 Wawona was an Indian encampment in what is now the southwestern part of the park . Settler Galen Clark discovered the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoia in Wawona in 1857 . He had simple lodgings built , and roads to the area . In 1879 , the Wawona Hotel was built to serve tourists visiting Mariposa Grove . As tourism increased , so did the number of trails and hotels developed by people intending to build on the trade . 
