Calaveras Big Trees State Park

First discovered this park in October of 2017, when wildfire smoke engulfed the SF Bay Area. Air quality became so terrible that my toddler couldn't breathe well. After I heard sniffles for an evening that didn't seem to improve, I ensured bags were quickly packed the next day and organized the household to get to cleaner air. Health & safety, first!This park was not only a clean-air refuge spot, I got to trail run with my son. So fun! Cute gift shop onsite, too.During my first trip, I rented us a beautiful cabin on AirBNB. Reflecting, I'd say that was the best choice! You may enjoy a local hotel experience more, but given all the spacious rentals, I'd say check out a home rental first.

What a place!, worth the drive - which is beautiful too! Go early in the morning, bring a picnic lunch if you can... nice place to spend time here. Talks and activities in the summer. This State Park is a lovely, not to miss gem. Loads of history and of course, Enormous Trees.Many trails. Several benches to look at the beautiful park, so glad it is protected! You can learn more about the trees, timber - and the early exploration, how it became a state park and more! Lots of parking, but crowded in the summer. Bring water on your trail hike and comfy shoes, flat trail with several benches.

Great day trip drive up from south Sacramento County. Nice drive, great roads, personable staff at the park gate, $10 fee, access to visitor center, road ways both paved and rough/gravel, wooden foot paths, trails. Super clean rest rooms at visitor center.Dogs on leashes have limited access to non trail areas. Signs clearly posted when dogs aren't allowed into specific areas. Very clean grounds. Don't litter, pack out your trash. Lots of big trees, some amazing photo opportunities and incredible big trees. Handicap accessible, great for all ages. Such a beautiful place.

If you love nature (even if you just like nature) and are anywhere near this park, GO! The trails, visitors center and scenery are all A+. Giant sequoias, ponderosa/sugar pines, fir and cedar trees surround you with the clean crisp air. We walked the North Grove Trail and took our time, taking lots of pictures and I was birdwatching. Lots of great western birds to be seen and heard on this trail that's under 2 miles and loops, with nearly no elevation gain. We attempted to explore the Beaver Creek Trail but it was a bit confusing if where to go and we were short on time, so didn't walk much of it. I highly recommend this state park. It was an easy day away while staying in South Lake Tahoe in June. Lots of fun goodies and a video to see at the visitors center as well.

Oh, what a magical place. I was staying in Murphys just a short drive away and my friends said "Sequoias" and I answered yes without hesitation. I hadn't seen the Sequoias since I was a kid and nothing was going to stop me from going full on Fern Gully.We arrived to find a parking lot, bathroom facilities, a creek, and several trails to wander down. We didn't have a lot of time so we decided on the North Grove trail because it was only about a mile and a half long. We had a good time following the self-guided tour. It was cool that they offered a sort of map with corresponding numbers that pointed out fun facts, many of them historical. I geek out over this stuff and trees are my thing, I even have a tattoo of one. For the most part you'll see two types of trees, the most exciting ones being the enormous Sequoias. It's really crazy to stand next to one and dream of everything it's experienced in its 1,000+ years time. Sequoias are the third longest-lived tree species and it was pretty rad to see, touch, and smell them. The photos really speak for themselves and I've attached a few and for comparison. I'm just over 5 feet tall. I have no doubt that I'll visit this wise, old forest of the "Big Trees" again and if you ever find yourself close by, do it!

The family and I came up with some other family members and rented an Airbnb for Memorial Day Weekend. Our airbnb was only a 7 minute drive to this park. The plan was we were going to spend most of our Sunday at the park. We had breakfast and headed over about 10AM and so glad we did. By the time we arrived there was already a line of cars waiting to get in. The line went by fast. It is $12 to enter per car. They take cash and card. We decided to drive past the first parking lot and proceed deeper into the park. We even drove over a bridge that had substantial amount of water rushing underneath it. We saw people park and headed down to be closer to the water so it seems you can do that. We proceeded into the park some more. I'd say we drove about 10 minutes inward from the entrance. We came to a parking lot that was empty and had a few picnic benches and a bathroom that was close to both. When we all got out of our cars we could hear water off into the distance. So we walked towards the sound of the water and found it 2 minutes past the initial picnic tables and the parking lot. To our surprise we found 3 picnic benches and we scored one the closest to the waters edge. Which was nice because we had kids that love water, so it's nice to be that close. So we set up our things on the table and all but 4 of us took off on a hike. When I tell you it felt like we were in some secret forest removed from the rest of the world, that is what I felt. All you heard were the chirping of birds and buzzing of bugs. The air was so clean and it felt as if the sequoias were protecting it all including me as the visitor. When we came up to the water there were some fly fishers in the water but soon left as they said they weren't having any success as they thought the water was too cold. So they were going to move up the stream some to test their waters there. As the day went on people came and went. Those of us who went on the hike were back in about 2 hours and it was determined they clocked in 19,000 miles. Not too shabby. They said the hike wasn't grueling. They could have went further into the woods but they had a toddler in a hiking backpack and a 8 yr old in tow. We left the park around 3PM. By that time not only was our parking lot now full so were the ones we past on the way out. Bathrooms are as expected for a State park. It's a deep hold in a concrete structure so I'll let your imagination take you where it will..lol! We will be back. There is so much to enjoy at this park.

This state park is well maintained, with different varieties of trails to suit most interests. Today we explored the North Grove Trail, which is a 1,7 mile loop within the grove of redwoods. The biggest one in this grove was chopped many years ago but you can walk along its trunk stump which is massive. I suggest if you have time and interest to grab a pamphlet which describes the different trees and history; you can pick that up at the start of the trail in a stand along the trail, and there is a requested 50 cent donation for that if you have it to offer. The scenery is phenomenal and the walk really easy. Plenty of parking available there at the trail head. $10 entry fee to the park per vehicle.

this beautiful park I visit lots here camp or hike. and visit center. Open 6am to 6pm

I was hoping to see some snow there, as last year during Thanksgiving we had seen some snow. And although I don't know if it snowed Thanksgiving of this year at the park, it was too warm for any snow this time. In any case, it was still an enjoyable time at the park. Last year, we walked around the "paved" trail close to the entrance of the park that showcased a lot of the big trees. This year, we went to the scenic overlook trail and indeed did reach a very beautiful scenic overlook area, with mountains and trees and some fog resting among the trees. That trail was pretty short - 1.6 miles round trip. On our way back to the parking lot, as it was getting dark, some fog started descending quickly into the park so it gave a nice, haunting atmosphere to take photos of. We initially were not prepared for how cold it was going to be - that is, I had a really warm jacket with a nice hood but would have preferred to wear a beanie instead. The gift shop has beanies but a very small selection, so I ended up just wearing my hood hiking. In any case, I warmed up real quickly while hiking the scenic overlook trail. I would love to try to catch some snow again for any future visits !

Gorgeous walk through the redwoods. We did the north loop and followed the signs with the little paper guides. Super informative.Highly recommend this place.