The multiyear restoration project at Yosemite’s Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias includes a new seasonal shuttle system to transport visitors from the park’s South Entrance arrival plaza to the grove’s tree-lined gateway. To establish an alternate route for those wishing to approach the sequoias on foot, this grant funded the initial steps to create a rustic two-mile pedestrian trail, leading from the South Entrance to a picnic area, then on to the trees. To create the trail, crews worked on converting remnants of the historic Washburn Road, which was built in 1879 as a stage-coach route from Wawona to the grove, and adding creek-crossing bridges.

Your contribution helped ensure that important chapter of Yosemite’s past can live on in a tranquil, well-crafted trail designed to help visitors enjoy the beauty of Mariposa Grove year-round.

Completed in partnership with Yosemite National Park and California Conservation Corps.

Dave Kari

Facility Management, Roads & Trails

Project Notes

Restoring this historic road for use as a trail will allow visitors to understand what it was like to travel this road back in 1879 when Henry Washburn’s consortium completed this railroad branch line.