“There is no trail to Hyperion. Hyperion is located within a closed area. Hiking within this closure could result in a $5,000 fine and 6 months in jail.”
Since its “discovery” in 2006, this tree has been on many tree-enthusiast’s bucket lists. Hyperion is located off trail through dense vegetation and requires heavy ‘bushwhacking’ in order to reach the tree. Despite the difficult journey, increased popularity due to bloggers, travel writers, and websites of this off-trail tree has resulted in the devastation of the habitat surrounding Hyperion. As a visitor, you must decide if you will be part of the preservation of this unique landscape - or will you be part of its destruction?
I consider seeing Hyperion with my own eyes to be one of my biggest life accomplishments. Finding it took months of research and multiple failed attempts, but I finally found it. There's no other feeling I know that can compare to seeing this famous tree. By the way, it is not "almost" the tallest, it IS the tallest, and the most current measurement (2014) tacks it at 380.12 feet.
41.294354, -123.977934
Finding Hyperion was an epic event. Knowing how few have laid eyes on it , that the forest was clear cut right near it , not seeing any signs of a trail from past visitors, how Jurassic the forest felt, my wife going ( is that it ? , Is that it ? ), the internet search to find clues to it's whereabouts all culminated in the sheer joy and elation of finding it.
A short hike off the tall trees trail. The tree is pleasingly remote and breathtaking to behold. I love how the other reviews speak as if seeing Hyperion is a rare or difficult thing due to secrecy, I suspect they just had a lousy day with internet research -- hyperions GPS location/coordinates (and photos, just so you can confirm you are there) are located at several easy to find websites. Like the Methuselah tree in the White mountains, its precise location is a very, very poorly kept secret - and Hyperion is actually EASIER to view than Methuselah due to the whopping altitude of the White Mountains (although the Grove trail is wonderfully engi eered and maintained) So go enjoy the world's tallest tree, mind your backcountry ethics, and don't cross when the creek is too high!!!! :).
Hyperion tree is one of the world’s tallest trees. It’s so incredible that its exact location is hidden. But, for those adventurous types out there…it’s located somewhere in California’s Redwood National Park.
My understanding that as of March 2022, the NPS has prohibited getting within one mile of Hyperion. If caught, fines are as much as 6 months in jail and/or $5,000 fine. The stated reason? Too many people hiking into the park to find it, and leaving damage behind. The area remains the same (no new fences, etc.), so one CAN still go, but the hunt has become much more clandestine with added new, continuous Park Ranger patrolling presence. And illegal.
If I was 20 years younger I would go out looking for this tree and for others that could be bigger around or taller......of course with my Desert Eagle in my right hand most of the time so I wouldn't be eaten by a bear or cougar .........I have lived on the NE corner of the Olympic Peninsula since 1971 and on my property for the last 31 years have been planting Giant Sequoia's and I have about 40 of them and several are close to 100 feet tall now and the ones in the lower areas close to the creek are fatter than the oldest one......so when I am 1000 years old I will really have some NW bragging rights..........there are older ones in the area that I saw as a kid and is why I even started doing this and one of those in a row next to the highway was hit by lighting a few years ago and it is now less than half as tall and it lost branches that are the size of trees most people see......it is still alive so far but I don't think it can survive that huge break across the top now.
I find it gratifying that so few have found it in an age when seemingly the grappling in our society to make efforts to proclaim number one status. To think that this giant stands alone uninhibited by the chaos that would ensue about it's location being revealed, I find delightful.
I want to try to find this tree but i would have to know a lot about trees
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