Your Guide To Seeing the Tallest Trees and Old-Growth Forests in California
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Loading... - Amelia Martin
- 23 May 2022
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California is home to some of the biggest, and oldest, trees in the world. Many lie along a stretch of the state from Sequoia National Park to Redwoods National Park.
The list below includes five of the tallest named trees in California that you can visit, as well as four groves where you’ll find massive old-growth trees (which means they’ve never been logged). Some of the tallest trees require a hike to get to, while others are well-signed and only take a quick stroll to stand at their base.
Remember that these trees are some of the tallest and oldest things on Earth and deserve your respect. It’s not enough to leave no trace — you need to leave it better than you found it, which includes picking up trash and speaking up if you see someone doing something that could damage the trees. After all, you need to respect your elders — and these trees are definitely your elders.
A quick note: forest fires are an enormous problem in California, and many of the trees below have been dangerously close to being lost. Always obey regulations about camping fires, cooking fires, and smoking, since they’re all aimed at reducing the risk of a spark taking off.
The tallest named trees in California
Hyperion: 379 feet tall
No, it’s not “the” Hyperion — it’s just Hyperion. It started as a tiny little seed about 700 or 800 years ago, which doesn’t put it anywhere near the top of the oldest trees list. But when it comes to the tallest trees in California, Hyperion tops the list. Oh, and it’s also the tallest tree in the United States — and in the whole world, as far as researchers know.
This coastal redwood stands nearly twice as tall as its neighbors and stands as a testament to the incredible power of nature and resilience. Hyperion has certainly lived through several wildfires and was nearly lost to time. It’s near the border between an old-growth (never logged) and new-growth (once logged) forest. Had loggers gone much farther, Hyperion may have been gone.
Hyperion is a coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). But don’t get it confused with the inland giant sequoias. Redwoods are taller and grow closer to the coast, while sequoias are thicker and tend to be more inland.
If you want to see Hyperion, you’ll need to do some deep research. The location is unmarked in Redwood National Park, and those who know where it is treat it like a loved one. If you find Hyperion, don’t even think about breaking off any bark. The tree is so beloved that you can expect other hikers and campers to defend it if they see you doing anything remotely questionable anywhere near Hyperion’s trunk or root space.
Some say Hyperion isn’t even the tallest in the surrounding woods but that it’s just a decoy to protect hikers from finding the other tallest trees. Is that true? Maybe. But if you care enough about trees to find out, you probably care enough to know that foot traffic can hurt the untouched forests. Be content with Hyperion, and let the scientists worry about the other trees growing in the amazing ecosystem.
Helios: 377 feet tall
Helios isn’t just the second tallest tree in California, it’s the second tallest in the world after Hyperion. Like Hyperion, Helios’ location isn’t something you’ll just find on a map, though park rangers will tell you it’s in the Helios Grove. You’ll have to do a little research to try to find it, and even then, it may be hard to guess exactly which of the massive trees near you is Helios.
Very close to Helios are two other similarly named trees: Icarus, at 371 feet tall, and Daedalus, at around 360 feet.
If you find Helios, consider keeping its location secret, as many other hikers have done. It’ll help protect the tree from damage and, hopefully, allow it to continue to break size records in the future.
New Hope: 356.5 feet tall
Tree-huggers may overlook Jedidiah Smith Redwood State Park in favor of areas with more well-known groves, but the park is home to the Grove of Titans, which holds several of the top 10 tallest trees in California. The top honor in terms of size goes to New Hope, which is near several other famous trees well over 300 feet tall. That includes Hail Storm, at around 308 feet tall (also the largest tree in the park by volume).
When you visit, you’ll want to download a map. The groves are huge and the trees are deep into the woods, so you probably won’t have cell service. Given how close it is to Redwood National Park, it’s quite easy to pair the two parks for a long weekend of standing under the tallest trees in California.
The General Sherman Tree: 275 feet tall
The General Sherman is no stranger to being in the news. In fact, in early fall of 2021, the massive sequoia was saved — barely — from the massive KNP Complex fire that ripped through Sequoia National Park. Firefighters and park officials wrapped the 36-foot-wide trunk in layers of flame-resistant materials and managed to save the tree. Of course, the park also runs controlled burns to help wildfires move slower when they do occur.
The world watched and cheered for the General Sherman when it survived the fires, as it’s one of the tallest trees in California as well as the world’s largest single living tree by volume. Its trunk is just over 77 feet in circumference, and at 276 feet tall, it has a volume of 52,500 cubic feet.
The General is a giant sequoia — a species that easily reaches heights of 100 feet or more. This particular tree is estimated to be 2,200 years old, give or take a century. That means it was born roughly 300 years before the first stone was laid in the Roman Coliseum.
To see it, take the park’s half-mile-long trail to the Giant Forest Sequoia Grove. You can camp in the park or rent a nearby cabin for an overnight stay. Read More...
