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Humanity has always had a fascination with conquering nature. We're blessed with the know-how, physical ability, and opposable thumbs to do some truly tremendous stuff. Like transporting oneself through the center of a massive California Redwood, whether by horse-drawn cart or automobile. Even if the population of this monumental icon isn't nearly as vast as it was pre-logging industry, it's possible to still drive through a California Redwood. Such an activity kicked off as a major tourism draw for folks scoping out California and the greater West many years ago, well before the first cross-country American road trip. Back then, it was quite a spectacle to not only find sturdy Sequoias and Redwoods — which are both members of the Cypress family –but also, well, transport oneself through them.
In 1878, the first tunnel tree was created in the Tuolumne Grove to draw folks into the Sierra Range, capitalizing on people's interest in Yosemite and every other bit of California's mountainous splendor. A hole was carved in a big ol' Sequoia, now known as Dead Giant. It got this name because it was a 200-foot-tall snag, but it closed in 1993. Not long after that, in 1881, the Wawona Tree in Mariposa Grove was carved and stood until 1969, when a snowy winter took it down. There was also the Pioneer's Cabin Tree in the Calaveras Big Trees State Park, which fell down in a storm in 2017, but served as a tool for attracting tourists and educating the public on Redwoods and why they should be saved for many years. The best part? You can drive through some of them in your car.
Where to drive through a Redwood today
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Let's riff on where one can drive through a tree today; just be careful, as they can be a literal tourist trap for Nissan Armadas. Luckily, there are a few options. For example, up around Eureka, California, where the Shrine Tree is located. The address is 13708 Avenue of the Giants in Myers Flat, California, and by the way, this big ol' bird's portal was created naturally by a lightning strike, which caused a fire. Then, there's the Chandelier Tree at 67402 Drive Thru Tree Road (aptly named) in Leggett, which has an especially wide opening. We also can't forget the Klamath Tour Thru Tree north of Eureka at 430 CA 169 in Klamath, that was carved as recently as 1976. This one was actually carefully carved around living portions of wood so it wouldn't be stunted.
There's a reason why we can only drive through Coastal Redwoods today, as those are the only types remaining in the lower 48. It may seem kitschy to some, but the greater theme behind this activity attracts us to the greater environments in which these spectacles live, teaches us about their history and why we should continue to preserve them, as well as educates us about broader West Coast history. Plus, who wouldn't want to support the municipalities that call them neighbors?