Is to Hug a Giant Redwood on your bucket list? Yup, it was on mine too! We had three wonderful and unexpected things happen to us... and one not-so-good thing. But you should make the same mistake we did! You won't regret it.
Usually, I'm just the dare-devil, adrenaline chasing fool, but even I have some more low-key, less ibuprofen inducing bucket list must-dos. Hugging a giant redwood was one of them. Even so, the idea of wrapping my arms around a tree and not coming close to closing the gap just blew my mind. I couldn't even fathom it. Is a tree THAT big? THAT wide? So many people talked about how cool and epic it was.
Yet a part of me couldn't stifle that little, pessimistic voice in my head saying, "Really dude? It's just a tree. A BIG tree. But it's still just a tree."
I know it might seem simple-minded (I've been called worse), but I never thought about how TALL a tree would have to be proportionate to the WIDTH of the tree. It is not like these are short, the stubby little plants, guys.
Let's Find Some Giant Redwoods To Hug!
So, when Dustin and I got the opportunity to see some giant redwoods I pressed mute on that voice in my head that told me it might be a total bust, and we went for it. It was late winter/early spring when we went. March to be exact. Spring Break if you want to make it sound like Dustin and I are still livin' up our college years. But, we're not. He's a post-secondary educator and gets a week off for Spring Break. (I am totally jealous.) Anyways, we went to see my little brother who lived in Sacramento, California at the time. Cali for spring break sounds warm and fun. Yet, on our agenda was snowboarding at Lake Tahoe and to hug a redwood tree, located in the remote forestry at the Calaveras Big Trees State Park which was in the mountains = high elevations = snow.
Traveler Tip!
Summer is the busy season for Redwood hugging, so if you can swing it during another season, you won't regret it. There is something about going into a forest when it isn't flooded with a hundred tourist that makes it more magical
Calaveras Big Trees State Park Coordinates
38.2775° N, 120.3093° W
Popular Redwoods in Cali?
The Chandelier Tree
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park
The Parker Group, Sequoia National Park
The 2-hour drive from Sacramento to Calaveras Big Trees State Park was a little bit longer, but not because we drove through the wine country. Sadly, I'm not being sarcastic. We legit drove through miles of vineyards but never stopped. I don't really know much about wine and my husband, brother and niece (who was not yet three) didn't really want to stop. Lame, I know. Yet, we absolutely stopped, turned around and pulled off the side of the road to make sure we got a picture of the street sign that said, San Andres. Since there was a video game (I became made aware) about San Andres Fault and the fault line, you'd think that this would be a big town. It's not. It's dinky. It has a population of less than 3 thousand. I'm not bitter or anything.
Snowy Redwood Giants
When we finally arrived, I wasn't sure what to expect. From the parking lot, there wasn't a bunch of crazy big trees - nothing much different than the trees back home. So we go to the Visitor Center and they tell us about the snow-covered paths. Since we came during a low-season time, they weren't giving tours, which was fine with us. I was quite positive we could get lost in a forest ourselves and stumble upon a giant.
Three Wonderful Things Unexpected Things... And One Not-So-Good
The forest was a typical forest with typical-sized trees and then for no-seemingly good reason these massive redwood sequoias sprouted up.
The snow made the photos absolutely beautiful because the white snow contrasted the dark tree bark so well.
3. We had a snowball fight surrounded by these beautiful giants...
Growing up in South Dakota, we weren't afraid of a little snow. Well, most of us. Our niece really didn't play much with snow, but it took all of one time for her to watch Dustin throw a snowball before she knew what to do. So that was flipping magical, watching my niece have a snowball fight with her dad and my husband. The other adorable thing about her discovering snow was that she couldn't very well trudge through it very fast with those short, stubby little legs, so she got piggyback rides for most of the self-guided tour. What my brother quickly discovered was that she might be short, but she was persistent and would stretch as far as she could to grab onto any branch and shake it so that the snow would dump onto her dad's head. Yeah, she's a fast learner.
What was nice about it being snowy was that there were practically no other visitors while we were there. No people photo-bombing us. No screaming kids, except for the one we brought. No lines to see the really BIG trees.
The 1 Not-So-Good-Unexpected Thing... But Still Quite Interesting!
But what we weren't expecting was the sheer amount of melting water.
News Flash. When the snow melts it forms water. Yeah, I was shocked too. Apparently there was a massive amount of snow because the trails were flooded with water. Most of the trails were just an inch or so deep. Since we'd driven a couple of hours, we weren't going to leave because of an inch or so of water. But guys, it was FREEZING cold - or just short of freezing. It was crystal clear but bitter cold. So we just accepted the fact that our feet were going to be soaked and enjoyed our wintery nature walk. The deeper we got into the forest, the deeper the water got. I wish we would have brought waders or rain boots. There was so much water that some of the tipped over trees that you could walk through (okay, let's not gloss over that part - THE TIPPED OVER TREES THAT YOU COULD WALKTHROUGH) were completely submerged underwater.
Fast Facts about the Calaveras Big Trees
The oldest trees are estimated to be 2,220 years old.
They are the oldest trees IN THE WORLD.
The biggest tree is approximately 275 feet tall with a diameter of 36.5 feet.
Before falling over in 2017, many people drove cars through the cut out hole in the Pioneer Cabin Tree.
There are approximately 1,000 giant sequoia redwood trees at the Calaveras Big Trees State Park.
Augustus T. Dowd, a hunter, chasing a wounded grizzly bear stumbled upon the red-barked giants in 1852.
Trees were sliced through the middle and shipped around the world to prove that they were as big and tall as people calmed. Now you can take a picture on what remains of the cut-down giant. I read that sometimes dances are held on it. (See picture below)
In 1931, the Calaveras Big Trees became a state part to preserve the red giants.
Go Hug A Redwood!
So, was the pessimistic voice in my head right? Were they just big trees? No, they were GIANTS. The red-barked giants were awe-inspiring. It actually was one of the few times where you look back at the pictures and can see yourself (or others) standing next to the giants and comprehend just how massive they are. If you ever get a chance to go hug a giant redwood, do it.
Follow Me On Pinterest
So I pinned a lot of different travel ideas on Pinterest (love this app - follow me if you want @peppsarah) But I'm always looking to do something different, something unexpected... along with that obvious MUST TRAVEL IDEAS. So, without further adieu, here's my must-do adventure list!
Mild!
