Calaveras Big Trees State Park
Calaveras Big Trees State Park things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
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Calaveras Big Trees State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving two groves of giant sequoia trees. It is located 4 miles northeast of Arnold, California in the middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada.
attractions: North Grove Campground, restaurants:
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Description
Calaveras Big Trees State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving two groves of giant sequoia trees. It is located 4 miles northeast of Arnold, California in the middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada.
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I spent a significant amount of time at Calaveras Big Trees State Park this summer (2022). It quickly and easily became one of my favorite parks of all time. The park's location in the Sierra Nevada Mountains happens to be in one of the few places where Giant Sequoia Trees thrive. These trees grow to massive sizes and hiking through the park's North Grove Trail gives you awe inspiring views that can make you feel quite small. The staff were all extremely friendly and provided amazing programs including guided hikes, Junior Ranger and Cubs, meadow walks, and campfire programs in the evenings. They were always happy to answer questions and often helped me identify plants or insects I wasn't familiar with. Things to keep in mind: - Dogs are NOT allowed on the park's main trails. - The tree that you can walk through (the Pioneer Cabin Tree) fell down in 2017. - There are bears in the park so keep food in your locked car or in bear lockers if you're camping. - You have to hike to see the Giant Sequoias. You won't see many just driving through the park. - The river is fast and rocky so swimming is not safe. - Do NOT touch the Giant Sequoias. Their bark is soft and flakes off when touched. - Do NOT walk directly next to the Giant Sequoias. There are social trails around the trees but these are not real trails. This is very bad for the trees.
Ford RichardsFord Richards
30
*Review for Oak Hollow Campground* First of all the State Park/welcome center is really great. Clean and wonderful trails to view the trees and nature! Just finished our second camping trip here in the Oak Hollow camp ground. I'll list some of the pros and cons from our 3 night stay here. Pros: trees everywhere provide shade, some campsites have a running creek depending on time of year, enough spacing between sites, clean camp sites, running water from hose bibs. Cons: Wasps everywhere! Was supposedly due to the drought but we were swarmed even with the trap that was set up. Campsite was pretty sloped which made for some uncomfortable sleeping for us. Bathrooms were old and dirty near campsite 100/101. Don't know if they ever get cleaned. Should really get power washed. Bugs and spider webs everywhere. Lights weren't working at night either. Overall, the facilities really need to be updated. A couple of the restrooms looked more updated than other but some, including the restrooms near the welcome center need to be cleaned daily. California should really do better considering how people traveling from around the world to visit parks like this. Be prepared, no cell service but free wifi at the welcome center if you stand outside of the building. Come prepared + know what to expect and you'll have a good time!
Austin RasmussenAustin Rasmussen
30
The North Grove Trail is open and it’s a beautiful drive to get up to Calaveras Big Trees State Park. This is the trail that has all the landmark big sequoias that you’ve seen photos of. Parking was self service, $10 paid by cash or debit card. We arrived around 1pm on a Wednesday and there was still plenty of parking. The trail wasn’t crowded, but not super solitary either (if you’re looking for solitude, get in and get out by lunch). After paying for parking, you go straight down to the visitor center with parking for the center and the trails - or go to the right of the center and there is more parking and also the picnic table area (with a foot trail that loops back up to the visitor center and the trail head). The North Grove Trail is about 1.5 miles, an easy walk and kid friendly, however, wheelchairs were not able to make it on the trail and had to quickly turn back. No dogs allowed. There were restrooms in the visitor center parking and also the picnic area. For a map of the trail, you can scan a code to get it on your phone at the visitor center, or at the trailhead there is a wooden box that contains paper pamphlets with the trail map and information about what your seeing on the trail - we enjoyed the pamphlet.
bridget loganbridget logan
50
I am only giving a 4 star review because they are very strict with their rules and we almost got a fine. We had left two trash bags out while most of the group left for a hike. Two people stay behind. A lot of the coolers were not bear proof but we had mostly waters in it (no food. All of the food was on the bear proof cooler. I understand they are doing to protect us but two people stayed behind for a reason. We stay at the North Grove campground. The place was beautiful. Some campsites do not have that much shade but overall beautiful. The bear boxes are very small so it’s better to take coolers that can have padlocks to stop bears from opening them. There was a bear who came over to visit us. He was smart enough to put his paw on the bear box lock, open it and pull the door open. The door had a chain so it couldn’t open it all the way but he was able to pull the tortillas and marshmallows that were close to the door. He ran off and ate them far from us. He didn’t bother the tents. He only went for the bear boxes that did not have the food store in sealed boxes. I would recommend to buy outdoor storage boxes where to store food inside the bear boxes.
Stella Maris OrtegaStella Maris Ortega
30
We went to Big Trees in July of 2020 . You have to. Pay to enter . There are restrooms available. If you are approaching the restrooms from the parking lot and the first two are in use go around to the other side there are two more. The restrooms are all gender and accessible. We went in March and there was a lot of snow on the ground but the North Grove trail was open. While we had jackets, waterproof shoes, hiking sticks, we were not equipped for snow. When I took a step and ended up in a hole up to my knees. I concluded that we were not adequately dressed, snow suit with snow shoes . Also some parts of the trail were submerged due to the melting snow. I had not seen that much snow since I went to Tahoe several years ago . The park was beautiful. Gift shop has great souvenirs ( co-workers, friends). There was an exhibit in another room showing the wildlife in the area and a theatre. We will return but probably not when there is still snow on the ground.
Paula StubblefieldPaula Stubblefield
00
“Listen, all around you are spirits child. They live in the earth, the water, the sky. If you listen, they will guide you.” I could spend hours here. Very easy trail for beginners to walk among the giant sequoias. There’s a trail guide booklet that explains a lot about the area with over 20 trail marks to learn about the park, very educational self guided trail. It seems like it would be a great place for kids, as there were many kids and families here. Not gonna lie the kids were loud and rowdy as hell. So if you’re looking for quite place , this may be a hit or miss depending on the timing. I guess kids being kids, but whatever lol. I’m thinking early mornings and right before close are the best low traffic times where it feels peacefully serine. Around 4-6 is when the Forrest came alive. It’s like it knew that the day crowds were gone. We had many very close encounters with wildlife including a deer right on the trail. Great place to visit! I’ll for sure be back!
Viola WongViola Wong
10
Nearby Attractions Of Calaveras Big Trees State Park
North Grove Campground
North Grove Campground
4.8
(49)Click for details
Reviews
Overview
4.8
(2K reviews)
Phone
(209) 795-2334
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Website
parks.ca.gov
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Deep Dive
A deep dive into Calaveras Big Trees State Park
