You Can Drive a Car Through a Redwood Tree in California

I’m a sucker for a good tourist trap. Back in 2017, my car went for a bucket-list adventure, and I wasn’t even there to be part of it!

The story went something like this: I loaned my Acura Legend to my trustworthy friend Alex, and he took it on a massive west-coast adventure, initially stopping to attend the 2017 National Acura Legend Meet (NALM) in Sacramento, California, and then proceeding northbound to explore the Pacific Northwest.

Alex managed to rack up 3,495 miles over the course of about a week, traveling from Phoenix, Arizona to Oregon via the Pacific coast, then back through Idaho and the Nevada desert.

One of Alex’s many pit stops was at a famous drive-thru tree in the California Redwood forest. Currently, there are three remaining drive-thru trees in Northern California: Chandelier Tree in Leggett, Shine Tree in Myers Flat, and Tour-Thru Tree in Klamath. All three are located on private land.

Chandelier Tree, named for its unusual limbs, lives in Underwood Park and stands as a memorial to Charlie and Hazel Underwood, who owned the grove since 1922. The tree stands 276 feet tall and measures 16 feet in diameter at chest height. It is a mind-blowing 2,400 years old.

This photo, shared by Underwood Park, was labeled as the “first car through the tree.”

As an interesting aside, an original sign placed at the spot said that the tree was 315 feet tall. Modern measurements have corrected that; it’s also unclear if something happened to the tree over the last nearly 90 years that resulted in its modern-day shorter measurement.

The opening at the base, which spans six feet wide, was cut in 1937 to attract tourists who were passing through the area. Many modern cars have outgrown the opening, so some people elect for a “walk-through” admission ticket instead. An auto ticket runs $20; motorcycles, bicycles, or walk-ins are $15.

Below is a historical image of the gift shop area from its early days.