SEKI Wilderness Permit — Grant Grove — Don Cecil (East)

Don Cecil East (Cedar Grove): what makes it different

Don Cecil East is the Cedar Grove end of the old Don Cecil Trail, a long climb up the canyon wall toward Lookout Peak. Recreation.gov caps it at 8 people a day with none reservable, so every permit is a walk-up, and the first legal camp is 2 miles up.^1,2

Getting to the start

Recreation.gov says permits for this entry are issued at the Road's End contact station and tells you to park in a roadside turnout or at the entrance to Sentinel Campground. NPS lists Road's End Permit Station quota-season desk hours of 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.^1,4

The sources describe the trailhead differently. NPS says to park near the Cedar Grove visitor center and take an access trail across Highway 180. The noahawaii blog puts the parking directly off the highway about 0.1 mile past the turn into Cedar Grove Village. A guidebook site says to use a layby on the north side of the road, east of the Sentinel turn, and warns that the start is poorly signed.^2,7,6

A 2016 hiker walked to the trailhead from a Sentinel Campground site. The noahawaii blog advises care along the highway, because drivers who do not know the trailhead tend to go faster than the limit.^8,7

The first leg

The trail climbs from the first steps. About 0.25 mile in it crosses a service road to the Cedar Grove heliport, and after that the noahawaii blog finds no junction until the park boundary at the base of Lookout Peak. The Sheep Creek bridge is about 0.8 mile out.⁷

NPS gives the Sheep Creek Cascade as a 2 mile round trip of about 1.5 hours with 600 feet of gain. A guidebook site puts the cascade 1 mile up and Summit Meadow 6 miles up.^2,6

Recreation.gov sets the first allowed camp 2 miles west of the trailhead. The noahawaii blog reached the end of the maintained park trail at 4.9 miles, where the path meets Forest Route 14S11, known as Horse Corral Road.^1,7

Terrain and difficulty

Recreation.gov calls the route hot, strenuously steep and lightly used, and says to start early. NPS describes the same trail as climbing a relatively cool north-facing slope. The noahawaii blog found it long and exposed and carried 3 liters of water, with only two small streams to filter from.^1,2,7

The noahawaii blog counted about 3,850 feet of near-constant climbing to the peak. A rattlesnake crossed the trail unannounced, and a small wildfire was visible on the canyon slopes. A 2016 hiker logged 3,885 feet of gain on an 11.3 mile day.^7,8

The guidebook site says the lower mile is fairly busy because of the cascade, while the full trail is lightly used. It calls the whole climb a drop of 3,300 feet in 6 miles from Summit Meadow, the old way into Kings Canyon before Highway 180 opened in 1939.⁶

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Don Cecil East (Cedar Grove), overnight: 8 people a day. This is the daily quota in the Don Cecil East division text on Recreation.gov, read October 15, 2026, which also says 0 are reservable, so the whole quota is walk-up. 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

Parties on this entry are capped at 8 people, below the 15 person limit the rest of the parks use on trails. NPS also lists the Don Cecil Trail among the places with an 8 person limit when you are off trail.^1,5

The camping limit is two nights, per both Recreation.gov and the NPS restrictions page.^1,5

The trail leaves the park at the base of Lookout Peak and meets Forest Route 14S11 in Sequoia National Forest, where the West entry point starts.^7,1

Where it leads

Sheep Creek Cascade, a shady glen about a mile up, is the usual turnaround. A guidebook site says the falls are strongest in spring and early summer and low later in the year.^2,6

Summit Meadow, about 6 miles up near 8,000 feet, joins forest tracks, and Lookout Peak stands 0.4 mile beyond it. The blog calls the last scramble class 3 on a rough route with no clear path, and cites a Forest Service summit height of 8,531 feet.^6,7

The Outbound reports an early start is needed and suggests camping at Canyon View or Moraine in Cedar Grove the night before, both near the river. It estimates 5 to 8 hours for the climb to the peak.⁹

What trip reports say

A June 25, 2016 report on Hiking Angeles Forest started from Sentinel Campground site 72, followed the Don Cecil and Lookout Peak trails to the slot below the summit, and logged 11.3 miles with 3,885 feet of gain and loss, ending with lunch at the lodge.⁸

The noahawaii blog, which carries no date, calls the Don Cecil Trail arguably the hardest day hike from Cedar Grove, an all-uphill day that is not worth doing unless you scramble the peak. It stresses the hooded sun shirt and the early start, since the trip always took longer than planned.⁷

The Outbound's guide says the trail is well defined and nearly all uphill, with few views early on but a pleasant forest and several creek crossings, and that the path ends just short of the top.⁹

When to go from here

A guidebook site gives April to November as the season. NPS says Cedar Grove itself typically runs May through early to mid-November, so a spring or late fall start can mean a closed road.^6,2

Because none of the 8 places can be booked ahead, the day's quota can be gone before you reach the desk. Plan a spare day in Cedar Grove, and use the other Cedar Grove entries as a fallback.^1,4

Compare with nearby entry points

• Don Cecil West: Don Cecil West is the other end of the same trail, in Sequoia National Forest at the end of Big Meadows Road near Summit Meadow. Recreation.gov says its permits come from the Kings Canyon Visitor Center, and its first camp is 1 mile east of Summit Meadow.¹
• Lewis Creek: Lewis Creek is the reservable alternative from Cedar Grove: 25 people a day with 20 reservable. NPS describes a hot, steep, dusty climb with the first camp at Frypan Meadow, 5.5 miles in.^1,3
• Copper Creek: Copper Creek gives 20 people a day with 15 reservable, issued at Road's End. NPS also calls it a hot, steep climb to leave early or late for, with the first camp at Lower Tent Meadow, 4 miles in.^1,3

Sources

1. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness Permits, Don Cecil East division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Cedar Grove Trails, 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. Wilderness Permits & Reservations, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Minimum Impact Restrictions, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Don Cecil Trail to Sheep Creek Cascade, Kings Canyon National Park, The American Southwest. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Hiking the Don Cecil Trail to Lookout Peak in Kings Canyon National Park, noahawaii. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Lookout Peak and Trail, Hiking Angeles Forest. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Lookout Peak via Don Cecil Trail, Kings Canyon National Park, California, The Outbound Collective. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Don Cecil East permit