Visitors from the World’s Tallest Tree in California Face $5000 Fine and Possible Jail Time

Sequoias And Coastal Redwoods Appear To Flourish Despite Climate Change — MILL VALLEY, CA - AUGUST 20: Park visitors walk along a path of Coastal Redwood trees at Muir Woods National Monument on August 20, 2013 in Mill Valley, California. A four-year study by the Save the Redwoods League called "the Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative" found that due to changing environmental conditions, California's Coast Redwoods and Giant Sequoias are experiencing an unprecedented growth surge and have produced more wood over the past century than any other time in their lives. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Park officials at Redwood national park declares the remote area off-limits after visitors trampled the world's tallest tree deep in a northern California forest.

According to The Guardian, the hikers are facing a possible $5,000 fine and up to six months in jail after going off-trail into dense vegetation to reach the tree, despite it being not accessible by any trail. While the 380ft (115m) coast redwood tree is located in a remote area of Redwood national park, this did not stop the visitors from crossing the forbidden area, said Leonel Arguello, the park's manager for natural resources.

The tree known as Hyperion was discovered in 2006 by two amateur naturalists. Bloggers and travel writers began writing about the tall, skinny redwood and shared its exact location online. Four years later, visitors started trekking to see the famous tree.

In 2019, Guinness World Records certified Hyperion as the world's tallest tree, and is officially off-limits to visitors.

World's Tallest Tree Now Off-Limits

California's Redwood National Park issued a statement last week that hiking within the closed area could result in a $5,000 fine and 6 months in jail.

The park service stated that despite the difficult journey to the tree, "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?"

He adds that the area around the tree no longer has ferns due to trampling, the socials trails have grown in number, and the amount of garbage has increased as people go to this tree.

Phone reception is also not accessible in the area which means it would take a lot of time before someone is rescued should anyone get hurt along the way.

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Could be Disappointing

As per Arguello, it may be disappointing for Hyperion visitors to realize that there is not much to see from the tree's base.

"It's tall, but it's not really that impressive to look at from the base because you cannot see the top of the tree. All you can see are the branches of this tall, skinny tree," he said.

Before deciding to pursue hiking to Hyperion, the park asks these questions: Do you choose to contribute to habitat destruction? Do you choose to risk the safety of yourself and others? Will you make the choice, instead, to enjoy the beauty of other tall trees on designated hiking trails?

"There are hundreds of miles of trails within the old-growth redwood forest. All these trails offer beautiful views of massive redwood trees," they wrote.

Arguello added that visitors should consider going to Tall Trees Grove, where there are plenty of established trails and they can picnic by the creek or swim in the water. "You don't have to scramble and bushwhack up to this tall, skinny tree that isn't that impressive."