During your tourist trip along the west coast of the United States, one of the attractions of your visit Yosemite National Park is the possibility of seeing the giant sequoias.
These are trees well known for their incredible size, both for their height and, above all, for the width of their trunk.
Moreover, redwoods are long-lived trees, since it is normal for them to exceed 3.000 years of life, in addition to reaching 100 meters in height and reaching 7 meters in diameter in their trunk.
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All the information in detail
Where to see giant sequoias in Yosemite
To do this you must go to the place known as butterfly grove located 59 kilometers south of the central area of the national park, that is, known as Yosemite Valley.
This area has been closed to visitor access for three years, until June 2018, and during that period work has been carried out to rehabilitate the area and accommodate visitors.
Actually, butterfly grove It is located very close to the south entrance/exit of the Yosemite National Park, along Route 41 that connects the park with the city of Fresno.
Where to park your car in Mariposa Grove
At this point you will access a two-kilometer road that will take you to the Welcome Plaza at Mariposa Grove, For the south entrance, when there is parking with space for 300 vehicles, which is usually already full late in the morning.
Shuttle bus to climb the giant sequoias
From there comes a shuttle bus that takes visitors to the area of the giant sequoias in Mariposa Grove.
I can tell you that you will find yourself at a height of about 1.800 meters, so the access to Mariposa Grove It is usually only open to visitors from mid-March to the end of November.
With a frequency every 10 minutes, this bus takes you to the redwood area, from mid-May to mid-October, from 8 in the morning to 8 in the afternoon, and in the rest of the year, from 8 the morning to 5 in the afternoon.
What redwoods to see in Mariposa Grove
From where the bus drops you off you have several hiking routes that allow you to see some of the most famous redwoods in Yosemite Park.
From the simplest of 500 meters that takes you half an hour to travel, through a 3-kilometer route that can take you 2 hours, and the most complete of 10 kilometers, the most demanding, to which you should dedicate between 4 and 6 hours. .
During these routes you will see several famous sequoias, among which the one known as Grizzly Giant and, above all, the redwoods whose large diameter trunk has a tunnel through which you can cross.
That is the case of the so-called California Tunnel Tree y Fallen Wawona Tunnel Tree.
When considering the visit Mariposa Grove, I remind you again that you have to take into account the time of year; This information about him will be useful to you. closure of the access road during the winter season.
Tour from San Francisco to Yosemite
If instead of going by car on your own you prefer to sign up for an organized excursion to see this national park, you have the option of tour from San Francisco to Yosemite that allows you to discover its most notable corners in one day.
Dear José Luis, I am grateful to have your experience and reference to plan our trip in the best way.
We will arrive from Las Vegas and the intention is to leave VERY early from LV, enter the Park through the West gate and be able to take a first tour. Considering the distance and the number of hours we have to travel, the idea is to stay the night near the south access of the park and then re-enter the next day, visit more of the best destinations that are on the south side and continue our trip halfway. afternoon heading to San Francisco.
Considering that perhaps you know that route, does the idea seem reasonable to you? If so, where would you think it would be best for us to spend the night?
Again, thank you VERY MUCH for your advice and recommendations.
July
July, from Las Vegas the best route would be through the east of Yosemite, entering through Tioga Road.
But the truth is that I cannot recommend it to you. On my visit I arrived from San Francisco, and after visiting the park quickly, I left south to sleep in Fresno. But in your case the direction is the opposite, and the truth is that I don't know what Tioga Road is like.
I'm sorry. Have a good trip.
Hello Jose Luis. I will arrive in San Francisco on October 31 of this year and plan to travel through Yosemite during the first half of November. I would also like to visit Death Valley, the Grand Canyon of the Colorado and Bryce Canyon. I hope I don't find snow, I'm not going to climb mountains either. My question is if I will still see fall colors and especially if I will be able to walk through the best-known places without having too many problems.
Thank you very much,
Carme
Carme, of course on those dates you will see the fall colors. I understand that you will be able to visit the main places you indicate. You may only encounter problems with Yosemite, where you may not be able to climb to the high areas.
Good trip
Dear Jose Luis, all your comments have been more than interesting to me. We plan to go from San Francisco to Las Vegas in mid-October, our plan is to make a one-day stop at Yosemite Park and continue to Las Vegas. Would you be so kind as to give me some information regarding the most recommended tours, Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point and of course the beautiful sequoias whose photos are beautiful. But from there, where you go to Las Vegas, I always understand that it is through Death Valley, but it is not clear to me from the Mariposa Grove area how to get to the route to 395, which I understand will take us to Las Vegas. And on the other hand, which area do you think is best to stay that night to continue the trip? Thank you very much in advance for your help. Kind regards. Graciela
Graciela, actually, to go to Las Vegas from Yosemite you have two routes, the one you mention via Tioga Road, to get to 265 and then take route 95. It is not necessary to travel through Death Valley, although you have the option to do so, Well, it passes by.
The other route is to the west: from Maripossa Grove, you leave for Fresno, then in Bakersfield and go inland, towards Barstow and then towards Las Vegas.
On my trip I took part of this route. If you get up early in San Francisco, you have time to see Yosemite Valley, climb Glacier Point and pass by the redwood trees. Then you have the option of sleeping in Fresno, where hotels/motels are much cheaper than in Yosemite.
If you take the other route, I think you should sleep in Yosemite or the surrounding area, then go up the Tioga Road mountain road the next day, and then arrive in Las Vegas as I have indicated. But BEWARE, if you arrive at the end of October this road may be closed, as well as Glacier Point. In winter, these routes are closed to traffic since November. It will depend on the weather.
In any case, both days you will be on a fairly tight schedule. I can't tell you more :)
Jose Luis,
In August I plan to take a route from San Francisco to Yosemite Park and then go to Los Angeles by car. Could you tell me which is the best route to see the serious butterfly sequoias? Can it be done in one day, or do you think it would be too heavy?
Thank you
Josep, you can find Mariposa Grove on the road outside Yosemite Valley, on the exit road from the national park that takes you to Fresno, and from there, to Los Angeles.
Now, it can't be done in a day. It would be advisable that to leave San Francisco, you get up early, so you can get to Yosemite as soon as possible. You visit it, including Mariposa Grove, and then you leave for Fresno, and on the way you stay in one of the motels that you find in the roads, to arrive in Los Angeles the next day. Avoid sleeping in Yosemite, where accommodation is difficult to find and quite expensive. On my trip I did something similar, and slept in a motel in Fresno (in my case, I spent a couple of days visiting the coast before arriving in Los Angeles).
Jose Luis,
I am traveling in March, exploring the west coast and I was planning to go to the national park, and stay only one night, from what I read both Galcier Point and Mariposa Grove are closed, is it worth going anyway?
thank you very much
melina
Melina, everyone has their preferences, but from my point of view, it will not be worth it to go to Yosemite in March, and instead you can take the opportunity to include other places in your route. But it is only my opinion…
I plan to travel to the park in April/12. The excursions they offer me are 1 day through Yosemite Park but without going to Mariposa Grove.
My question is, if I travel to Fresno around April 21-23, will there be an excursion from there that takes me to Mariposa Grove?
Hello Jose Luis! First I want to tell you that I am delighted with your page... it has been a great help to us.
I told you that we are going to tour California between September and October and what we want to do is get to know the park. We would like to know if we can cover enough in one day. We are not big campers or walkers, we would just like to explore to discover.
Would you recommend us to stay one night? Or can we continue on and stay in a nearby town?
Thank you so much!!
Adriana, I'm glad you found it useful.
Regarding Yosemite, the point is that I understand that this visit is part of a trip of several days along the west coast, so you cannot dedicate time to delve into it either.
I will tell you that, from my point of view, you can see it in one day (that's what I did on my trip) and you don't need to stay in the park but in any nearby city or town (I, for example, stayed in Fresno )
In reality, the essential visits are Yosemite Valley, which is relatively small, going up to Glacier Point, to see panoramic views, and going to Mariposa Grove, to be amazed by the redwoods. And you can do this in one day.
Enjoy your trip
Last April I enjoyed the joy of visiting part of this national park and I am amazed, because even knowing what I would find there, the experience is difficult to describe without getting emotional while doing so; snowy landscapes and unmatched aromas await us. Soon we hope to be there again, we will camp for a few days and we will be able to climb to the source of the waterfalls.
Indeed, Angelica, landscapes like those of Yosemite or the Grand Canyon are impossible to describe or even show with photos. The beauty of reality surpasses imagination.
I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW IF YOSEMITE PARK IS OPEN DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY AND WHAT TIMES, INCLUDING SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS. ALSO, WHAT IS THE MOST RECOMMENDED ROUTE TO FOLLOW BY CAR DEPARTING FROM LAS VEGAS AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR. THANK YOU SO MUCH
Carina, Yosemite Park is open every day of the year, and access is open 24 hours a day.
Of course, in winter the roads in the high areas are closed by snow, that is, Tioga Road and Glacier Point, and in general it is recommended to be equipped with chains in case it is necessary to use them.
I'll give you the link to the official website with information on access.
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hours.htm
Jose Luis,
My husband and I are planning to go in January 2011. How did it go for you with the snow-cold theme? Any recommendation? What couldn't they do?
Regards!
Carina,
I got confused and wrote to José Luis... Anyway, my husband and I are planning to go in January 2011. How did it go for you with the snow-cold issue? Any recommendation? What couldn't they do?
Regards!
Gabriela, I visited Yosemite in the month of August, so I didn't have a snow problem.
In winter what happens is that you will not be able to visit the high areas of the national park, such as the Tioga Road route and Glacier Point. The same could happen with the redwood forest of Mariposa Grove, although it is located at a lower elevation.
And as for Yosemite Valley, I think that unless your visit coincides with a few days of storm, I don't think you will have any problems.
Let's see if Karina gives us more information.
Greetings and good trip
TWENTY DAYS AGO WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TOUR A MUCH PART OF YOSEMITE PARK…
WE WERE REALLY AMAZED TO APPRECIATE SUCH NATURE, WHAT IMPRESSED US THE MOST WERE THE TREES, SO GIGANTIC... THOUSANDS OF YEARS, WE NEVER IMAGINED THEY COULD EXIST AND SO BIG, ALSO THE MOUNTAINS ARE SPECTACULAR...
THIS PARK IS WORTH WORTH TOURING…
Thanks for your comment