YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK–Park officials are announcing that the Merced Grove is closing for restoration. The closure will be for 2 months. Giant sequoias are adapted to frequent, low-intensity fire and depend on fire for reproduction. Frequent fires reduce fire intensity by thinning the forest of small and unhealthy trees and reducing the accumulation of dead branches and trees. But over ...

SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST—Lace up your hiking boots and hit the trail to Nelder Grove (NG). Oakhurst resident and Nelder Grove expert Brenda Negley plans to lead six hikes into Nelder Grove during the month of June. These hikes, co-sponsored by the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway Association and the Friends of Nelder Grove  highlight the work that the U S Forest ...

NORTH FORK—A near-record crowd filled the North Fork Scout Building the evening of Tuesday, February 13, 2024. They gathered for the annual general meeting of the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway Association (SVSBA). Perhaps even more, they came to hear reports from U. S. Forest Service (USFS) personnel on the status of the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway (SVSB). The Byway consists ...

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK–Yosemite Fire and Aviation plans to begin ignitions on a 120-acre prescribed burn in the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite National Park on Tuesday, June 20th. Two days of live firing operations followed by multiple days of patrol and mop-up for this prescribed burn are planned. UPDATE This burn has been canceled due to predicted winds. ...

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK–Yosemite National Park fire crews have several prescribed burns planned over the next several weeks. Fire crews will begin burning in Mariposa Grove starting this week as conditions allow. Ignitions are planned to begin today, May 30th, in the early evening and extend into tomorrow. Mariposa Grove Unit 2 is 37 acres, and Mariposa Grove Unit 4 is ...

Have you ever snowshoed into Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias? This was one adventure I had not experienced until this week. Tuolumne Grove was one of the big stops that early travelers made on their way to Yosemite. In the 1870’s, they left Hodgdon’s Stage Station, then headed up through these huge trees, even driving through one of the dead ...

I had been dreading taking this hike because of the devastation left behind when the 12,047 acre 2017 Railroad Fire roared through the area. It would be a sad hike through many burned trees to visit the Giant Sequoias along the Graveyard of the Giants Trail up on Nelder Ridge. Where: Sierra National Forest, Nelder Grove.Distance: 6.28 miles, but you ...

I can’t resist the way that snow looks contrasted with Giant Sequoias, so I headed up to Merced Grove for a half day. Yosemite National Park has 3 Giant Sequoia Groves and some say that Merced Grove is the least visited. It was a very nice hike down the historic Old Coulterville Road to check out the 20 or so ...

I told my puppy Fannie the Corgi all about a special place called Nelder Grove and how it wouldn’t be a long drive or hike. I tried to explain to her just how huge the Giant Sequoias were. I don’t think she totally grasped the concept but she said let’s do it!Where: Sierra National Forest, Nelder GroveDistance: 2.31 miles, but ...

A dusting of new snow was the perfect backdrop for our hike to see gigantic Sequoias. Some of our hike was with snowshoes and some of it was without. That is the way it goes with springtime snow. Where: Yosemite National Park, Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias Distance: About 10 Miles but you can go shorter or farther Difficulty: Moderate ...