General Sherman Tree

With a trunk volume of about 1,487 m³ (52,500 cubic feet), the General Sherman Tree in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park is the largest known living tree on Earth, though it is neither the tallest, the widest nor the oldest. The giant sequoia stands just under 84 m (275 feet) tall, and its age is estimated at 2,200 to 2,700 years, depending on the source. According to tradition, naturalist James Wolverton named it in 1879 after General William T. Sherman. In 1886 the socialist Kaweah Colony renamed it the “Karl Marx Tree”; after the colony dissolved in 1892, the old name returned.

From the main parking lot off Wolverton Road it is about 800 m (half a mile) to the tree, and the way back climbs roughly 60 m (200 feet); in summer a shuttle stops there every 15 to 20 minutes. The accessible path is about 150 m (500 feet) long. The Congress Trail, a paved loop of roughly 3 to 4 km (2 to 2.7 miles; park figures vary), starts at the tree. For RVs, the park advises a maximum length of 22 feet (6.7 m) between Potwisha and Giant Forest; longer vehicles take Highway 180 (park guidance from 2019, check before you go).