THE SOUTH GROVE OF BIG TREES PARK – A GREAT FALL DESTINATION!
On Friday, a volunteer and I spent a good portion of the day retrieving four of CSERC’s wildlife photo-detection stations from scattered sites far out in a roadless area in the Stanislaus Forest. During our 8 miles of hiking for the day, we didn’t see a single hunter out in the forest or along the rocky ridgelines, but hunters had gotten their pictures taken by the cameras at three different locations. It was clear that the forest was full of deer hunters. In addition, as we drove back through the forest toward CSERC, trucks, jeeps, and recreational vehicles were all pouring into the national forest as hunters competed for prime camping spots for the weekend.
Accordingly, on Saturday morning, it was a challenge to pick a location to view fall colors, see spectacular scenery, and somehow avoid the risk of being in the midst of all the hunters with guns. Despite the massive size of the Stanislaus National Forest, the vast majority of it is open for hunting. So I suggested to my wife that we head off fairly early to go visit the South Grove of giant sequoias at Calaveras Big Trees State Park.
For anyone not familiar with the Park, it is three miles east of Arnold on Highway 4. A $10 entrance fee gets you into the Park, and the attractive visitor center provides lots of good information, compelling films, and close proximity to the highly popular trail through the North Grove of giant sequoias. The remote South Grove, however, has far more sequoias, bigger sequoias, and far more of a peaceful, secluded setting. But getting there means driving 8 miles to the South Grove trailhead on the south side of the North Fork Stanislaus River. It also means hiking a mile just to get to the edge of the grove.
We found a fairly full parking area, but that still didn’t result in any sense of crowding. In our half hour hike out to the South Grove, we saw perhaps 15-20 hikers. Once we reached the Grove and walked across the small bridge over Big Trees Creek, we only saw a few other groups of hikers over the next hour. The sequoias dominated the forest setting. Many are truly breath-taking.
In the month of October, not only can you avoid hunters by visiting the Grove, you also have the opportunity to savor the reddish hues of dogwoods that dominate the understory in many parts of the Grove. Trail guides are available at the trailhead parking area, so when you are transfixed by especially stunning trees or puzzled why half of a giant ancient sequoia log is intact while the other half is completely missing, the trail guides have lots of answers.
Many people love Calaveras Big Trees Park as a place to bring friends and family, or to simply enjoy a quiet hike by yourself to find solitude amidst ancient giants. As impressive and satisfying as the North Grove is, the South Grove takes a visitor to the next level. And the most distant destination on the maintained trail is the Aggasiz Tree. It is 25 feet in diameter and 250 feet tall, but dimensions are less impressive than its estimated age of 2,000 years or more. At this spot and at countless other sites in the Park, it is humbling to think that still-thriving giant sequoias have persisted through storms, winds, droughts, and fires for as many as 400 generations of our ancestors.
It is worthwhile to take the time to stop, savor, and be awed by the ancient forest. Calaveras Big Trees Park is truly a special destination, and October is a perfect time to visit.