RATING |
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DISTANCE |
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3.0 miles round-trip |
HIKING TIME |
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1.5 hours |
ELEVATION GAIN |
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520 feet |
HIGH POINT |
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5,840 feet |
EFFORT |
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Moderate Workout |
BEST SEASON |
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May to November |
PERMITS/CONTACT |
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Yosemite National Park fee required ($20 per vehicle, valid for seven days), (209) 372-0200, www.nps.gov/yose |
MAPS |
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Yosemite National Park (download at |
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NOTES |
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Dogs and bikes prohibited; |
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accessible in winter with snowshoes |
This lovely forested hike follows an old wagon road to the smallest and least visited of Yosemite’s three giant sequoia groves.
From Yosemite’s Big Oak Flat entrance station on Highway 120, drive southeast 4.3 miles to the Merced Grove trailhead on your right. Or, traveling from Yosemite Valley through Crane Flat, drive west 3.7 miles on the Big Oak Flat Road to the trailhead on your left.
Measured by volume—sheer bulk—giant sequoia trees are the largest living trees on earth. Coastal redwoods may be taller, but sequoias are much broader at the base. To gain a perspective on our diminutive stature as humans, there’s nothing quite like standing next to a massive sequoia.
Of the three giant sequoia groves in Yosemite National Park—Merced, Tuolumne, and Mariposa—the Merced Grove is the smallest, the least visited, and generally the most peaceful. It’s a fine place to go for a stroll through a lovely mixed forest, and then be awed by the sight of the giant sequoias dwarfing all the other trees. This hike is a winner on any day, in any season (although you’ll need snowshoes to make the trip in winter).
The hiking trail is a closed-off dirt road that was Yosemite’s first carriage road. It runs level for the first 0.5 mile until it reaches a junction. Take the left fork and head downhill through a forest of white firs, incense cedars, ponderosa pines, and sugar pines. Azaleas bloom in early summer beneath the conifers’ branches.
You’ll spot the first sequoias at 1.5 miles—a cluster of six along the trail to your right. These are not of record-breaking size, but they’re certainly impressive. A few yards farther down the trail and you spot two more big trees on the left and one on the right. A total of only 20 sequoias are found in this grove, but because they grow so close together, they make a big impact.
The sequoias in the Merced Grove were “discovered” in 1833 by the Walker party, a group of explorers headed by Joseph Walker who were looking for the best route through the Sierra Nevada. Most likely local Indian tribes had long known about the location of the big trees.
The largest sequoias of this grove are found directly across the road/ trail from a handsome log cabin. The cabin was originally built as a retreat for the park superintendent. Have a seat near the largest trees, pull a sandwich from your pack, and stay a while. For your return, simply retrace your steps from the cabin, hiking back uphill.
The Merced Grove’s giant sequoias are less visited, but no less impressive, than those of Yosemite’s other groves.
The trail continues beyond the cabin and the giant sequoias for another mile to a spot known as Twin Bridges, following the path of the Old Coulterville wagon route to Yosemite. Despite the name, you’ll find no bridges here, only two streams sized just right for rock-hopping across.
