The original Yosemite Grant of 1864 did not preserve the entire park as we know it today (that was created in 1890). Rather, it singled out two small areas to save for all time: Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove.
From the moment that Galen Clark got his first glimpse of the grove in 1857, he and others worked to save it for future generations. A short seven years later, the Mariposa Grove was permanently preserved. Since then, the Mariposa Grove has been a favorite Yosemite stop and was, in fact, the first place in Yosemite that Theodore Roosevelt visited on his 1903 tour with John Muir.
You can walk in the Mariposa Grove much like Clark and Roosevelt and marvel at these massive trees. The Mariposa Grove contains the biggest collection of giant sequoias in Yosemite, including the celebrated Grizzly Giant. Other famous trees inhabit the grove such as the Washington Tree, the largest in the grove, and Telescope Tree — hollowed by fire, you can stand inside it and look out that top over 100 feet above. And it’s still alive!
Please note: the Mariposa Grove is closed for restoration until 2017 and access is currently along the Outer Loop Trail only, with a limited number of sequoias visible (see the NPS announcement). Other groves where you can see these giants include the Nelder Grove, a short distance from Tenaya Lodge in the Sierra National Forest, and the Tuolumne and Merced Groves in Yosemite National Park.
From the moment that Galen Clark got his first glimpse of the grove in 1857, he and others worked to save it for future generations. A short seven years later, the Mariposa Grove was permanently preserved. Since then, the Mariposa Grove has been a favorite Yosemite stop and was, in fact, the first place in Yosemite that Theodore Roosevelt visited on his 1903 tour with John Muir.
You can walk in the Mariposa Grove much like Clark and Roosevelt and marvel at these massive trees. The Mariposa Grove contains the biggest collection of giant sequoias in Yosemite, including the celebrated Grizzly Giant. Other famous trees inhabit the grove such as the Washington Tree, the largest in the grove, and Telescope Tree — hollowed by fire, you can stand inside it and look out that top over 100 feet above. And it’s still alive!
Please note: the Mariposa Grove is closed for restoration until 2017 and access is currently along the Outer Loop Trail only, with a limited number of sequoias visible (see the NPS announcement). Other groves where you can see these giants include the Nelder Grove, a short distance from Tenaya Lodge in the Sierra National Forest, and the Tuolumne and Merced Groves in Yosemite National Park.