FASCINATING MOUNTAIN SCENERY

Big Trees Grove received attention in many newspapers and tour guides in the late 19^th century. On July 28, 1894 the grove’s attributes were described in the nation’s leading monthly magazine, Harper’s Weekly.

"Santa Cruz, one of the beautiful watering places of California, is located about ninety miles south from San Francisco, and is accessible by rail and sea. Here the famous Bay of Monterey makes a crescent, with the groves of the Hotel del Monte at one end and the city of Santa Cruz at the other; but Santa Cruz perhaps has the greater number of natural attractions."

"Leaving San Francisco by rail in the afternoon, you pass through the wonderfully productive Santa Clara Valley, where is situated the city of San Jose, embowered in its orchards of apricots, prunes, peaches, and cherries, now wealthy with the promise of a golden harvest. Then pressing southward, the road rises to a considerable altitude, and passes over the range of Santa Cruz Mountains. In the deep canons, where the train follows the shelves of the mountain-sides, you traverse some of the most fascinating mountain scenery in California. The slopes on either side are heavily timbered with redwood, and the wild streams leap out from hidden crevices." 

Gentleman standing in front of the Giant

"Within a few miles of your destination the train passes through a grove of giant trees, some of which rise three hundred feet in height and are sixty feet in circumference. In their presence the train looks like a toy, and its whistle sounds like the piping of courage making bravado. In this grove General (then Captain) Fremont in 1846 camped in a tree which had been hollowed out by fire. This tree, which is still living, now affords a spacious room, about sixteen by twenty feet, and thirty feet high."

There are several points to note about this article. The author does not mention the name most often used for the resort (Big Trees Grove) or mention its proprietors. Despite the lovely description of the journey to the big tree region, this article also perpetuated one of the grove's most often told stories about explorer John Charles Frémont (at the time actually a 2nd Lieutenant) ... that while in the grove in 1846 he slept within the fire-scarred hollow of a giant redwood. The story's origin is uncertain. Some attribute it to Frémont's wife, Jessie Benton Frémont, who assisted her husband in preparing his expedition journals for publication. To this day, the validity of this story remains in doubt.

Finally, the sketch of the Giant used in this 1894 article dates before 1892. In that year, a picket fence with barbed wire was erected around the Giant to protect it from vandalism by over enthusiastic tourists. 

Today, split-rail fences protect many of the Big Trees. The redwood’s fibrous bark can be over a foot thick and serves as the trees’ best protection from fire and insects. The soft bark can easily be damaged if climbed on; therefore, climbing on the roots or trunks of the Big Trees is strictly prohibited.  

Please be a good park steward and help us protect these irreplaceable trees. Thank you.