ARNOLD, CA — Just in time for the peak hiking season, California State Parks today announced that the Walter W. Smith Memorial Parkway south of the Stanislaus River at Calaveras Big Trees State Park (SP) will reopen this Thursday, May 1. This includes the South Grove Trail, Beaver Creek area, Bradley Grove Trail, and fire road around the South Grove. State Parks closed the area in October 2024 to conduct a prescribed burn in the South Grove Natural Preserve. Typically, the Parkway closes between December and May each year due to snow conditions.
Crews successfully treated 1,145 acres with beneficial fire to reduce fuel and promote giant sequoia regeneration. Visitors may notice fire effects and changes to the landscape along the South Grove Trail. Changes may include charred vegetation, trees with new fire scars, burned-out stumps, fallen trees, and freshly sprouted seedlings. It is important to stay on the trail to protect seedlings and help ensure giant sequoia regeneration. Staying on the trail can also reduce risk from falling trees weakened by fire.
The protection and stewardship of giant sequoia groves at Calaveras Big Trees SP has been a priority for State Parks since the park opened to the public in 1931. Prescribed fire is part of the department’s program for vegetation management to increase the resilience of the forest and promote new giant sequoia regeneration. Giant sequoia need fire to naturally reproduce. The heat from the fire opens cones to release the seeds into the mineral soil seedbed created by the fire, allowing for seed germination. Prescribed fire also helps restore and maintain a complex forest community, reduces hazardous fuel loads, improves wildlife habitat, and reduces the chance of catastrophic wildfire.
The South Grove Trail provides hikers access to the South Grove Natural Preserve and the largest giant sequoia in the park. This moderate trail begins at the South Grove Trailhead and is about 5 miles in length. The first 1.5 miles of the trail is a moderate, steady climb from the parking lot to the start of the loop trail, with a gain of 260 feet in elevation. Visitors should allow for 3 to 4 hours for the 5-mile round-trip hike. The South Grove Trail and areas south of the Stanislaus River are not accessible during winter months and are typically closed from December 1 to April 30 each year.
