Parking
Start at the Tuolumne Grove parking lot on Tioga Road. Parking is limited; pit toilets are available at the lot.
Overview
About Tuolumne Grove Trail
Why go
- Walk through the Dead Giant tunnel tree on the grove loop.
- About two dozen mature giant sequoias in a half-mile nature loop.
Heads up
- The descent turns into a roughly 500-foot climb back.
- No water or restrooms at the grove.
Tuolumne Grove Trail is a 2.5-mile out-and-back from Tioga Road, with an easy half-mile interpretive loop among the giant sequoias at the bottom. The first mile drops about 500 feet; the same climb back is the hard part. Allow one to two hours, and leave time to walk the loop slowly. Choose this for a close look at an older, smaller grove, not for a string of views on the way down.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yosemite map
Full mapElevation5,751–6,276 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
4 active Yosemite alerts
- ClosureDome Fire closes Glacier Point Road and trailsGlacier Point Road is temporarily closed because Dome Fire smoke reduces visibility and to allow firefighting operations; some trails south of the road are also closed.Official details
- CautionMist Trail access limited during October repairsThe Mist Trail between its John Muir Trail junction above the Vernal Fall footbridge and the top of Vernal Fall has limited access through October for repair work.Official details
“You're approaching Tuolumne Grove's trailhead, for a walk among about two dozen mature giant sequoias. Allow one to two hours for the two-and-a-half-mile outing, including the short loop among the trees.”
Yosemite Tour Guide
Yosemite, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yosemite National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Yosemite audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Tuolumne Grove and the Dead Giant0:00 / 0:24
“You're approaching Tuolumne Grove's trailhead, for a walk among about two dozen mature giant sequoias. Allow one to two hours for the two-and-a-half-mile outing, including the short loop among the trees.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yosemite Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Crane Flat Gas Station
- Living Color on the Rocks
- The Fire Behind a Basket
- Cooking with Hot Stones
- 125 audio storiesacross Yosemite’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Peregrine Falcon, Mule Deer, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 141 trails, 99 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“We just drove through Yosemite and it made our trip listening to this app as we drove through. Like having a tour guide in the car with you.”
Trail guide
Hiking Tuolumne Grove Trail
The road downThe former Big Oak Flat Road descends through sugar pines and white firs.
The former Big Oak Flat Road descends through sugar pines and white firs. It is steep enough to notice on the return, and there is little to distract you before the sequoias appear as the road reaches the grove. The easy way down can make the walk feel shorter than it is; save energy for the climb back to the parking lot.
Take the nature loopAt the grove, follow the half-mile self-guided loop through roughly two dozen mature giant…
At the grove, follow the half-mile self-guided loop through roughly two dozen mature giant sequoias. The trees are the whole point of this hike: stop close to the trunks, look up, and notice how different they feel from the surrounding sugar pines and white firs. The loop brings you past the Dead Giant, a huge dead sequoia with a tunnel through its fire-scarred trunk.
The Dead GiantThe tunnel was cut in 1878 from a largely dead, fire-scarred tree to attract travelers on the…
The tunnel was cut in 1878 from a largely dead, fire-scarred tree to attract travelers on the old Yosemite road. It is identified as the first tunnel tree in the Sierra. The tree is no longer living, but the walk-through still gives you a memorable sense of its scale. Frame the path through the opening to show how large the trunk is.
Before you goStart at the Tuolumne Grove parking lot; spaces are limited and pit toilets are at the lot.
Start at the Tuolumne Grove parking lot; spaces are limited and pit toilets are at the lot. There is no water or restroom at the grove. The grove is open year-round, though snow and ice are expected in winter. The route is not wheelchair accessible. Pets may use the paved trail through the grove but are not allowed on the side trails, so they cannot do the full loop described here.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Yosemite
732 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,747 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
332 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
11 sightingsPeregrine FalconMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
276 sightingsPikaMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
677 sightingsYellow-bellied MarmotMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yosemite. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
