Logo Adventuree Atlas Calaveras Big Trees State Park Del Norte Titan Emerald Giant Giant Sequoia National Monument Hail Storm Harry Cole Helios Howard Libbey Howland Hill Giant Humboldt Redwoods State Park Hyperion Icarus Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park Juggeranut Kings Canyon National Park Klamath Mammoth Lost Monarch Melkor Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve Nugget Orion Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Redwood National Park Sequoia National Park Sir Isaac Newton Terex Titan Tour Thru Yosemite National Park Zeus
Adventure Aether's Arrow Alice Rhodes Apex ARCo Giant Artemis Atlas Ballantine Bell Big Tree Boy Scout Broken Top Brown Creek Giant Brutus Buena Vista Buffalo Chip Bull Creek Giant Bushy Toe Canoe Creek Chandelier Chesty Puller Church Tree Corkscrew Crown Jewel Daedalus Del Norte Titan Demeter Dyerville Giant El Palo Alto Elk Herd El Viejo del Norte Emerald Giant Epimetheus False Elk False Jupiter Fesler Foothill Founders Gamato Gemini Giant Tree Godwood Creek Giant Gray Poison Gulch Tower Hail Storm Harriett Weaver Harry Cole Helios Hill-Davis Howard Libbey Howland Hill Giant Hyperion Icarus Idril Iluvatar Insane James Irvine Giant John Muir Juggernaut Jupiter Klamath Mammoth Knotty Lady Kronos Laurelin Lost Monarch Melkor Mendocino Millennium Minaret Mojo Montgomery Giant Mother and Daughter Mutant Redwood Navi New Hope Newton B. Drury Norman J. Hendry Nugget Olympian Orion Outlier Paradox Paul Zahl Paul Zinke Pinnacle Pipe Dream Pleiades 1 Pleiades 2 Poseidon Prometheus Pyramid Giant Randy Stoltmann Redwood Creek Giant Rhea Rockefeller Rocket Top Rockview Rosebark Sacagawea Screaming Titans Shrine Sir Isaac Newton Solstice South Fork Spartacus Stout Stratosphere Giant Super Colossus Terex Titan Texas Titanic Cathedral Tom McDonald Tour Thru Tranquility Valentine West Ridge Giant Whitehouse Giant Zeus
Above Diamond Above Hazelwood Adam Adams Alder Creek Giant Allen Russell Arm Auto Log Bannister Bent Tree Black Mountain Beauty Booker T. Washington Boole Bull Buck Burgeon California (Kings Canyon NP) California (Yosemite NP) Candelabra Castro Chief Sequoyah Chimney Clara Barton Cleveland Columbia Column Conehead Crescent Meadow Road Dalton Dead Giant Dean Diamond Ed by Ned Eric De Groot Euclid Fallen Monarch Floyd Otter Founders Group Four Guardsmen Franklin Galen Clark General Grant General Harbord General Lee General Pershing General Sheridan General Sherman General Young Genesis George Bush Ghost Gothic Arch Great Bonsai Great Goshawk Grizzly Giant Gutless Goliath Hamilton Hart Hazelwood Hazelwood Pull-Off Hercules Honeycomb Ishi Giant Jefferson King Arthur Law Lincoln (Kings Canyon NP) Lincoln (Sequoia NP) Lincoln (Yosemite NP) Louis Agassiz McKinley Methuselah Monroe Mountain Home Monarch Muir Stub Near Ed by Ned Near Gothic Arch Near Gutless Giant Near Lincoln Near McKinley Near Round Meadow Near Sherman Near Tunnel Log Nelder Oliver Twist Oregon Packsaddle Giant Palace Hotel Passageway Patriarch President Proclamation Red Chief Red Hill Giant Robert E. Lee Room Roosevelt (Kings Canyon NP) Roosevelt (Sequoia NP) Sentinel Smith Cabin Stagg Summit Road Susan B. Anthony Telescope Tharp's Log The Cloister The House The Senate Three Fingered Jack Tunnel Tunnel Log Washington (Sequoia NP) Washington (Yosemite NP) Waterfall Window Yale Yosemite Sam
Alder Creek Grove Atlas Grove Atwell Mill Grove Black Mountain Grove Calf Creek Flat Converse Basin Grove Federation Grove Forty Four Grove Founders Grove Freeman Creek Grove Garfield Grove General Grant Grove Giant Forest Goethe Grove Grove of Titans Harper Flat Helios Grove Hyperion Valley Irvine Grove Long Meadow Grove Lower Bull Creek Flat Mariposa Grove Metcalf Grove Middle Bull Creek Flat Montgomery Flat Mountain Home Grove Muir Grove National Tribute Grove Nelder Grove Orion Grove Otis Grove Packsaddle Grove Redwood Mountain Grove Russ Grove South Grove Stout Grove Tall Trees Grove Upper Bull Creek Flat Volkmann Grove Walker Grove Wheel Meadow Grove Whitehouse Grove
Calaveras Big Trees State Park Giant Sequoia National Monument Humboldt Redwoods State Park Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park Kings Canyon National Park Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Redwood National Park Sequoia National Park Sierra National Forest Yosemite National Park
Mossy Creek Giant - World's Largest Pine
Height: 234.91+ ft (71.60+ m) Elevation: 5,403 ft (1,647 m) GPS Latitude: 37.74964
Volume: 5,780 ft3 (164 m3) Creek: Moss Creek GPS Longitude: -119.83874
Width: 8.66 ft (2.64 m) Grove: Merced Grove Discovery Date: December 1981
Discovered By: Michael W. Taylor

Notes: Mossy Creek Giant, named after Moss Creek nearby, is the world's largest-known pine (genus Pinus). Naturalist Michael W. Taylor discovered but did not measure the tree in December 1981 during a trip to Merced Grove with his high school class. When Taylor returned, on August 25, 2024, with naturalists Carl S. Casey and Martin Crawford to measure the tree, he discovered that it is not only the world's largest-known sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), surpassing Calaveras King in South Grove of Calaveras Big Trees State Park, but also the world's largest-known pine.

Nearby famous sugar pines include Calaveras King

Drive: Mossy Creek Giant is 141 mi (227 km) east of San Francisco near the city of Oakhurst.

Northbound: From U.S. Interstate 5 North, transfer to California State Highway 41 North toward Kettleman City. Drive north 142 mi (229 km) on California State Highway 41, past the South Entrance Station of Yosemite National Park (entrance fee required), to the junction with Southside Drive in Yosemite Valley. Merge onto Southside Drive, drive east 1.4 mi (2.3 km), and veer left (north) onto El Capitan Drive. Turn left at the stop sign and drive north 0.4 mi (0.6 km) on El Capitan Drive to the junction with Northside Drive. Merge onto Northside Drive and drive west 2.4 mi (3.9 km) to the junction with El Portal Road (California State Highway 120). Continue straight at the junction, drive west 0.9 mi (1.4 km) on El Portal Road (California State Highway 120), and turn right onto Big Oak Flat Road (California State Highway 140). Drive west 13.2 mi (21.2 km) on Big Oak Flat Road (California State Highway 140) to the Merced Grove Trailhead parking lot on your left.

Southbound: From U.S. Interstate 5 in Stockton, transfer to California State Route 4 East. Drive east 35 mi (56 km) on California State Route 4 East toward Copperopolis and turn right onto County Road E15 East (O'Bynes Ferry Road). Drive southeast 13 mi (21 km) on County Road E15 East (O'Bynes Ferry Road), and turn left onto California State Highway 120 East. Drive east east 49 mi (79 km) on California State Highway 120 East, past the Big Oak Flat Entrance Station of Yosemite National Park (entrance fee required), to the Merced Grove Trailhead parking lot on your right.

Map Yosemite National Park

Hike: From the trailhead at the western end of the parking lot, hike south/downhill 0.6 mi (1.0 km) on Merced Grove Road to the junction with Merced Grove Trail. Veer left/east at the trail junction and hike south/downhill 1.0 mi (1.6 km) on Merced Grove Trail, past the Merced Grove Ranger Station cabin on your right, to the trail exit point near a large, fallen log on your left. Turn left past the log for your first view of Mossy Creek Giant then hike northeast 0.1 mi (0.3 km) off-trail, across Moss Creek, to the tree.

Rating: Easy One-Way Distance: 1.7 mi (2.7 km) Ascent: 169 ft (52 m)
Time: 45 min Off-Trail: 0.1 mi (0.3 km) Descent: 651 ft (198 m)
Mossy Creek Giant Tree Hike Map

View Mossy Creek Giant Tree location in Google Maps

Panorama: Click panorama to take a virtual tour of Mossy Creek Giant Tree

Mossy Creek Giant Tree

Photos: Pictures of Mossy Creek Giant Tree taken from different sides

Mossy Creek Giant Tree Mossy Creek Giant Tree Mossy Creek Giant Tree Mossy Creek Giant Tree Mossy Creek Giant Tree
Directory
Champions
Rankings
Disclaimer