Well, all right, we're going to follow the South Fork of the Kings River for the next few miles as we head to Grizzly Falls. This beautiful 80-foot waterfall is only a short walk away from the parking lot. And just in case you're wondering, no, there aren't any grizzly bears here in the park.

Just black bears. Grizzlies used to be found throughout the Sierra Nevada, but they were all driven out by the 1920s. As we cruise along, I just can't help but think about how lucky we are that the General Grant National Park was established, even if it did kind of sneak its way through Congress onto a bill.

The History of Kings Canyon National Park

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But hey, we are not in the General Grant National Park, are we? I mean, after all, this is Kings Canyon National Park, right? So what happened? Well, if you remember, President Benjamin Harrison created the General Grant National Park in 1890, and the General Grant National Park was only about four square miles, just enough to protect the Grant Grove of Sequoias. All this land out here in Kings Canyon was still unprotected.

Around the turn of the 20th century, people figured that Kings Canyon wasn't really very valuable for timber or pasture land.

But there was something else here that was extremely valuable. And you're driving right next to it. That's right, I'm talking about water.

You see, up in Yosemite in the early 20th century, the city of San Francisco dammed up the Tuolumne River in the Hetch Hetchy Valley to create a massive reservoir. And even today, the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir provides clean drinking water for the Bay Area. And downriver, hydroelectric power plants provide renewable energy.

The Fight for Kings Canyon’s Resources

Seeing their success, the city of Los Angeles looked at Kings Canyon with a similar vision, and they saw dollar signs. With a whole hydroelectric power system up here, they could sell excess energy for a profit. Whoa, not so fast, said local residents.

They wanted water and power all right, but they wanted to build the infrastructure themselves and keep the money local. So they proposed building a similar dam right here in the canyon. Well, hold your horses, said local businessmen.

Tourism and Conservation Conflicts

Cities like Fresno enjoyed the tourism boost that came from a developed park like Yosemite at their doorstep. So they wanted to do that again. Resorts, gift shops, you know, the whole shebang right here in Kings Canyon.

No, wait just a minute, said conservationists. Ever since Sequoia and General Grant National Parks were established, park supporters had been advocating to make them bigger. As a matter of fact, for a moment, Congress even considered the possibility of combining them into a much bigger entity called Roosevelt National Park.

But that idea was eventually squashed. Power, water, tourism, conservation. Suddenly, Kings Canyon was in high demand.

The Establishment of Kings Canyon

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There were a lot of different visions for this canyon, even among park enthusiasts. These were the early days of the national parks, and there were a lot of questions. What exactly is a national park? What can and should we build there? Should Kings Canyon be a tourist destination, a windfall of exploitable resources, or a wilderness? Well, decisions about development were held up for decades.

And while the fate of these giant sequoias was held in limbo, the conservationists had time to execute a plan. And their plan worked. Finally, after decades of debates, arguments, and delays, Congress approved a bill expanding General Grant National Park and renaming it Kings Canyon, after the Kings River.

On March 4th, 1940, President Roosevelt signed the bill into law, and the vision of a wilder park with minimal development has largely stayed true, right to this day. Okay, Grizzly Falls will be coming up in just a minute, and we've got less than half an hour to our final stop of the tour at Muir Rock. Bye.

Bye. Bye. Bye.

Bye.