Mariposa Grove Reopens After $40M Renovation Outdoors

Yosemite Reopens Mariposa Grove in Time for High Season

3-year renovation protects habitat improves accessibility

S. Parente - Travel - RF / Alamy Stock Photo Mariposa Grove, home to about 500 giant sequoias, has more than a million visitors annually.
A $40 million project to restore Yosemite National Park’s majestic Mariposa Grove is complete and ready for visitors in time for peak season. With tens of thousands of people showing up on an average day to see the giant sequoia trees that are one of the park’s signature attractions, the health of the grove, a four-acre habitat near the park’s south entrance, was endangered for years. Pollution from cars and potentially damaging foot traffic from tourists were a constant concern, park officials say. Closed for three years, the grove was reopened in mid-June, with noticeable changes. Natural surfaces replaced some asphalt trails, and wooden boardwalks now carry visitors over some areas to protect sequoia roots and wetlands. Large nearby parking lots are gone; instead, visitors park at a welcome plaza two miles away and take shuttle buses to a new arrival area. has improved, with Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant trails and parking areas added. “There is wetland or vegetation that was once pavement, but it’s impossible to know by looking now what was there before,” said Yosemite Conservancy President Frank Dean. “It is a remarkable transformation.” The Mariposa Grove dates back to the 1864 Yosemite Grant Act, the first piece of federal legislation designed to protect public lands. It’s home to about 500 mature giant sequoias. The says one of the trees, known as the Grizzly Giant, is 209 feet tall and an estimated 1,800 years old. Overall, the trees can live more than 3,000 years and grow to a height of 300 feet. More than 1 million people visit the grove annually, the park service says. “Trails are supposed to take visitors someplace magical,” Dean said. “Today, a walk in the grove has been transformed into a more beautiful and peaceful experience with the focus squarely on the trees.”

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