Are There Redwood Trees In Yosemite National Park?
Updated 4/11/2018
A common inquiry among visitors to our heavenly area is: “Are there redwood trees in Yosemite National Park?” The answer is: "Depends on your terminology!"
Yosemite is home to the world’s most massive tree species, the giant sequoia, which is sometimes (and increasingly rarely) called the “Sierra redwood.” (You may also know it simply as the "bigtree.") The largest sequoias—which are found south of Yosemite in and around Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks—may grow beyond 300 feet tall and contain more than 50,000 cubic feet of wood.
Coast Redwoods
The “true” redwood, however, is the coast redwood, related to but taxonomically distinct from the sequoia. Redwoods are the world’s tallest trees, and the nearest populations to Yosemite are across the Central Valley into the Coast Ranges westward. Coast redwoods grow only within a foggy 500-mile belt along the Pacific from Big Sur to southwestern Oregon. These sky-scraping conifers approach 400 feet in height and may live two millennia. The best place to see old-growth redwood groves is in the Redwood National and State Parks system in northwestern California.
Giant Sequoias
Giant sequoias are even more limited in range and number than redwoods: Only about 70 groves exist, sprinkled along the western Sierra Nevada from Placer County south to Tulare County. Yet 60 million years ago, sequoias—along with redwoods—were found across a far mightier range in North America and Europe. Climatic shifts have driven redwoods and sequoias to their tiny modern-day redoubts in California, which makes the Golden State all the more remarkable for tree-lovers to visit! Unlike redwoods, which commonly form pure stands, sequoia groves are typically scattered throughout the more widespread mid-elevation Sierran mixed-conifer forest alongside trees such as white fir, sugar pine, and incense-cedar.
Where Are There Redwood Trees In Yosemite National Park?
Well, if you're looking for "Sierra redwood trees" or "giant sequoias", several splendid sequoia groves exist: The biggest and best-known is the Mariposa Grove near Wawona, but there are also the Merced and Tuolumne stands. No trip to the park is complete without a stroll through these monumental, exceptionally unique cathedrals! Choose Scenic Wonders for your Yosemite Lodgingand Accomodation needs and get close to the magican RedWoods.
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