Groveland has always been an important stop on the highway to Yosemite but really grew in the early 1900s with the development of the Tuolumne River Hetch-Hetchy water project for the city of San Francisco.

Groveland was originally a gold rush town and then became a sleepy farming community until the San Francisco Hetch Hetchy water project made it their headquarters and built a railroad yard and hospital for the work crews (both now gone).

This development has since grown from a summer home area to a retirement community to a thriving neighborhood with year-round families, boosting the once sleepy Groveland to a travel and vacation destination in its own right.

Groveland is the main town on the Highway 120 route to Yosemite National Park, and boasts numerous lodging and restaurant businesses.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 9.6 square miles (24.8 km2), 99.94% of it land and 0.06% of it water.

This region experiences warm to very hot and dry summers, with the hottest month having an average temperature of 73.7 °F.