While Zumwalt Meadow is a bit of a drive from Fresno, it’s worth it. And you can stop at General Grant Grove and Boyden Cavern on the way to break up the drive.
-Mikey
Hike Local: Kings Canyon – Zumwalt Meadow Trail
Category: Hiking
Hike Fresno: Mount Stevenson
This is a series I am doing here on The Fresnan; I hike somewhere around Fresno, and then I post about it. Is that cool? Yeah? Good good. I am trying to do more personal posts here, but still have a tie to life in Fresno. This is that kind of content.
I went up to Mount Stevenson above Shaver Lake. Wanted to have a quick drive up four-lane and do a quick morning hike. This fit. I have lived in Fresno a lot of my life, and I have never heard of this mountain or who the crap is Stevenson. I am sure he was a cool dude.
Really, I just wanted to hike somewhere and then go get lunch at the Hungry Hut.
Review of the Mount Stevenson Trail
I enjoyed it. It bums you out, though, you see what the fire has done to it and know how much nicer it used to be. There are still trees left, but you can tell there were way more so it bums you out.
The trail is also a service road for Cal Edison and the radio towers up there. That I didn’t like either as I prefer a traditional hiking only dirt trail, but it was okay otherwise.
If you go in the Summer, go early as it gets hot. There is little shade.
The top of the ridge is the best part as to the East you can look out at Shaver Lake and the Eastern Sierra. On the West side of the ridge, you look out over the San Joaquin Valley all the way to the Coastal Range (if the air is clear enough).
A nice hike for a morning run up the hill. I may do it again in the Spring when there are more flowers; I probably won’t bother with it otherwise.
Before you go, bring plenty of water, some sunscreen, and maybe bug spray (but I didn’t encounter many).
Video of my hike:
Fresno Urban Hiking
You may be asking, “What is Urban Hiking?” Well, I think it can be several things.
It can be long walks (never mind the tempo) in town, whether from your home or taking a vehicle to a certain spot and walking from there.
It can be walking a long distance in town. Long enough, you might want to bring a backpack with water and stuff. Most likely taking a specific route and/or having a destination.
It can be doing an urban hike beer crawl.
You don’t need woods, elevation gain, or maintained trails to call something a hike.
If there is an extra layer to your walking around time, that’s when you can call it a hike. And if you’re doing it in town, it’s an urban hike. There is a post on jasonexplorer.com that explains it more.
Really, I want to call my walking “urban hiking” so it sounds friggin’ cooler, OKAY?!?
Now that that is settled, I am getting into hiking in the Sierra and Urban Hiking. I started small in my [old] neighborhood last year. First to Basin Park:
Then stepped up a little and went to Out Of The Barrel:
I am now slowly building my own list of Fresno urban hikes that I will be trickling out here on The Fresnan, so keep eyes on the trail for more. Some that exist and others I curate.
For more Urban Fresno hiking, check out a recent one I did on the Northern SJR Bluffs.