Cedarbrook Picnic Area
Campground · Kings Canyon & Sequoia corridor
Cedarbrook Picnic Area sits at 4213 feet in the Kings Canyon and Sequoia corridor, a modest Sierra staging point with low crowds and stable afternoon wind.
Wind averages 6 mph over the rolling 30 days but can gust to 23 mph by mid-afternoon. Morning calm is reliable; afternoon exposure picks up steadily. Expect wind to funnel from the drainage by 2 p.m. on clear days.
Over the last 30 days, Cedarbrook averaged a NoGo Score of 12.0 with wind at 6 mph and temperatures around 42 degrees Fahrenheit. The week ahead mirrors that pattern: low wind early, moderate gusts by afternoon, and crowding well below regional peaks. Use the chart to spot the rare days when afternoon wind stays below 10 mph.
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About Cedarbrook Picnic Area
Cedarbrook Picnic Area occupies a staging zone at 4213 feet in the Kings Canyon and Sequoia corridor of California's Sierra Nevada. Access is from Highway 180 heading east into the canyon; the site sits roughly 30 miles inland from the Highway 180/Highway 395 junction near the town of Cutter. The picnic area serves as a waypoint for day trips into the higher Sierra and a thermal break for visitors ascending into the parks. Parking is modest and fills early on summer weekends; weekday mid-morning arrival is the surest bet for a spot.
Conditions at Cedarbrook run stable year-round owing to its mid-Sierra elevation and protected canyon aspect. The 30-day rolling average wind is 6 mph, though gusts spike to 23 mph in afternoon hours as drainage winds accelerate downcanyon. Temperatures range from a low of 31 degrees Fahrenheit in winter to a high of 57 degrees in summer, with the rolling 30-day average sitting at 42 degrees. Crowding averages 9 over the rolling month, well below trailhead basins higher up. Morning hours are consistently calmer; late afternoon brings predictable wind rise. Snow lingers into late spring at this elevation, clearing the picnic area for reliable use by late May.
Cedarbrook suits day-trippers staging short hikes or picnic breaks between canyon driving and high-country ascents. Experienced Sierra visitors use it as a reference point for canyon weather and drainage-wind timing. Afternoon wind is the dominant planning factor; visitors targeting still conditions schedule arrival by 10 a.m. and pack out by 1 p.m. The site lacks water and amenities, making it a lunch-stop rather than overnight base. Wind sensitivity is high here: paddlers and climbers moving upcanyon watch the afternoon thermals carefully, as they can be predictive of stronger gusts at higher elevations.
Visitors staging into Kings Canyon often pair Cedarbrook with nearby pullouts along Highway 180 or the Cedar Grove area for comparison. The picnic area offers quieter conditions than busy trailheads deeper in the parks, and the canyon aspect gives predictable wind behaviour that higher, more exposed locations do not. For those timing a longer trip, morning calm at Cedarbrook signals good conditions for higher elevations; afternoon wind rise often precedes upper-canyon gusts by 1 to 2 hours.