Avoid This Majestic California Tree In Redwood National Park Or Face A Fee And Jail Time

Seeing the redwoods of California is a travel bucket list item for many people. These majestic trees are the tallest in the world, but thanks to logging, there aren't all that many old-growth redwood forests around.
If you know where to go, though, you'll be able to find some stands of trees that have lived for hundreds of years and grown to hundreds of feet tall; one such protected space is Redwood National Park, which is so beautiful that it almost has an otherworldly feel to it. But whatever you do, don't go looking for the tallest tree in the park — Hyperion. If you do, you could have to pay a $5,000 fine and spend six months in jail.

Hyperion is indeed astounding. It's 380 feet tall and hundreds of years old. In 2019, it was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's tallest living tree. However, getting to Hyperion involves bushwhacking through the forest, and the penalties for going to see it were put in place because of the sheer number of people doing damage to the forest with their desire to see this tree.

The National Parks Service gave some context on their website as to why it's not a good idea to try and get to Hyperion, and it comes down to issues of safety both for people and the planet. "Redwood roots are incredibly shallow, reaching down 12 feet on average. Soil compaction due to trampling negatively effects these centuries-old trees."

There's also no easy way to get help if you get hurt in this part of the forest. People have left trash and generally just been disrespectful to the area in their quest to find the tallest tree on the planet.

But not to worry, there are still plenty of massive redwoods to marvel at throughout the park without having to endanger the health of the forest. There's the Grove of Titans trail, which involves an elevated boardwalk so visitors can wander amongst these ancient trees without damaging their roots. You can find redwoods at a number of parks along the California coast all the way from the border with Oregon down to Big Sur. One particularly fun way to see redwoods in California is to visit Glen Blair Bar near Fort Bragg; it's a bar hidden in the forest and accessible by train.