California Park Visitors 'Trample' Worlds Tallest Tree, Receive Large Fine

There is a tree in the Redwood National Park that is revered as the worlds tallest tree. It is named Hyperion, and it stands a whopping 380-feet in the air. This legendary tree is nearly 800 years old and up until recently has been able to be viewed by anyone visiting the park. According to The Guardian, a few visitors were cited for trampling near the tree and causing significant damage to its base and the surrounding foliage. Because of the incident, the area is now entirely off limits to anyone who visits the park.

The Guardian mentioned that though the tree cannot be accessed by trail, a plethora of visitors find their way to the site every day. Before 2006, no one knew that the tree even existed. A few travel bloggers found the site, cut a clear path to it, and posted the location online for all to see.

"The social trails have grown in number, the amount of garbage has increased, there’s human waste that has been seen, and as more people go up to this tree, they create more social trails and all of that is having damage impacts to the vegetation, to the soils and, and all of the garbage just sits out there," park manager Leonel Arguello shared with The Guardian.

Those who break this new law and hike near the tree can be fined up to $5,000 and receive up to six months of jail time.