Spend time walking among the giants and you will experience change. We went there in the morning and it was cooling and did wonders for the lungs.Enjoyed the views, sounds and smells.It was a golden opportunity to walk in the wild among the giant sequoias, a unique solitude and primitive recreation.
Walk the whole path, we were advised to keep going by a passer by and it was so worth it. Just spectacular. Pictures cannot do this place justice.
I hadn't been to this grove in about 10 years, so it was time for a re- visit. The giant sequoias haven't changed much, but the trees around them and the forest floor sure have. This is the third year of drought in California, and it's very evident here. There were a lot of holes in the forest floor, where big trees used to stand. There are a lot of pines with brown needles, either from drought, or the RimFire, most likely both. The hike itself is pleasant, and depending on your condition, it's either slightly or a lot strenuous. The trail drops 500 feet over a mile, so on the way back you have to work a bit. The entire trail, including loops it about 2 1/2 miles round trip. Photos to follow.
It is a small grove of Sequoia trees on the way to Tuolumne Meadow. Its about a mile hike down with a 500 foot drop to begin (remember you have to go back the way you came!) The trees are beautiful, and the big trees are amazing. Numbers of trees are limited, but yu get a feel for them on this hike. We had 2 babies with us, and we just took our time coming back up the hill. It isn't easy hike back up, just steady progress, and you'll get there. Because we were carrying about 25 extra pounds each, we just took a break about 4 times on the way up. I enjoyed the hike, and am very glad we took the hiking poles. They really helped stabilize and take some of the stress off the knees and back.
虽然没有红杉国家公园的美洲杉那么大,但这里也有不少知名的红杉树,树龄达到了200年左右。可惜标牌不多,对植物了解有限的朋友恐怕看到的是有限的。一片树林有几百株杉树,遮天蔽日,下面有丰富层次的灌木和草地,成为动物们的天堂
Despite evidence of the big forest fire that came right up to the grove, the grove is still in tact. The trees are amazing and get bigger as you walk down into the valley.On the way down look at the trees. On the way back look out for wildlife. We saw lots of squirrels, chipmunks, woodpecker, and even a deer right next to the trail.
I was shocked by the giant trees, for this is my first time seeing such big trees. I also leaned a lot about the forest ecology, the function of nature fire. The "passing through" is a must see. The trail is good, enough excise and view is good.
We did this on our way into Yosemite from the West entrance. It's a great little hike to see some large trees in a beautiful forest walk. There's some construction going on right now, but it is still opened. There's some parking available right off the road and signs leading you to the trail. I'd say it's about a mile out and a mile back. STROLLER accessible (with a good stroller.) We had small kids with us (hiking backpack and outdoor stroller). They liked running some of it and hitching a ride on the way back. You have to push uphill on the way back, but it's not too bad. Great place to stretch out and introduce yourself to Yosemite if you're coming in from the west and need a break from the car! Bathroom available at beginning of trail.
We took the path from the car park, was amazed at not just the size of these Giant Sequoias but also their age.
Are the trees impressive? Yes. Is it worth the walk? Depends. I would say it depends on how much you like trees as they are not easy to get to. When I went in Oct 2014 the main parking lot was closed for construction and the most of the street parking was full. It was little bit of a hike just to get to the start of the trail. The trail is about a mile or so all downhill and is rather steep which means of course, on the way back up you're going to be dying if you aren't in fairly decent shape, or if it's hot out. It takes a long time to get there and back and it will wear you out, so if you decide this will be your first stop in Yosemite at the beginning of the day, you may burn yourself out early and not enjoy Yosemite's other amazing attractions as much. I spent one day in Yosemite and if I could do it over again I would have skipped this one.But let's say you do decide to go as I did. The very first Sequoia you encounter is the largest and it is impressively huge, but will probably not be as big as you think it ought to be. Maybe I was jaded, but I was expecting trees large enough you could drive a car through and these particular grove of trees are not that big. I heard that the grove in Mariposa has larger trees, but it was too far out of the way as we were coming from San Francisco. You follow a loop around the main trees and you can get close enough to walk right up and touch them. They are pretty cool but at the end of the day they are just trees, and now you have a steep mile hike to get back to your car.In conclusion, if the mile hike was flat then it would have been worth it, but if you only have a day, spending that much time and energy to see several trees that you think ought to be bigger probably isn't worth it. There are many more amazing things in Yosemite that will be a better use of your time.