Calaveras Big Trees State Park

One of the most beautiful things about living in Northern California are its state parks filled with protected redwood trees. We ventured over to the Calaveras Big Trees State Park, located 4 miles northeast of Arnold, California in the middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada. Calaveras became a State Park in 1931 to preserve the North Grove of giant sequoias. On this day, we chose to hike the North grove trail to the Grove Overlook trail and circle back down towards the entrance. The North Grove is quite the popular trail because it includes the 'Discovery Tree'. This tree was noted by Augustus T. Dowd in 1852 and felled in 1853, leaving a giant stump which is the only remainder of its former glory. It measured 24 feet in diameter at its base (wow!) and was determined by ring count to be 1,244 years old when felled. If you're ever in the area, make sure to check it out and learn more about redwood forests, the neighboring wildlife, and the surrounding area's gold-mining history.