Chandelier Tree

The Chandelier Tree in Drive-Thru Tree Park[1] is a 276-foot (84 m) tall coast redwood tree in Leggett, California with a 6-foot-wide (1.8 m) by 6-foot-9-inch-high (2.06 m) hole[2] cut through its base to allow a car to drive through. Its base measures 16 ft (4.9 m) diameter at breast height (chest-high). A historic sign put up in or before the 1930s claims a height of 315 feet high and 21 feet wide (which may have been true for both at the time it was hung), but a contemporary measurement by a Certified Arborist experienced with tall redwoods and using a laser rangefinder found the tree to be 276 feet high and 16 feet in diameter.[3] It is unknown if the tree was topped by Nature in between the measurements.

Chandelier tree
Photo of the tree. Tree has a tunnel through the center of the trunk.
The Chandelier Tree in 2015
SpeciesCoast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
LocationLeggett, California, US
Coordinates39°51′30″N 123°43′09″W
Websitehttp://www.drivethrutree.com/
1941
Chandelier Tree 2019
2019

The name "Chandelier Tree" comes from its unusual limbs that resemble a chandelier. The limbs, which measure from 4 to 7 ft (1.2 to 2.1 m) in diameter, begin 100 ft (30 m) above the ground.[4] It is 2,400 years old.[5]

A vintage postcard of the Chandelier Tree was shown during the opening credits of National Lampoon's Vacation.[6]

History

The Chandelier Tree stands on privately owned property. Charles and Hazel Underwood purchased the grove in 1921.[5] The opening was cut in the late 1930s to create an attraction for those driving along the Redwood Highway.[7]

In the 1960s they offered visitors lodging amenities which included cabins, a recreation hall, and bar.[5]

Visiting

A fee of $10 is charged for pedestrians to walk through or motorcyclists to drive through the trees.[8] For regular sized automobiles, the price is $15.[8] Visitors are welcome between 8:30 AM and sundown every day of the year except Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Visitors can also enjoy various other features during their visit including hiking trails, a duck pond, meadow, picnic tables, and a gift shop.[5]

During the summertime the Chandelier Tree may receive up to 500 visitors daily.[5] Some larger modern vehicles may be unable to fit through due to the small size of the opening.[7]

In 2022, the tree won a Traveler's Choice Award from Trip Advisor.[9]

Other tunnel trees

A number of big trees in California had tunnels dug through them in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The tunnel allowed tourists to drive, bike, or walk through the tree. The tunneling inflicted severe damage to the health and strength of the trees. The tunnels were cut to stimulate automobile tourism. Because of the damaging effects of carving through trees, the trend of creating tunnel trees has long passed.

Giant sequoias

The two giant sequoia drive-through trees have both fallen:

But two walk-through tunnel trees still stand:

Coast redwoods

Two other drive-through coast redwood trees (taller and more slender than giant sequoias) still stand. These are also along US 101 in northern California, in Klamath and Myers Flat.[13]

See also

References
  1. "Drive-Thru Tree Park". Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  2. "Just a few highlights of Drive-Thru Tree Park". Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  3. "Drive Through Redwoods. Drive Thru Redwood. Avenue of the Giants and Klamath. Leggett".
  4. "Chandelier Tree". Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  5. "Chandelier Tree - Famous Redwoods". famousredwoods.com. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  6. 0x6966 (12 July 2009). "National Lampoon's Vacation (title sequence)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  7. "Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree – Visit Mendocino County". www.visitmendocino.com. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  8. www.drivethrutree.com http://www.drivethrutree.com/. Retrieved 2022-10-21. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. "Chandelier Drive-Through Tree (Leggett) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go". Tripadvisor. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  10. "Where is the tree you can drive through?" (PDF). United States Forest Service. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  11. Hilton, Spud (2016-06-17). "Original essays: Why they love the parks". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-01-09. The iconic California Tunnel Tree, cut in 1895 to allow horse-drawn stages to pass through, at the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite National Park.
  12. "The Myth of the Tree You Can Drive Through". National Park Service. Retrieved 2017-01-10. [The Wawona Tree] was the second standing sequoia to be tunneled (the first, a dead tree, still stands in the Tuolumne Grove in Yosemite).
  13. "Destination drive through trees". OhRanger.com. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
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