On June 29, 1878, somewhat fewer than 100 Bohemians gathered in the Redwoods in Marin County near Taylorville (present-day Samuel P. Taylor State Park) for an evening sendoff party in Edwards' honor.

[3] Freely flowing liquor and some Japanese lanterns put a glow on the festivities, and club members retired at a late hour to the modest comfort of blankets laid on the dense mat of Redwood needles.

[5]Not long after the club's establishment by newspaper journalists, it was commandeered by prominent San Francisco-based businessmen, who provided the financial resources necessary to acquire further land and facilities at the Grove.

Those attending this meeting included Ernest Lawrence, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the S-1 Executive Committee heads, such as the presidents of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, along with representatives of Standard Oil and General Electric as well as various military officials.

The Bohemian Club's all-male membership includes artists and musicians, as well as many prominent business leaders, government officials, former U.S. presidents, senior media executives, and people of power.

[23] After 40 years of membership, the men earn "Old Guard" status, giving them reserved seating at the Grove's daily talks, as well as other perks.

Service staff include female workers whose presence at the Grove is limited to daylight hours and central areas close to the main gate.

During these times, the local Sheriff's office,[28] California Highway Patrol, and, if warranted by the guest-list, the United States Secret Service help to secure the areas and roads surrounding the encampment.

[29] In 2019, Sonoma County Board of Supervisors member Lynda Hopkins, who was elected to the district encompassing the Grove, wrote an open letter criticizing the role the Bohemian Club had in making it difficult for women to get into politics, their lack of investment in the community despite members' personal wealth, and the anachronistic and hegemonic attitudes she felt described the Grove.

[30] The club's patron saint is John of Nepomuk, who, according to legend, died at the hands of a Bohemian monarch rather than disclose the confessional secrets of the queen.

The ceremony served as a catharsis for pent-up high spirits, and "to present symbolically the salvation of the trees by the club ..."[36] The Cremation of Care was separated from the other Grove Plays in 1913 and moved to the first night to become "an exorcising of the Demon to ensure the success of the ensuing two weeks.

The play is a large-scale musical theatrical production, written and composed by club members, involving some 300 people, including chorus, cast, stage crew and orchestra.

[39] However, the judge's decision was overruled by the State Fair Employment and Housing Commission, which on October 17, 1981, ordered the club to begin recruiting and hiring women as employees.

"[43] The Supreme Court of California denied review in 1987, effectively forcing the club to begin hiring female workers during the summer encampment at the Grove in Monte Rio.

[44] This ruling became quoted as a legal precedent and was discussed during the 1995–96 floor debate surrounding California Senate Bill SB 2110, a proposed law concerning whether tax-exempt organizations (including fraternal clubs) should be exempt from the Unruh Civil Rights Act.

[45] Outside the central camp area, which is the site of the old-growth grove, but within the 2,712 acres (1,098 ha) owned by the Bohemian Club, logging activities have been underway since 1984.

[46] The board had been advised by Tom Bonnicksen, a retired forestry professor, that they should conduct group selection logging to reduce the risk of fire burning through the dense second-growth stands, damaging the old-growth forest the Club wants to protect.

[48] The Club stated that an expansion of logging activities was needed to prevent fires, and that money made from the sale of the lumber would be used to stabilize access roads and to clear fire-promoting species such as tanoaks and underbrush.

[49] The California Department of Fish and Wildlife instead recommended single-tree logging to preserve the habitats of murrelets and spotted owls in senescent trees.

[50] After controversy raised by opponents of the harvesting plan, the Club moved to establish their qualification for the permit by offering 163 acres (66 ha) to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in Missoula, Montana, for a conservation easement.

[46] On March 10, 2011, Judge René A. Chouteau rejected the Non-Industrial Timber Management Plan (NTMP) that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection had approved.