Calaveras Bigtrees Association

Bradley Grove Trail – Calaveras Big Trees State Park

The Bradley Grove trail begins on the left side of the South Grove trail just after the Beaver Creek Bridge.

The main feature of this 2.5-mile loop is a grove of young Sierra redwoods planted in the 1950’s by South Grove caretaker Owen Bradley. The trail gains 280 feet in elevation, with several moderate climbs and descents.

The Bradley Grove consists of about 150 30-year-old Sierra redwoods growing on the far side of a small meadow. The Bradley trail has a “nursery area” along the railroad tracks. Owen Bradley, caretaker of the South grove planted seedlings in this spot because of abundant water and plenty of sun. Many of these trees are now over 60 feet tall and today over 150 of Owen’s trees are still growing strong.

Besides the Bradley Grove, you can also see two very large naturally occurring Sierra redwoods and their offspring, as well as stands of mountain dogwood and white alder. Unlike most of the park, this area has been heavily impacted by human activity. Hiking the Bradley Grove Trail allows you to observe the ongoing processes of forest recovery.

The entire trail passed through an area that was logged in the early 1950s by the Pickering Lumber Company. Although there were plans to log the huge sugar pines found in the South Grove, Pickering Lumber was persuaded to keep the operation out of the grove itself. You will see huge pine stumps near the trail, as well as the dense undergrowth and small new trees that typically follow a logging operation.

View a large stand of mountain dogwood and old logging roads, which is now partially grown over.

The trail will parallel an old railroad grade leading to a large open area called the 68-A landing. It was here that the logs cut near Beaver Creek were loaded onto trains for transport to a mill at Standard, near Sonora.

You can also view the Railroad Tree and the Lone Sequoia. These two giant redwoods are far from the main part of the South Grove. It is a mystery as to exactly how these two trees came to be so far from the main groves of Big Trees.

To complete the loop, return to the Bradley Grove and continue on the trail as it follows Beaver Creek back to the Beaver Creek footbridge. Along this section of trail, the flowing water of the creek provides favorable habitat for stands of white alder and displays of spring wildflowers.

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