Note: Due to active fires, please check ahead on trail openings and highway updates, wherever your destination might be. You can also find Big Bear Lake's pandemic safety policies here and California travel advisories here.
FAMOUS CALIFORNIA TREES? We just know you can quickly name six, seven, or more, within a minute, without even pausing for breath. There's the General Sherman, the sky-high specimen that graces Sequoia National Park's Giant Forest. There's America's Tallest Living Christmas Tree, in pretty, oh-so-Victorian Ferndale. And the bristlecone pines of Inyo County's White Mountains? They're some of the oldest living wonders on this planet. You might also love upon the lodgepole while you're making your branch-big list, for these pine trees are truly magnificent to behold. And beholding one of the most royal of the lodgepoles, all without leaving California? You can do so near Big Bear Lake, which is home to the...
CHAMPION LODGEPOLE PINE: This mega tree stands at over 110 feet, and it is located near an easy-to-hike trail. As for a few way-cool facts you can share with the kids as you make the drive up the mountain? "The circumference of the trunk at the bottom is 22 feet," while "the bulbous base is 36 feet in circumference." No super-serious hiking shoes are required for the half-mile trail near the famous tree, "just comfortable ones" that are easy to hike in. And if there has been a recent rain, you may come across a sweet stream. Eager to know more about the Champion Lodgepole Pine Trail, tree lovers? Find out the details now. Are you "collecting" every celebrated tree in the Golden State, or rather experiences enjoyed in the vicinity of those trees? Be sure to add this awesome and ancient icon to your on-the-road list.
