Calaveras Big Trees State Park is a
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...
of
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, United States, preserving two groves of
giant sequoia
''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (also known as the giant sequoia, giant redwood, Sierra redwood or Wellingtonia) is a species of coniferous tree, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the la ...
trees. Located 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of
Arnold, California in the middle elevations of the
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
, it has been a major tourist attraction since 1852, when the existence of the trees was first widely reported. Two famous
exhibition trees, the
Discovery Tree and the
Mother of the Forest, were felled for display. It is also considered the longest continuously operated
tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural beaut ...
in California.
History
Early history
The giant sequoia was well known to
Native American tribes living in its area. Native American names for the species include ''Wawona'', ''toos-pung-ish'' and ''hea-mi-within'', the latter two in the language of the Tule River Tribe.
The first reference to the giant sequoias of Calaveras Big Trees by Europeans is in 1833, in the diary of the explorer J. K. Leonard; the reference does not mention any specific locality, but his route would have taken him through the Calaveras Grove.
[, Yosemite.ca.us] This discovery was not publicized. The next European to see the trees was John M. Wooster, who carved his initials in the bark of the 'Hercules' tree in the Calaveras Grove in 1850; again, this received no publicity. Much more publicity was given to Augustus T. Dowd at the North Grove in 1852, and this is commonly cited as the discovery of both the grove and the species as a whole.
The "
Discovery Tree" was noted by Augustus T. Dowd in 1852 and felled in 1853, leaving a giant stump and a section of trunk showing the holes made by the augers used to fell it.
It measured in diameter at its base and was determined by ring count to be 1,244 years old when felled. A section of the trunk was toured with little fanfare while the stump was later turned into a dance floor.
John Muir
John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the national park, National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologi ...
wrote an essay titled "The Vandals Then Danced Upon the Stump!" to criticize the felling of the tree.

In 1854, a second tree named the "
Mother of the Forest" was stripped of its bark in 1854, to be reassembled at exhibitions. This mortally wounded the tree, since outer layer of protective bark was removed. The tree didn't survive long after, having shed its entire canopy by 1861.
In 1908, with the tree unprotected by its fire resistant bark, a fire swept through the area and burned away much of what was left of the tree, leaving a fire-blackened snag.

The forest is also home to what remains of the "Father of the Forest", an ancient and exceedingly enormous giant sequoia which fell centuries ago, and its remains are still present in the park. Reportedly, the tree was 435 ft high with a 110 ft circumference- a "giant of giants".
In early 1880s, a tunnel was cut through the compartments by a private land owner at the request of James Sperry, founder of the Murphys Hotel, so that tourists could pass through it.
The tree was chosen in part because of the large forest fire scar. The
Pioneer Cabin Tree
The Pioneer Cabin Tree, also known as The Tunnel Tree, was a Sequoiadendron giganteum, giant sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, California. It was considered one of the U.S.'s most famous trees,
and drew thousands of visitors annually. ...
, as it was soon called, emulated the tunnel carved into Yosemite's
Wawona Tree
The Wawona Tree, also known as the Wawona Tunnel Tree, was a famous giant sequoia that stood in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California, United States, until February 1969. It had a height of and was in diameter at the base.
The ...
, and was intended to compete with it for tourists.
Preservation
Along with the 1850s exhibitions, the destruction of the big trees was met with public outcry. In 1864, on introducing the bill that would become the
Yosemite Grant, senator
John Conness opined that even after people had seen the physical evidence of the
Discovery Tree and the
Mother of the Forest, they still did not believe the trees were genuine, and that the areas they were from should be protected. This did not guarantee any legal protection for the trees of Calaveras Grove.
By the turn of the century the land was owned by several lumber companies, with plans to cut the remaining trees down, as sequoia and giant sequoia with their thick trunks were seen as great sources of lumber at the time. This again caused a chorus of public outcry by locals and
conservationists
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the ...
, and the area continued to be treated as a tourist attraction. Parcels of land that would later become the state park and nearby national park were optioned by lumberman
Robert P. Whiteside in January 1900, with the intention of logging. A protracted battle to preserve the trees was launched by
Laura Lyon White and the
California Club. Legislation in 1900 and 1909 authorized the federal government to purchase the property, but Whiteside refused to sell the land at the offered price, preferring its higher valuation as parkland. It was not until 1931 that Whiteside's family began to divest the property, beginning with the North Grove.
The Yosemite protection was gradually extended to most sequoias,
and Calaveras Grove was joined to
California State Parks
California State Parks is the state park system for the U.S. state of California. The system is administered by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, a department under the California Natural Resources Agency. The California State ...
in 1931. According to
John Muir
John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the national park, National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologi ...
the forest protected by the park is: "A flowering glade in the very heart of the woods, forming a fine center for the student, and a delicious resting place for the weary."

Over the years other parcels of mixed conifer forests, including the much larger South Calaveras Grove of Giant Sequoias (purchased in 1954 for US$2.8 million, equivalent to US $ in dollars), have been added to the park to bring the total area to over . The North Grove contains about 100 mature giant sequoias; the South Grove, about 1,000.
The state park now encompasses in
Calaveras and
Tuolumne counties.
Fire management
The importance of fire to giant sequoias cannot be overstated. Other than the change of seasons, fire is the most recurrent and critical process in determining the life history of this species.
Tree ring
Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate ...
records from giant sequoias show that frequent surface fires were the typical pattern of fire occurrence over the past 2,000 years. But this pattern changed after about 1860, when fire frequency declined sharply. This decline in regional fire was probably a result of decrease in fires set by Native Americans, followed by
fire suppression Fire suppression may refer to:
* Firefighting
* Fire suppression systems
* Wildfire suppression
Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts depend on many factors such as the availabl ...
by government agencies.
The state provided $7 million in 2022 from the Wildfire and Forest Resiliency Program to spend over five years, "to make our forest resilient when a big fire comes through".
A
prescribed burn
A controlled burn or prescribed burn (Rx burn) is the practice of intentionally setting a fire to change the assemblage of vegetation and decaying material in a landscape. The purpose could be for forest management, ecological restoration, ...
was conducted by park crews on about of the North Grove in late October through early November.
Attractions
The North Grove includes several noteworthy giant sequoias:
*
Discovery Tree: the stump of what was once the largest tree of the park.
*
Mother of the Forest: a fire-blackened snag is all that remains of the second largest tree of the park.
*
Pioneer Cabin Tree
The Pioneer Cabin Tree, also known as The Tunnel Tree, was a Sequoiadendron giganteum, giant sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, California. It was considered one of the U.S.'s most famous trees,
and drew thousands of visitors annually. ...
: a giant sequoia tree that collapsed during a storm on January 8, 2017; it was one of only two living giant sequoia tunnel trees still standing (the other being the California Tunnel Tree of
Mariposa Grove
Mariposa Grove is a sequoia grove located near Wawona, California, United States, in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park. It is the largest grove of giant sequoias in the park, with several hundred mature specimens. Two of its trees ...
).
*Empire State: the largest tree of the North Grove, which measures at ground level and at above ground.
The South Grove also included several noteworthy giant sequoias:
*
Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history.
Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...
: the largest living tree of the Calaveras groves measuring tall and more than in diameter above ground.
It is the
37th largest giant sequoia in the world, and could be considered either the 36th or 35th largest depending on how badly
Ishi Giant and Black Mountain Beauty have atrophied following devastating wildfires in
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
and
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, respectively.
*Palace Hotel Tree: the second largest living tree of the Calaveras groves; features a large deep burn scar at its base that one can walk into. This tree has nails burned into its inner trunk by past travelers.
Other attractions of Calaveras Big Trees include the
Stanislaus River
The Stanislaus River is a tributary of the San Joaquin River in north-central California in the United States. The main stem of the river is long, and measured to its furthest headwaters it is about long. Originating as three forks in the h ...
, Beaver Creek, the Lava Bluff Trail, and Bradley Trail.
File:US CA SP Calaveras Big Trees 2020sep06 Mother of the Forest.jpg, Mother of the Forest
File:CalaverasTreeTunnel1.jpgPioneer Cabin Tree
The Pioneer Cabin Tree, also known as The Tunnel Tree, was a Sequoiadendron giganteum, giant sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, California. It was considered one of the U.S.'s most famous trees,
and drew thousands of visitors annually. ...
in 2006.
File:US CA SP Calaveras Big Trees Louis Agassiz Tree.jpg, Louis Agassiz Tree - One of the last few Giant Sequoia
File:US CA SP Calaveras Big Trees Giant Sequoia burned in 1908.jpg, Giant Sequoia burned in fire of 1908 holding its ground
File:US CA SP Calaveras Big Trees Palace Tree.jpg, Palace Tree with large hollowed out trunk. Travellers have stuck nails on its internal trunk
Activities
The park houses two main campgrounds with a total of 129 campsites, six picnic areas and hundreds of miles of established trails.
Other activities include cross-country skiing, evening ranger talks, numerous interpretive programs, environmental educational programs, junior ranger programs, hiking, mountain biking, bird watching and summer school activities for school children. Dogs are allowed on leash in developed areas like picnic sites, campgrounds, roads and fire roads (dirt). Dogs are not allowed on the designated trails, nor in the woods in general.
Access
The park is open year-round. The main road through the park is closed during the winter season. The North Grove Area is easily accessible during the winter season. There are no public transportation options to the park. The closest bus stop is the Arnold Public Library in Arnold, California. The park is accessible via Upper Moran road at gate 15. There is no public parking so the access is used by foot, bicycle, snowshoe or cross-country ski.
Climate
See also
*
Calaveras Big Tree National Forest
*
Chandelier Tree
The Chandelier Tree in Drive-Thru Tree Park is a tall coast redwood tree in Leggett, California, with a by hole cut through its base to allow a car to drive through. Its base measures diameter at breast height (chest-high). A historic sign p ...
- another tunnel tree, but a
coast redwood
''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995: 606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coast ...
not a
giant sequoia
''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (also known as the giant sequoia, giant redwood, Sierra redwood or Wellingtonia) is a species of coniferous tree, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the la ...
*
List of giant sequoia groves
This is a list of giant sequoia groves. All naturally occurring giant sequoia groves are located in the moist, unglaciated ridges and valleys of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada range in California, United States. They can be found at el ...
*
List of California state parks
This is a list of parks, historic resources, reserves and recreation areas in the California State Parks system.
List of parks
See also
* California State Beaches
* List of California State Historic Parks
* Parks in California
*California Dep ...
References
Notes
Citations
External links
*
Calaveras Big Trees State ParkCalaveras Big Trees Association*
{{authority control
State parks of California
Campgrounds in California
Forests of California
Giant sequoia groves
Parks in Calaveras County, California
Protected areas established in 1931
Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
1931 establishments in California
History of Calaveras County, California