A Guide to the Sequoia Groves of California

by Dwight Willard, Yosemite Association

This comprehensive guide is the first to focus on all the giant sequoia groves in the state of California, not just those that are well-known. The author has identified sixty-seven different groups of these forest giants, and has organized them into five different geographic areas from north of the Kings River to south of the Tule River watershed. Extensive information is provided for each grove including general description and managing agency; historical facts; size, condition, and overall quality; access; and notable trees.

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

Reviews

[HeavyReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ranger kind of hoodwinked me into buying this book.

I stopped in at a Sequoia National Forest ranger station looking for a good overview of sequoias, things like how do they grow so big, how do the seeds get fertilized and germinate, why do they grow where they grow. The ranger told me this book was the best they had for sale.

Don't get me wrong. It is a good book, just not exactly what I had in mind. Instead of an overview of sequoias in general, this book has descriptions of 60+ sequoia groves. Since I don't plan to visit 60+ sequoia groves (or half of them or probably not even one-third of them), this book contains a lot of information I don't need.

But for someone interested in every grove, this book is a treasure trove of information. For each grove, the author gives location, general directions, size, access information, and administrative agency overseeing the grove. The author also shares some history of each grove, including what sort of logging was done to the sequoias and/or neighboring trees.

The book is full of lovely color photos of sequoias. There are also some historical photos as well.

There's a list of contact information for the administrative agencies overseeing the groves, a list of groves and corresponding topographical map on which they appear, and a very thorough index.

I have found information of help to me in the book particularly information about the two groves of most interest to me and information about the most famous trees.

[RdWd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant guide to the sequoiadendron giganteum groves of the Sierra Nevada. Each grove's well-described, with numerous high quality photographs of specific trees, groves and forested hillsides. The maps provided are really well-designed as well, and there're fact sheets throughout on various topics such as: sequoia forests' history, naming phenomenon, approximating ages, and more.

Despite an abundance of photographs, I found myself wishing for more! The reason being is the book's formatting. Because of the irregular page-size (19.4 x 26.6 cm) there's a lot of white-space throughout, which I felt could have been filled with additional photos or factoids. Perhaps this is something to be rectified in a third edition.

Either way, it's still a worthy 5-star accomplishment.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful description of the Sequoia trees.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful book for exploring the less-known (and less-crowded) Big Tree groves in the Sierra Nevada.

[Mark Tilchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent resource for anyone interested in the giant trees of California.