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.
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.
Hello Jose Luis, thank you very much for your recommendations, they have been very helpful to me at this time when I am planning a trip at the end of May 2016 from San Fran to Las Vegas passing through Yosemite. The question I have is, do we plan to leave San Fran early and go to Yosemite and see the places that you recommended (are these places that can be visited by car or do we have to walk a lot? I go with my parents and I can't take them on hikes that they are very heavy) from there we thought about traveling on the Fresno side because it seems closer to me and we thought we would meet to spend the night in Bakersfield or nearby to move forward.
What I was thinking is, further on from Bakersfield, take the 395 to enter Death Valley, do you think it is worth entering Death Valley and adding hours to my trip or the landscape of Death Valley or what there is to see is practically what the same one you see on most roads?
I would appreciate it if you could help me with that and also with recommendations of where to stay in case you recommend taking the 395 to enter Death Valley.
Thank you very much
Pillar
Dear José Luis:
I would like to ask you if it is worth going to Yosemite Park, from San Francisco, leaving very early and returning to San Francisco the same day. We would do it on March 23, 2016
The alternative that we could manage, if it is worth it, is to go from Carmel at noon and arrive at Mariposa Grove at night, stay, and visit what we can of the park the next day. until leaving in the afternoon for San Francisco.
Thank you very much
Alejandro, I advise you the second alternative. You can even sleep somewhere before arriving, as it will cost you much cheaper than directly in the park.
With the first alternative, it will depend on how early you get up and what areas of the park you want to see, but I see it as very tight.
José Luis: Thank you very much for your response. We are going to follow your suggestion, and we will make the trip from Carmel and Monterrey, where we will be at noon, to reach El Portal and stay in a hotel there. I hope the route is easy and we don't arrive too late at night. Thank you!!
Hola!
Let's see if anyone knows. How can we go to Mariposa Grove on our own from Yosemite Park, if there are no tours in winter?
Thank you so much!!