Mountain Home Monarch
Height: 270.50+ ft (82.45+ m) Elevation: 6,461 ft (1,969 m) GPS Latitude: 36.21189
Volume: 30,973 ft3 (877 m3) Creek: Meadow Creek GPS Longitude: -118.67382
Width: 26.70 ft (8.14 m) Grove: Mountain Home Grove Discovery Date: 2012
Age: 2,543 y Park: Giant Sequoia NM Discovered By: Stephen C. Sillett

Notes: Before the 2020 Castle Fire, Mountain Home Monarch was the world's 25th largest tree, the 24th largest giant redwood, the 8th largest tree in Giant Sequoia National Monument, and the 5th largest tree in Mountain Home Grove. The trunk lost 3,494 ft3 (99 m3) volume and 6 ft (2 m) height after it burned, and Mountain Home Monarch is now the 13th largest tree in Giant Sequoia National Monument and the 7th largest tree in Mountain Home Grove. The crown contains more than one-and-a-half billion leaves and eighty-six thousand cones.

Drive: Mountain Home Monarch is 233 mi (375 km) southeast of San Francisco near the city of Porterville.

Northbound: From U.S. Interstate 5 North, transfer to California State Route 99 North. From California State Route 99 North just north of Bakersfield, transfer to California State Route 65 North toward Porterville. Near Porterville, transfer to California State Route 190 East.

Southbound: From U.S. Interstate 5 South in Sacramento, transfer to U.S. Highway 50 East toward South Lake Tahoe. Drive east 1.7 mi (2.7 km) on U.S. Highway 50 and transfer to California State Highway 99 South. Near Tipton, transfer to California State Route 190 East toward Porterville.

From Porterville, drive east 17 mi (27 km) on California State Route 190 toward Springville. Just past Springfield, turn left onto Balch Park Road toward Scicon, Balch Park, and Mountain Home State Forest. Drive north 3.4 mi (5.5 km) on Balch Park Road and turn right onto Bear Creek Road toward Scicon, Balch Park, and Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest. Drive east 15 mi (24 km) on Bear Creek Road, past Methuselah Group Campground, and veer right at the next fork in the road onto Summit Road toward Shake Camp Campground. Drive southeast 0.3 mi (0.5 km) on Summit Road, past Oliver Twist, to the point where the road turns sharply left/north. Leave Summit Road here and drive southeast 90 ft (27 m) on an unnamed and unpaved road. Veer left at the fork in the road onto Dogwood Meadow Road. Drive south 0.2 mi (0.3 km) on Dogwood Meadow Road and park at a small pullout on the right (east) side of the road near 36.21229 -118.67421.

Navigation System Warning: Many computer, smartphone, and car navigation systems instruct you to turn left/north onto Rancheria Fire Road (a gated, narrow, and unpaved road) from Bear Creek Road to get to Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest. Ignore those instructions and continue driving on Bear Creek Road instead. Those same navigation systems may also instruct you to bypass Bear Creek Road altogether and to take Balch Park Road to the northern entrance of Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest. Avoid that route from Springville because it adds more than 6 mi (10 km) and 30 min of driving one-way.

Hike: From the parking spot, hike southeast 180 ft (55 m) off-trail, across Dogwood Meadow, to Mountain Home Monarch.

Rating: Easy One-Way Distance: 180 ft (55 m) Ascent: 4 ft (1 m)
Time: 1 min Off-Trail: 180 ft (55 m) Descent: 23 ft (7 m)
Mountain Home Monarch Tree Hike Map

View Mountain Home Monarch Tree location in Google Maps

Panoramas: Click panoramas to take a virtual tour of Mountain Home Monarch Tree

Mountain Home Monarch Tree Mountain Home Monarch Tree

Photos: Pictures of Mountain Home Monarch Tree taken from different sides

Mountain Home Monarch Tree Mountain Home Monarch Tree Mountain Home Monarch Tree Mountain Home Monarch Tree