Our Story

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Originally an adobe trading post built in 1849, The Groveland is the oldest operating hotel in the greater Yosemite area.  We’ve had many incarnations over more than 160 years– Gambling House, Saloon, Hotel, Ranger Station, business offices, and even a Greyhound Bus Stop.  Known as “the best house on the hill” during the Gold Rush, The Groveland is the only Sierra Nevada Mountain building constructed in the Monterey Adobe architectural style that was popular during the late 1840s and 1850s. 

We’re proud of our history.  But we also believe the spirit of the American West is about always moving forward.  Here, classic heritage meets modern comfort and curated design for an experience rich in the Western past and fully in the California present.

Fine art drawing of "The Valley of the Yosemite, 1874"
The Valley Of The Yosemite, 1874
California Past, Present and Future

The Garrote Hotel is built by George Reid. The building acts as a store, a bar and restaurant, a gambling house, and a brothel.

1849

Golden Rock Water Company decides to start hydraulic mining in the area. The hotel becomes a place where miners frequently stay and dine.

1855

Big Oak Flat Road is completed and begins to bring the first tourists to Yosemite during the summer.

1874

The town of Garrote officially changes its name to Groveland, and the hotel becomes the Groveland Hotel.

1875

Newspaper clipping of Garrote Hotel circa 1875
Garrote, circa 1875

The second gold rush brings prosperity to the hotel as prospectors flood into the area. The hotel adds upstairs sleeping quarters.

1890s

Wealthy cattle rancher Tim Carlon buys the Groveland Hotel and builds the annex to the east of the adobe building. During this time, the hotel hosts the many engineers building the Hetch Hetchy dam.

1914

Hetch Hetchy Restaurant at The Groveland circa 1914
Hetch Hetchy Restaurant
Group portrait of Hetch Hetchy Railroad workers, in front of the Hetch Hetchy Roundhouse, 1922
Hetch Hetchy Railroad workers, 1922

During the Great Depression, tourist traffic declines and the hotel struggled to remain afloat.

1930s

1950s color chrome-style printed postcard of "Yosemite Falls and Merced River"
"Yosemite Falls and Merced River," Postcard, 1950s.

The hotel is used as the Groveland District Ranger Station headquarters.

1970-1980s

Peggy and Grover Mosley purchase the building and begin an extensive remodel of the hotel. Peggy ran the hotel until her passing in 2016.

1990

Groveland Hotel building exterior, 1990s
The Groveland Hotel

Jen and Doug Edwards (owners of the Charlotte Hotel at the time) purchased the property, and invested over $500,000 in modernizing the building and amenities.

2017

Deluxe Twin Room 118 at The Groveland
Deluxe Room interiors

Tenaya Real Estate Ventures buys the hotel from the Edwards. With a redesigned interior and a revamped menu, The Groveland is mixing old school craft with a modern sensibility. Combining rich Western history and contemporary comfort, discover a truly unique hotel experience at the gateway to Yosemite. 

2021

Vintage lamp at The Groveland

Note 1.1 Classic charm.

Old West. New Perspective. Here, the past meets the present for a modern sense of the Western spirit.

"The Groveland Hotel Monterey Colonial Adobe has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by The United States Department of the Interior 1849" plaque

Note 1.2 One of the only surviving buildings in classic Monterey adobe style at the heart of a historic Gold Rush town, we’ve hosted prospectors, pioneers, gamblers, and ramblers.  Now it’s your turn.