We have listed Hume Lake on our post about family-friendly hikes in Kings Canyon National Park, though it is outside park boundaries. Hume Lake actually sits in Sequoia National Forest, and is home to a youth camp. There is a lot of traffic around the camp, but the shore of Hume Lake is well worth a walk if you have time on your visit to Kings Canyon.
The drive to Hume Lake from Grant Grove Village is paved and easy. Drive north toward the end of the road for just a few miles until you get to Princess Campground. Then take a slight right onto a narrow road. This road is outside park boundaries, but still has some nice views of Kings Canyon. Hume Lake sits between Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park. At first, the road is pretty narrow and winding. There is a lot of wildlife, particularly in the morning. We saw deer, squirrels, and chipmunks, along with a variety of birds. As you near the lake, you’ll see a whole village built up and youth everywhere. Follow the road until it turns left and straightens out along the lakeshore. Then pull onto a wide spot on the shoulder to begin your hike.
The hike along the shore of Hume Lake is beautiful. We saw baby coots swimming in lines behind their mothers. There were ruddy ducks bobbing in the water. Mallards splashed into the lake. Frogs croaked along the bank, and we spotted their half-formed offspring in the shallow water. Farther on, there were two kinds of woodpeckers, northern flickers, and white-headed woodpeckers. There were plenty of people hiking and fishing as well.
You can walk as far along the shore of Hume Lake as you like. In fact, the trail goes all the way around the lake at a reported distance of 2.9 miles. But we didn’t go that far. We began our hike near the youth camp area and we walked away from the camp until we came to a bridge. This long narrow bridge crossed the inlet to the lake, which cascaded down a a series of pools and chutes as it entered the basin. For us, this was the perfect place to turn around. We explored on the rocks near the bridge, which is near Sandy Cove day use area.
There are many places to hike along Hume Lake, but we enjoyed our hour walking along the shore. There was plenty to see and do, and the animals kept our kids interested. The trail is flat and easy. After the hike, you can return north to Grant Grove Village. You can also drive south, which comes out a few miles south of the village. We took this route as we were traveling to Sequoia National Park that day. It’s a great drive, and paved all the way.
