. The 2021 writer called the long stretch above Mist Falls relentless but gradual, and felt 80 degree heat on it in August.^3,9,8

Bear canisters are required from May 1 to October 31 in the Bubbs and Woods Creek drainages. The Rae Lakes page says bears here beat food hung in trees. The 2013 Backcountrycow pair watched a small bear walk past their Lower Paradise camp.^1,4,6

NPS warns that high water at stream crossings can be a problem in May and early June, and that Glen Pass, the loop's high point at 11,978 feet, may stay impassable to hikers until mid to late July.⁴

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Woods Creek (Cedar Grove), overnight: 25 people a day. This is the daily quota in the Woods Creek division text on Recreation.gov, read October 15, 2026, with 20 of the 25 reservable. The availability calendar would not load that day, so the number comes from the division's own published description.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

This permit does not let you start the Rae Lakes Loop counter-clockwise. For that direction you choose the Bubbs Creek entry point, so settle your direction before you book.^1,4

Use designated sites only in Lower Paradise Valley, and camp no more than two nights in Paradise Valley. The NPS Rae Lakes page also points to a temporary closure notice for that stretch, so read it before you book.^1,4

Along the loop you get one night per lake from Dollar Lake to Glen Pass, two nights at Charlotte Lake and the Kearsarge Lakes, no camping within a quarter mile of Bullfrog Lake, and no campfires above 10,000 feet in the Kings River drainage.^1,4

The South Fork Kings River bridge above Paradise Valley washed out in the winter of 2016 to 2017. NPS says in a page updated March 16, 2026 that a replacement will not start before 2027 and that crossing the river can be extremely hazardous. A 2021 writer had to wade Woods Creek near Upper Paradise because a foot bridge was out.^4,8

Where it leads

Upper Paradise Valley is the usual first camp for a hiker who wants a big day, about 10 miles from Road's End by the 2021 and 2018 reports and 9.1 miles by Backpacker's count. Its sites sit in forest beside the creek.^8,7,9

Woods Creek Crossing, where the trail meets the John Muir and Pacific Crest trails, comes next. Two reports describe a wobbly suspension bridge that takes one person at a time. From the crossing to Dollar Lake is about 4 miles, per the 2018 write-up.^1,8,7

The whole loop is 41.4 miles by NPS, climbing from the 5,035 foot trailhead to Glen Pass. Backpacker's guide says 46 miles, so rely on the NPS figure.^4,9

What trip reports say

An April 2013 report on Backcountrycow went on the first day the road opened, did a self-issued permit outside quota season, and saw only about a dozen cars at the trailhead. It spent two nights in Paradise Valley and saw almost nobody above Lower Paradise.⁶

A 2018 write-up from Outdoor Dads went clockwise, camped at Upper Paradise, and found the first five miles of day two shaded by forest. It then hit open meadows and little shade past the Woods Creek bridge.⁷

A 2021 Medium report booked an August 1 to 4 trip in March, hiked 10 miles to Upper Paradise on day one, and forded the creek the next morning because a foot bridge was gone. The writer called late July to early August the sweet spot, since 2020 permits for early September were lost to fire.⁸

When to go from here

NPS says Cedar Grove is typically open from May through early to mid-November, so the road can be shut when you want an early or late start. The 2013 report only got in because Highway 180 had just reopened.^5,6

Glen Pass may stay closed to hikers until mid to late July, so the 2021 writer picked late July to early August as the window that is late enough for the snow and early enough to dodge fire season.^4,8

Compare with nearby entry points

• Bubbs Creek: Bubbs Creek has the same 25 person quota and the same trailhead, but it starts the loop counter-clockwise. NPS lists its first allowed camp at Sphinx Creek Junction, 4 miles in, against 6.5 here.^1,3
• Copper Creek: Copper Creek has a smaller quota, 20 people a day with 15 reservable. NPS calls it a hot, steep climb that is best started early or late in the day, with its first camp at Lower Tent Meadow, 4 miles in.^1,3
• Lewis Creek: Lewis Creek begins at its own trailhead, not Road's End. NPS describes a hot, steep, dusty climb with the first camp at Frypan Meadow, 5.5 miles in, and says the trail passes through the 2024 Happy Fire footprint.³

Sources

1. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness Permits, Woods Creek division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Wilderness Permits & Reservations, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Wilderness Trail Descriptions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Rae Lakes Loop, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Cedar Grove Trails, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Backpacking Roads End to Paradise Valley, Backcountrycow. Read 2026-10-15.
7. 4-Day Rae Lake Loop Backpacking Trip (Clockwise), The Outdoor Dads. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Rae Lakes 2021 Trip Report, Medium. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Rip & Go: Paradise Valley, Kings Canyon National Park, Backpacker. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Minimum Impact Restrictions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Woods Creek permit