Three Senses Trail

Calaveras Big Trees State Park

California

July 2018

We found the Three Senses Trail closed for renovation. Instead of driving to a sporting goods store to buy a BB gun because someone owed us an explanation, we decided to peacefully return once the trail is opened.

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North Grove Trail

Calaveras Big Trees State Park

California
July 2018

Our second hike in Calaveras Big Trees State Park was the North Grove Trail. It was little longer Beaver Creek Trail and far more scenic. The trail is rated as accessible and except for one short narrow section with a few rocks that could be easily negotiated by most people in a wheelchair or jog stroller, this trail was perfect for pushing Kellisa. 

Sometimes we want a challenging trail, especially Kellisa since it usually means more struggle for me and more bumps, but it's also nice to be able to push Kellisa on a longer trail without too much worry. And it's a huge bonus when the trail is highly scenic and the North Grove Trail did not disappoint as it weaved through many "big trees". 

The trailhead shares a parking lot with the visitor center and we were afraid the trail would be packed because of how crowded the visitor center appeared. As a nice little perk, we found two disabled parking spots close to the trailhead and both were open. To our surprise, the trail was mostly deserted as we saw probably less than 10 people the entire time. I'm sure we will be returning to this pleasant forest less than 100 miles from our house on a future summer day when we want to leave the valley heat for a few hours.

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Beaver Creek Trail

Calaveras Big Trees State Park

California
July 2018

It was 101F degrees in the central valley of California. Too hot for hiking, especially considering that excessive heat is a trigger for seizures in Kellisa. We wanted to go on a hike, so we headed up into the mountains to check out Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

The park sits at an elevation of roughly 5,000 feet above sea level and there's a general rule that it cools off approximately 3 degrees for every thousand feet of elevation gain. Since the temperature reading in the car varied between 84F and 86F, the rule proved accurate.

We stopped at the visitor center to gather some information before deciding which trails to explore. It may seem odd to some, but the mid-80s temperature seemed a little "cool" under the shade of the big trees. 

Normally we look for non-accessible trails because they're usually longer and a bit more challenging. A quick look at the trail guide revealed three accessible trails and with our recent struggles with accessible trails in Idaho, we decided to attempt all three trails while scoping out the regular trails for future opportunities. We decided to start with the Beaver Creek Trail because it was the shortest and farthest from the entrance. We thought it would be a great warm up while getting a quick feel for the entire park from the main road. The trail was short, but 100% accessible. We weren't disappointed.