Pioneer Cabin Tree

A woman and a little girl reading an interpretive panel about the Pioneer Cabin Tree

Interpretive Exhibit About the Famed “Tunnel Tree” Giant Sequoia to open in Calaveras Big Trees State Park on Saturday, July 23, 2022

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Thousands of park visitors passed through the Pioneer’s Cabin Tree on foot and horseback and by carriage and motorcar. But the famous sequoia toppled five years ago, after a period of heavy rain and high winds. A new exhibit commemorates 1,233-year-old fallen “tunnel tree” in Calaveras Big Trees State Park — it opens on Saturday, July 23, 2022.

The fallen Pioneer Cabin Tree. Photo by Save the Redwoods League

Tree Ring Analysis of the Pioneer Cabin Tree

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California State Parks and Save the Redwoods League are collaborating to study the fallen Pioneer Cabin Tree in Calaveras Big Trees State Park to learn about its long life and the environmental changes within the forest over time.

Shown before it fell last winter, the famous giant sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park was called the Pioneer Cabin Tree after private owners cut it to make it resemble a cabin. Photo by B Christopher, Alamy Stock Photo

Fallen Icons Underscore Need to Grow Giants of the Future

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Last winter’s intense wind and rain brought down giants throughout the redwood range, including the Pioneer Cabin Tree, an iconic “drive- through sequoia” in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Seeing any of these towering giants fall is sad because we have so few left. But under the surface of the sadness lies a brighter, long-term scientific view.

Pioneer Cabin Tree. Photo by Wayne Hsieh, Flickr Creative Commons

Historic ‘Tunnel Tree’ Falls in Storm

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We lost an iconic ‘tunnel tree’ on Sunday as mother nature took down the over 1,000-year-old Pioneer Cabin Tree in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. This tree, made famous for the car-sized tunnel through its trunk, toppled over during the heavy storms that swept through California over the weekend. The Pioneer Cabin Tree and surrounding park, have a rich story to share — one that catalyzed the conservation movement in the U.S., where giant sequoia were first discovered.