Old Coulterville Road

Long before cars, Old Coulterville Road carried the first stagecoaches into Yosemite Valley. Opened in 1874, it was one of three competing toll roads built to reach the park — and today it survives as a quiet, half-forgotten route that mixes history with a genuinely good walk to ancient sequoias.

The First Road to Yosemite

Coulterville Road, along with the Big Oak Flat and Wawona roads, opened between 1874 and 1875 as private toll routes carrying tourists into the newly famous valley by stagecoach. It fell out of regular use once free alternatives opened around 1915, and much of it was never paved over — it remains a lightly traveled dirt route through Stanislaus National Forest, closed seasonally each winter (roughly December 15 through April 15).

Walking It Today

The stretch most visitors actually experience on foot is the Merced Grove Trail, which follows the old roadbed for about 3 miles round trip with roughly 520 feet of elevation gain — downhill on the way in, uphill coming back out. The wide, gentle grade leads to Yosemite's smallest and most secluded sequoia grove, home to around 20 mature giant sequoias and the site of a historic ranger patrol cabin once used as a park superintendent's summer retreat.

Farther Out

Beyond the park boundary, the old road continues west toward Little Nellie Falls and on to the town of Coulterville, functioning today as a scenic backcountry drive rather than a maintained footpath. If you're hiking rather than driving, the Merced Grove section is the part worth your time.