This Calif. park has giant sequoia trees without Yosemite’s lines

It’s a reality at Calaveras Big Trees State Park near Arnold, California. The mountain adventure is a mere three-hour drive from the Bay Area, even closer for those in the outer East Bay and Central Valley.
 
All 70 or so of the remaining naturally occurring giant sequoia groves on the planet are in California on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. They’re mostly found on federally managed national forest land, while perhaps the most famous groves of these incredible trees reside in Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park. 

Unfortunately, for those who loathe hordes of picture-happy tourists, lines and noisy travelers, these national parks also tend to be the most-visited groves. I’ve stood in many of those lines.

Two popular hikes in Calaveras start in either the North Grove or the South Grove of the park and offer approachable trails that you can take at a leisurely pace — since the park is far less crowded than its nearby neighbor Yosemite a couple of valleys away. 
 
Historically, the giant sequoias at Calaveras were a popular attraction, which brought “thousands of travelers from every country” following their sighting by European settlers in 1852, per John Muir. 

The Calaveras giant sequoia trees were the first widely documented of their kind, celebrated long before the world knew about larger groves elsewhere in the Sierra. They’ve survived logging and centuries of human impact — including a recent error during a prescribed burn that may have permanently damaged two monarch giant sequoias nicknamed “the Orphans.”
 
To stand in the presence of a living giant sequoia is — simply put — astonishing and inspiring.

The largest giant sequoias are over 30 feet in diameter and rise more than 300 feet tall. That’s bigger than three blue whales swimming end to end. Even their branches can grow to be bigger than some trees themselves. They’ve also been around a long, long time. The oldest known giant sequoia was thought to be 3,200 years old. Some may be even older than that.
 
“When you get a look at them, they make you feel human,” said Amber Sprock, a spokesperson for California State Parks’ Central Valley District. “They make you feel small. Their scale is enormous. When you start to learn about their lives, the tree you’re looking at could be 1,000 to 3,000 years old. It gives you perspective on life.”
 
But as visitors gravitate to the aforementioned national parks to experience giant sequoia trees, California’s only state park to feature the largest living things on Earth is an excellent alternative for thrill seekers. Surprisingly, Calaveras is not a national park or on federal land. According to Sprock, an effort to make it a national park died in Congress in the 1930s.

“Calaveras is a little bit less known and a little bit hidden, maybe because of that location [between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite],” Sprock said.

The drive to the park and a quick hike can be accomplished in one day. Visitors from the Bay Area could hypothetically leave early, stop for lunch, hit the nearest grove of giant sequoia trees at Calaveras and be back home in time for dinner.

However, I opted to make a full weekend out of it and started my excursion in Murphys, an old-fashioned community found on state Route 4 about 25 minutes from Calaveras. 

While Murphys is known for its fried apple cider doughnuts, there are a ton of wineries on the way into the former mining town. Blink and you’ll miss the turn for Main Street, which is where all of the action is for weary travelers in need of nourishment. It was bustling when I arrived and opted for Mexican food at Gabby’s Cuisine.

Many of the buildings along Main Street appear just as they were when Murphys was built in 1848, though the businesses have obviously evolved over the past 175 years. Plaques outside several of the stores memorialized the buildings’ original occupants, these days replaced by art galleries, toy stores and hotels. It was impressive, making Murphys a worthy detour.
 
Further east, Arnold offered a wide variety of places to eat and stay. Those looking for food might try Snowshoe Brewing Company or Giant Burger. I hunkered down at an Airbnb just outside Arnold, giving me a very short drive to the park during my two-day trip.
 
The first stop on my to-do list was the North Grove at Calaveras.
 
This collection of giant sequoias is very accessible and the more popular of the two groves in the park, viewable by an easy 1.5-mile trail and located on the west side of Calaveras. It’s flanked by a visitor center, gift shop and restrooms.

Parking was nearly full when I arrived at 3 p.m.
 
“The beauty of the North Grove is that it is really fairly accessible to most people, so you can get that experience without being an avid hiker or backpacker,” Sprock told SFGATE. The crowds were manageable, and the trails provided plenty of room. This is a perfect stop if you’re traveling to Calaveras with kids or as a big group.
 
The grove allows you to get up close and personal with some of the biggest giant sequoia trees you’ll ever see. 

That includes some brutal evidence of human activity as the forest fell. Display panels immortalize the Big Stump (as decapitated as it sounds) and the Mother of the Forest, described in a park guide as “a symbol of greed and thoughtlessness.” I read how the Mother of the Forest tree was stripped of its bark in 1854, sawed in various places and eventually burned by fire. It’s now a blackened shell of its former self.
 
The next morning, I was back at it again but with a walk in the South Grove. This assembly of more than 1,000 large giant sequoias is what Sprock called her “favorite trail in the park.” It became mine, too. 

At the end of a two-lane road, the South Grove is accessible only via a 20-minute drive through the entire park. There was hardly a soul or vehicle in sight when I arrived shortly after 8 a.m. This hike can be anywhere from 3.5 to 5 miles and has plenty of elevation change. Bring water. You’re going to need it.
 
The sound of the nearby Beaver Creek provided a peaceful start to the journey, one that’s markedly different from Calaveras’ North Grove. Here, you’ll see giant sequoias, but they’re off the trail, protected by smaller trees and without markers. 

“It’s a place that you can experience giant sequoias and the grandness of the trees, but you can also have moments to yourself while you walk among the forest and connect with the forest community,” Sprock said.
 
I found the biggest Redwood in the park, the Agassiz Tree, at the halfway point of the loop. It’s named after the Swiss zoologist Louis Agassiz, who championed the American outdoors (and developed the theory of ice ages).

Later down the trail, I discovered the Palace Tree, named in honor of a San Francisco icon on Market Street. The tree’s large slit opening in its base reminded visitors who came here in the 1870s of the central courtyard inside the seven-story Palace Hotel, which had opened in 1875.

Over the two days, I loaded my camera with pictures of the enormous trees in both groves. Since I started my journey back to the Bay Area early, I was still in business for breakfast and hit Day-O on the drive past Avery. The menu boasts espresso, smoothies, frappes and an assortment of grab-and-go snacks. A large coffee and breakfast sandwich were in order for me.
 
With a short drive ahead, I headed home knowing it was a trip I could repeat anytime I needed a little peace and quiet with nature’s giants.