Calaveras Big Trees State Park

The 1300-acre South Grove Preserve includes a primitive hiking trail that will lead you through a pristine stand of giant sequoias, the earth’s largest living organisms. The South Grove Preserve contains over 1,000 large giant sequoias, with an average age from 1,000 to 3,000 years old. The Agassiz tree is the largest and quite possibly the oldest tree in the park. The largest sequoias in the park are found here in the remote tranquil South Grove Preserve.

Giant sequoias are some of the world’s oldest living organisms. They are outlived only by the 5,000 year-old bristlecone pines in remote mountain ranges of the Great Basin region. The oldest known giant sequoia was 3,200 years old, and many live over 2,000 years. Ideal soil, water, and sunlight conditions in this spot have enabled this species to thrive here. Giant sequoias often grow in groups of two or three because an area of mineral soil opened up with just enough sunlight to enable seeds to take root. They are not able to sprout from roots or stumps as are the coast redwoods.