June through August is peak season with 4,000+ reservations per month at Lodgepole alone and zero site-nights currently available park-wide — if you must go in summer, target Crystal Springs (CA) for walk-up availability or Sentinel for its unusually high 44.5% July last-minute rate. October is the best shoulder-season bet: Azalea shows 35.9% last-minute availability across 1,036 October reservations, and Potwisha remains open year-round for winter visits with 59.3% last-minute fill in December. Avoid September for advance planning — it's the hardest month to book both Potwisha and Azalea, with each showing only 0.3% of reservations planned 6+ months out.
The free NPS shuttle operates seasonally in the Giant Forest and Grant Grove areas and is highly recommended — parking at popular trailheads fills by mid-morning on summer weekends. Private vehicles are required to reach Cedar Grove (Kings Canyon Scenic Byway), Mineral King (a narrow, mostly unpaved 25-mile spur off Highway 198), and the South Fork area. The Mineral King Road is explicitly not recommended for RVs and trailers, and vehicles over 22 feet should avoid it entirely — plan for a 90-minute drive each way from Three Rivers. Cedar Grove Road closes in winter, so Sentinel, Sheep Creek, Moraine, and Canyon View are inaccessible outside the summer season.
