A couple of years ago our family took a fall hike with the kids in Merced Grove, one of three sequoia groves located in Yosemite National Park. We didn’t have any grand plans other than walking in with the kids, snapping a couple of photos, and leaving before dark. Little did I know that this short tromp would cause me to see outdoor recreation in a completely different way.
I think that this eventually happens to all parents who enjoy family outdoor recreation, but for us Merced Grove was the hike that caused the paradigm shift from outdoor recreation before kids to outdoor recreation after kids. It’s during that shift that you stop seeing nature through your own eyes and start seeing it through the eyes of your children. Next comes the realization that outdoor recreation with children is less about meeting your own goals and much more about tapping into the ample education, exploration, and discovery opportunities that our state parks, national parks, and other public lands provide.
The beginning stages of Trailmix.Net are all kind of a blur to me, but it was after this trip to Merced Grove that we started investigating other groves that we could visit, using the words Expedition Toys to describe products that could be used to help families explore wild places, and using the term Educational Expedition to describe the activity of exploring the outdoors with our kids. It was also on this hike that we refined the idea of creating scavenger hunts with educational riddles. So, long story short, the walk into Merced Grove is a special hike for us.
Ok, enough with the sentimental reflection, here’s what you need to know……
Merced Grove is both the smallest Sequoia grove in Yosemite National Park and the only grove that is not directly accessible by car. It involves a hike, and a little time commitment. Because of this, the busiest tourists stay away and the crowds stay small.  A wonderful thing if you don’t like crowds.
Distance and Trail Conditions:
We completed this three mile round trip hike with a four year old on foot, a two year old in a child carrier, and a 6 week old travelling in a Baby Bjorn child carrier. The first half mile of the hike is flat, and the next mile descends a few hundred feet into the grove.
The trail is well marked and in great condition. Hiking down to the grove is the easy part. Our four year old was challenged by the one mile climb back up to the flat section, but in the end she made it and had a great time. All around, this is a great family hike.
Action Scenery:
At Trailmix.net, we are generally advocates of selecting hikes for children with action scenery (waterfalls, geocaches, or something else that breaks the trail into smaller parts).  Big trees at the end of a long walk are not exactly action scenery and you want to keep younger kids from getting bored along the way. By keeping your eyes open for wildlife and talking to your kids about “the biggest trees in the world” you can easily turn the walk into a goal based expedition to find them. With this approach, it’s not hard to build anticipation and keep little minds engaged for the 1.5 mile walk in.
Giant Sequoia
The Giant Sequoia is the largest tree in the world in terms of total volume.   Our kids were fascinated by the overall size of the trees, the texture of the bark which is unusually soft, and the small size of the pinecones.
How To Get To Merced Grove
You can access the Merced Grove Trailhead off of highway 120 about 3.8 miles south of the Big Oak Flat entrance (before the Crane Flat Campground).
Further Reading:
Read More About Merced Grove at MySierraMountainTimes.com
Yosemite Nature Notes, Episode #11: Â Big Trees
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Hey, Great blog. I have just subscribed! Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more.
Wonderful blog. I agree 100%. The best trails for hiking with kids are ones with thing to do along the way to the destination. We have lots of rocks from Canada to scramble over in the northeast.
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