FAQs

Below are some of the most common questions posed to park rangers according to the National Park Service: **When are the parks closed?** The parks are always open. Most visitor centers are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day except for Thanksgiving, Dec. 25, and Jan. 1. Is there a drive-through tree? The famous drive-through tree, the Wawona Tree, was a giant sequoia in Yosemite National Park. It fell over in 1969 under a heavy snowfall. There are three redwood drive-through trees on the coast; all are private businesses that charge you a small fee to drive your car through the tree. From north to south they are: Klamath Tour Thru Tree, Myers Flat Shrine Tree, and Leggett Chandelier Tree. **Which is bigger, a giant sequoia or a coast redwood?** Sequoias found in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains are larger in volume, but not taller. **How old are the oldest redwoods?** Some redwoods live to 2,000 years. **How many redwoods have been logged?** 96 percent of the original old growth coast redwoods have been logged. **Where is the tallest redwood?** A tree dubbed the Tall Tree in the Tall Trees Grove once measured nearly 367.8 feet (120 m) tall. Logging in the Redwood Creek basin subjected the grove to windier, drier, and hotter conditions, and the Tall Tree's crown fell off in the 1980s. **Why do redwoods grow so tall?** The trees grow tall for the following reasons: large amounts of rain, summer fog which reduces evapotranspiration, temperate climate, ideal temperatures, rich soil, few natural enemies, and wind protection by other redwoods.