Sherman Tree, Sequoia National Park

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The General Sherman Tree is considered the largest living tree by volume. It is neither the tallest or widest but if you combine its 275 foot height with its 102 foot ground circumference, it is a whopping 2.7 million pounds! It sounds big and it is but really until you stand next to it, it's hard to put a finger on what these numbers mean. At 2100 years old, it's no baby either. This can be accessed via a big parking lot which is serviced by the free shuttle.

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This is the worlds largest living tree (although it isn't the tallest or widest.) Believed to be over 2,100 years old and still going - I read every year it adds enough wood to build a 60 foot tall tree! Needless to say it's a very popular spot to take pictures from, so you may end up jockeying for position.

Getting here is half the fun. Along the main road, there is a bus stop with limited parking for folks with handicap stickers only. A larger parking lot is located just north of the tree. You can either wait for a bus, or hike the half mile down to the tree (and the Congress Trail trailhead.) I recommend taking the trail down, then taking the bus back, since it's all downhill from the parking lot. It's a nice wide path through the forest, and you'll get a glimpse of General Sherman as you make your way down. Note that if you go past the tree to the bus stop, you can get a full view of this giant.

This is the main course of the park, the General Sherman Sequoia Tree in all its magnificence.
What can I say? Embarassing.
Never seen anything like this, never imagined anything like this.
Nor I'm able to describe the scene, bad writer, possibly. But the only thing I can say is that this is a thing to see being there, not in a picture.

This is definitely the most crowded place in the park. Most, if not all, of Sequoia's visitors flock to the parking lot near the Congress trail to see General Sherman. The tree is referred to as the "oldest living thing on earth", which may or may not be accurate. The park rangers and other persons in the know are still debating this one.

If it weren't for the plaque in front of this tree and the disproportionately large number of people milling about, General Sherman would appear no more impressive than any of the other giant sequoias in the park. But the Congress trail which loops around the sequoias in the area, is a nice walk and its not every day that one gets to see a living thing that is over 2000 plus years old, and still going and growing.