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Sentinel Campground
Overview
Sentinel Campground in Cedar Grove is nestled in the stunning Kings Canyon, one of the deepest canyons in the United States. With views of a lovely meadow central to the campground, the sound of the Kings River, and glowing mountainsides just beyond the trees, Sentinel Campground is a wonderful place for families to spend time in the great outdoors.Recreation
Cedar Grove provides a plethora of hiking trails, from the hiking newcomer to the avid backpacker, and everyone in between. Day hikers can hike to Mist Falls, Cedar Grove Overlook, around the peaceful Kanawyer Loop along the Kings River, through Zumwalt Meadow, and more. Visitors can also fish for trout in the Kings River, or take a scenic horseback ride through the canyon with the Cedar Grove Pack Station.
Facilities
Each site in Sentinel Campground provides a fire ring, picnic table and large bear-proof food storage box. The roads through Sentinel Campground are paved, making it easier for both RVs and smaller cars to access the entire campground. There are five comfort stations throughout the campground, all with flush toilets, sinks for dish-washing, and drinking water. The Cedar Grove Visitor Center is located just outside Sentinel Campground, and Cedar Grove Village is across the street and offers a convenience store, gift shop, snack bar, hotel, showers and laundry.
Natural Features
Tall granite mountainsides cradle the south fork of the Kings River, as streams and creeks feed the river with snowmelt from higher elevations. Abundant wildlife roam through the tall ponderosa pine and incense cedar trees, meadows and along riversides. Hikes into the backcountry out of Cedar Grove will give visitors an ever deeper understanding of the beauty and uniqueness of Kings Canyon National Park.Contact Info
For facility specific information, please call (559) 565-3792.Nearby Attractions
Hume Lake, Grizzly Falls, Mist Falls, Zumwalt Meadow, Roaring River Falls, Sequoia Groves and numerous hiking trails attract visitors to this area. Campfire stories, nature and wildlife presentations, and ranger-led hikes are also available during most of the season.Charges & Cancellations
- Payment in full will be charged to your credit card upon completion of the reservation. A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation. Additional fees will apply for late cancellations
- All cancellations made between midnight on the day before arrival and check out time on the day after arrival are considered late cancellations and will incur a $10.00 cancellation fee and will also forfeit the first night’s use fee. Cancellations for a single night’s reservation will forfeit the entire use fee but no cancellation fee will apply.
- If your campsite remains vacant for 24 hours after your arrival date it will be cancelled and made available on rec.gov. You will be charged for the first night's campsite fee and a $10 cancellation fee, all other fees after that will be refunded. Recreation.gov policies apply to all reservations, cancellations, refunds and date changes. Call (559) 565-3792 if you will be arriving 24 hours after your arrival date so your site won't be cancelled.
Camp site features
Across 78 camp sites:
- Picnic table: all 78 sites
- Pets allowed: all 78 sites
- ADA accessible: 5 of 78 sites
- Longest rig: 40 ft
- Largest party: 6 people
- Equipment: RV, Tent
Fees
* ENTRANCE FEES APPLY: Check Entrance Fees & Passes - Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (U.S. National Park Service) for details.
* CAMPING FEES: $32 per night for Regular Camping and $16 per night for valid lifetime Access Pass, lifetime Senior Pass, and annual Senior Pass. No other passes receive reduced rates.
* **If your campsite remains vacant for 24 hours after your arrival date it will be cancelled and made available on rec.gov.** You will be charged for the first night's campsite fee and a $10 cancellation fee, all other fees after that will be refunded. Recreation.gov policies apply to all reservations, cancellations, refunds and date changes. Call (559) 565-3792 if you will be arriving 24 hours after your arrival date so your site won't be cancelled.
Directions
From Fresno, CA, follow California State Highway 180 East to Cedar Grove.
Sentinel Campground is located on the left (north) side of the road in the
village.
Stay Limit
Check in from 12 PM, check out by 12 PM.
Reviews
Ratings (576)
5 stars
373
4 stars
127
3 stars
37
2 stars
23
1 stars
16
Wayne M
Loop:Right Outer Loop
Site:09
Reviewed 2 days ago
A lot of the bathroom sinks were out of order and they were definitely not maintained in terms of cleanliness. I don’t understand why on Recreation.gov it says 90% of the campsites are reserved and yet only about 50% actually had people in them?
Brian R
Loop:Right Middle Loop
Site:49
Reviewed 6 days ago
with as difficult as it was to reserve a camping spot 4 months ago, I was very surprised to see so many open camping spots, If someone could figure out how to not allow so many spots to go unused that would be great, and it would give us more opportunities to reserve. Also, Most of the bathrooms had some sort of plumbing issue, I would hope there would be enough if the budget to repair the bathrooms in a timely manner. We do love Cedar Grove, but that would be my feedback
Marco C
Loop:Left Outer Loop
Site:63
Reviewed 7 days ago
Nice and calm many rivers close to our site 10 minute walk tops….
Steven B
Loop:Right Middle Loop
Site:53
Reviewed 9 days ago
The campground became very quiet at night, which we enjoyed very much. Only complaint is that that the toilets and water features did not work and were under repair. They never really opertated for us while there.
Izzy G
Loop:Right Outer Loop
Site:12
Reviewed 10 days ago
One of the best campsite I’ve ever camped at. Clean restrooms, beautiful scenery and camp sites, friendly rangers and staff. Beautiful biking trails and close access to the river. Close distance to the visitor center, lodge, and store. Make sure to keep your site tidy and bear boxes locked. There were active bears the last 2 visits at this site. Kings canyon is the hidden gem of camping destinations.
STEPHEN S
Loop:Left Outer Loop
Site:68
Reviewed 10 days ago
The rangers are nice and helpful but because of cutbacks, the campground is kind of rundown. It needs maintance done especially in the restrooms, they weren't that clean. Some didn't have running water. There were no more pay phones for calling out. It could use cell service like Grant's Grove has. It is our favorite place to stay but it's become the stepchild of the park system.
Carlos H
Loop:Center Loop
Site:32
Reviewed 13 days ago
My rating is due to the reservation system, the recreation.gov system says all the sites are booked and everyday we were there half the campground didn’t have any people. The site also says when people don’t show up their reservation will be cancelled but when I kept asking the rangers they wouldn’t even check, just say it was fully booked. So unfortunately no matter how much we love camping we can’t go because “Everything” is booked.
Alyssa C
Loop:Right Outer Loop
Site:11
Reviewed 13 days ago
The campsites at Sentinel campground in Kings Canyon are forested with large pine and redwood trees, providing lots of shade. Each campsite has a fire ring, table and bear box (though the bear box at our site was a little smaller than other campgrounds). Our campsite and many of the campsites were spacious. There is an overflow parking lot by the entrance to the campground where you can park additional vehicles that do not fit at your site. Ranger programs are provided with nighttime presentations (Wednesday - Sunday) at the amphitheater near the campground visitor center. There are many things to do in Kings Canyon, including: hiking, swimming (by Muir Rock), exploring Boyden Cavern (guided tours, reserve ahead), giant sequoia groves, Grizzly falls, and more. Sentinel campground has flush toilets and drinking water. There are also showers at the lodge a few minutes walk away (shower tokens for sale in the general store at the lodge). There is also a small cafe that serves breakfast and lunch / snacks at the lodge. For hikes, I recommend hiking from Roads end along the river to Bubb's Creek bridge and back around the other side of the river (about 4.5 miles round trip, very easy terrain, mostly flat). The trail past Bubb's Creek bridge may be washed out in places (you may need to take your shoes and socks off to cross a few small creeks/streams).
Estrella L
Loop:Center Loop
Site:33
Reviewed 15 days ago
Pretty good campsite. It was close to the bathrooms and trash cans. However there wasn’t much shade during the day and there were ant hills covering a lot of our campsite.
Jason C
Loop:Center Loop
Site:34
Reviewed 15 days ago
Great site. Clean. No complaints. You’re staying in a national park. Very much in line with what you’d expect.
Catherine O
Loop:Center Loop
Site:23
Reviewed 16 days ago
The campground was very quiet and our site was huge and flat. The location is beautiful. But the sink in our bathroom didn't work and one toilet out of 2 was plugged.
John S
Loop:Right Outer Loop
Site:06
Reviewed 16 days ago
This was the most pleasant time camping we have had in a very long time. Yes it was busy with campers but it was quiet, peaceful, perfect temperature, beautiful garden in Gods creation.
Johannie M
Loop:Right Inner Loop
Site:42
Reviewed 17 days ago
My favorite campground in California. Very quiet and family friendly.
Gillian C
Loop:Center Loop
Site:24
Reviewed 17 days ago
Great campground with good space between sites. Bear box at each site. Heard the river during the night - a very peaceful sound. Very dark - need a flashlight if you venture out during the night.
Highly recommend!!!
Amy S
Loop:Left Outer Loop
Site:82
Reviewed 18 days ago
I got the last 2-night reservation for the summer when I booked in April for June. This made me nervous for crowds and a not-so-great campsite. I was wrong. It was a spacious campsite, had shade, next to water spigot, and so serene. My only wish was that we had seen the bear walk through our site (we went to bed early and the neighbors saw it when it walked by their fire). Great campsite and great campground!
Karen I
Loop:Right Outer Loop
Site:11
Reviewed 20 days ago
Great location, not far from the river. Shady campsite most of the day. Near Visitor Center, amphitheater, water spigot, & bathroom. Friendly rangers.
meagan c
Loop:Center Loop
Site:32
Reviewed 20 days ago
we arrived late but were able to get settled in quickly. there were 4 toilet stalls but by morning only 1 was accessible/usable (doors were either locked or wedged shut) which caused a line to form for the remaining stall - which quickly ran out of tp. Maintenance did get it all sorted pretty quick, but with all the campers waking at the same time it was rough going for a bit.
Would 100% come back though!
Christopher C
Loop:Center Loop
Site:29
Reviewed 22 days ago
The campground site was massive. Possibly the largest campsite I’ve ever stayed in. Lots of room for activities. The bathrooms could use some renovations. There were no lights in the bathroom and didn’t seem to have been cleaned in quite some time. The bathroom wasn’t an issue because I brought my own toilet and faucet. Also, lots of wildlife in and around the campground. Was lovely to see.
Tom S
Loop:Right Middle Loop
Site:54
Reviewed 23 days ago
I rate it and F. The bathrooms are deplorable. There is no running water in the sink facuets (if it had a sink at all) and a lot of the toilets are out of order. I did not see one cleaning crew the four days we were there. I only saw the ranger two times and both were during the day. No Ranger was seen at night when we had bears incidents. Also there were barracaded areas were you could not go due to a sink hole caused by a fallen tree.
Kate C
Loop:Right Outer Loop
Site:06
Reviewed 23 days ago
Sentinel is beautiful, surrounded by breathtaking cliffs, and a stream on one side of the campground. There's also a stunning, lush meadow in the middle. We hiked around the trails, drove to Road's End, and stopped at Roaring River Falls (recommend!)
Justine Z
Loop:Center Loop
Site:22
Reviewed 24 days ago
Great campground with lovely sound of the roaring Kings River. Clean bathrooms. Close access to trails at Road's End. Shaded sites.
Alexandra C
Loop:Left Outer Loop
Site:64
Reviewed 24 days ago
The Ranger’s customer service was Amazing!!
Alexandra C
Loop:Right Inner Loop
Site:44
Reviewed 24 days ago
The Ranger’s customer service was Amazing!!!!
eric C
Loop:Center Loop
Site:23
Reviewed 25 days ago
Love this campsite. Camping at the bottom of the kings canyon with the kings River in the background is the best. Only complaint i have is the restrooms. They're pretty bad. Be nice if they could keep them in working order.
Kaitlin M
Loop:Center Loop
Site:29
Reviewed a month ago
Site was great, campground was gorgeous (especially along the river), and every neighbor was respectful, sweet and friendly. Men’s toilets were literally unusable but woman’s bathroom were tidy and clean. We’ll definitely return and would recommend overall.
bianca g
Loop:Right Inner Loop
Site:47
Reviewed a month ago
Most of the bathrooms were out of service with no running water.
Kendall F
Loop:Left Outer Loop
Site:74
Reviewed a month ago
Far away, but beautiful drive to get there and nice campground!
daniel f
Loop:Right Outer Loop
Site:09
Reviewed a month ago
We had an excellent time! The site was nice, the neighbors were polite and quiet at night, and the bathroom was comfortable enough. Rangers were easy to find during the daytime. The presentation from a ranger one night at the amphitheater was awesome! The market had a tasty cheeseburger when I got bored of camp lunch.
William B
Loop:Right Outer Loop
Site:20
Reviewed a month ago
The two female rangers at the visitor center were very helpful and courteous.
Definitely need a plumber to fix toilets and sinks in restrooms! It will be a mess on the upcoming holiday with so many toilets in non working conditions.
Jon R
Loop:Center Loop
Site:37
Reviewed a month ago
We were very pleased with Sentinel campground. The site was clean and flat for our tent. We were very pleased to find flush toilets and deep sinks to wash our dishes. Our site was close to the bathroom and there was no odor at all. We also like the proximity to the Visitor Center and Cedar Grove lodge with showers and a small but well stocked store. Kings Canyon was spectacular. We visited Boyden Cave on our way into the valley. We hiked to Mist Falls and saw a couple bears at a safe distance. The hike was perfect; not too difficult but enough to give us a good work out. We had a very memorable trip and would recommend Sentinel Campground. .
Simon S
Loop:Left Outer Loop
Site:63
Reviewed a month ago
Campsite had limited shading but overall experience was still amazing. Plenty of space, very large bear lockers and proximity to bathrooms, water, and trash was very good. Campgrounds were fairly quiet and no issues with other campsites. The visitor center is very close / walking distance and the park rangers were very helpful and nice to us, and loved the interations with our kids for the activity books + kids junior ranger badges.
Johanna K
Loop:Center Loop
Site:36
Reviewed a month ago
Beautiful campsite at the bottom of Kings Canyon, 6 miles from Roads End. It was a wonderful experience. Be sure to educate yourself on camping in bear country
Ketaki P
Loop:Left Outer Loop
Site:66
Reviewed a month ago
Clean, good location, very near the points of attractions in Kings Cannon NP
Sarah R
Loop:Center Loop
Site:36
Reviewed a month ago
Everything was fabulous except in the men’s restroom the urinals and toilets were in disrepair. Thank you!
Yingxin G
Loop:Center Loop
Site:22
Reviewed a month ago
Site is spacious for 2 or 3 tents and close to the trail. The campsite has a small creek flowing through it, creating natural white noise at night that makes sleeping very relaxing. It’s also not far from the restroom, although the water there doesn’t seem to work very well right now. There are lots of shades and the area is very quiet and peaceful.
Daniel L
Loop:Right Inner Loop
Site:47
Reviewed a month ago
Great campsite and location. A bear walked through our campsite! Awesome.
Ty K
Loop:Right Outer Loop
Site:18
Reviewed a month ago
Loved this spot. Secluded with only a few neighbors on each side. Shaded most of the day. Parking was level for car camping. Short walk to the river. Would pick this spot again
Marco M
Loop:Right Middle Loop
Site:50
Reviewed a month ago
as usual outstanding work that our NP service members do .... thank you
Claire S
Loop:Right Outer Loop
Site:04
Reviewed a month ago
We stayed 3 nights and had a great time! Very close to all hikes in Kings Canyon and just an hour drive up the canyon over to Sequoia. The showers were clean & are within walking distance but we drove to make it easy. They’re located next to the general store where you can buy tokens for the shower, only open until 8p though. Camp site was clean when we got there and the bear lockers gave us peace of mind! Other folks staying in the campground were very friendly.
Jesus N
Loop:Left Outer Loop
Site:70
Reviewed a month ago
Really nice campground. Lots of shade at the campsites and walking distance to lodge.
Walker P
Loop:Right Middle Loop
Site:53
Reviewed a month ago
Great place to camp. Beautiful sites and sounds. Tall trees and taller spectacular canyons! Waking up every morning to bird sound and rushing waters. The restrooms were in need of maintenance and repairs. Rangers friendly and informative, especially, Jordon, out of Cedar Grove.
Claire A
Loop:Right Outer Loop
Site:18
Reviewed a month ago
Beautiful campground! Love the sunlight coming through the trees in the morning and the closeness to Cedar Lodge for food and showers after a long day of hiking. Popular with families and can get loud during the day
Elizabeth D
Loop:Left Outer Loop
Site:82
Reviewed a month ago
The campground was clean and very quiet. Short walk to river cafe and market - some sites very close to river.
Popularity
Very busy · 89%
Busiest in July, when about 89% of sites are booked. Based on 6 years of reservations.
