Yosemite National Park

A large giant sequoia is surrounded by a wooden fence along a snowy path

Magical winter backpacking in Mariposa Grove

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During every backpacking trip, I question my sanity. This is typical during miles 5 through 7 or on any uphill section. However, on my recent trip to Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite National Park, this questioning came a …

Mariposa Grove. Photo by jenkinson2455, Flickr Creative Commons

4 great giant sequoia parks for disabled hikers

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With towering trees and fresh, oxygen-rich air, groves of giant sequoias, also known as Sierra redwoods, have the power to inspire and enhance the well-being of all people. That’s why it’s so important to strive for easy access to these …

Teresa Baker at Muir Woods National Monument.

Teresa Baker Blazes Trail for Racial Diversity in Parks

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“America is changing demographically,” said Teresa Baker, founder of the African American Nature & Parks Experience. “People of color will soon be in the majority, and we need to do everything possible to connect them to the outdoors, to help them experience the power of nature.”

Mariposa Grove's giants. Photo by Jenkinson2455, Flickr Creative Commons

Travel: Mariposa Grove to Reopen After Multiyear Restoration

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Yosemite National Park’s Mariposa Grove of Giant sequoias is expected to reopen this fall after a multiyear restoration. In addition to red giants standing higher than a 30-story building, visitors will find new, wheelchair-accessible trails and boardwalks, roads converted into hiking trails, and an interpretive display of a fallen ancient giant.

Mariposa Grove. Photo by jenkinson2455, Flickr Creative Commons

Happy Birthday Mariposa Grove!

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Today marks the 153rd birthday of the spectacular giant sequoia grove in Yosemite National Park, Mariposa Grove. The protection of Mariposa helped inspire a movement of conservation at a time when sequoia were being cut, leading to the protection of the biggest trees in the world.

Yosemite National Park

Revitalizing Mariposa Grove with Rx Fire

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At Yosemite National Park this week, you may see smoke curling up from Mariposa Grove, the spectacular giant sequoia forest that catalyzed the conservation movement 150 years ago. This smoke is part of a planned prescribed burn in the forest to lower fuel loads that have accumulated over many decades of fire suppression.

Yosemite Valley by simone pittaluga, Flickr Creative Commons

Happy Birthday Yosemite!

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I have been to Yosemite National Park a handful of times, and on each visit I have a very different experience. Whether I am rock climbing in the valley, backpacking in Tuolumne or hiking trails with tourists from all over the world, every time the park takes my breath away. Its towering peaks, rushing waterfalls and granite rocks warrant some steep competition for other natural areas.

How My Family Backpacking Dream Came True (And Yours Can, Too)

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I can think of no wilder adventure than spending a week exploring the Yosemite backcountry with three teenage boys. With my oldest son heading into his final year of high school, I decided to go all out this summer in search of a truly epic, life-changing, never-to-forget experience that my sons and I could share.

This drawing shows how the upgraded Mariposa Grove trails will protect sensitive giant sequoia habitat while still giving visitors the amazing views of the forest. Image courtesy of the Yosemite Conservancy.

Restoring Mariposa Grove

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The towering giant sequoias of Yosemite National Park are the iconic trees that catalyzed our Nation’s conservation movement, inspiring Congress in 1864 to designate both the Mariposa Grove and Yosemite Valley “for public use, resort, and recreation”. Today, these mammoth …

U.S. Cavalry with the Fallen Monarch tree, Mariposa Grove, 1899. In the days before park rangers, the army administered the national park.

War, the White House and Redwoods Conservation

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The roots of redwoods conservation extend back more than 150 years, all the way to President Abraham Lincoln. In 1864, in the midst of the Civil War, Lincoln signed The Yosemite Valley Grant Act that transferred federal lands in the …

Mariposa Grove, Yosemite.

“Success”

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That was Saturday’s word of the day, according to our guide, National Park Ranger Dick Ewart. Dick led a group of 15 of us on a hike through the lower Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite National Park.  He …

Giant sequoias in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite.

Grove Protected by Lincoln Offers Historical Perspective

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Next week will be my second visit in eight months to the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park.  That makes me a lucky guy.  My wife Joanne and I visited the Grove in May, while our traveling …

Photo by Palojono, Flickr Creative Commons

Yosemite National Park

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Famous for its spectacular glacier-carved valleys and walls of sheer granite, Yosemite also has world-class trees.