Standing next to a tree that has been growing for centuries is humbling, but Hyperion — the tallest known tree on Earth — is so tall that you can’t even see its top from the ground. This coast redwood in California measures over 116 meters, and its exact location is kept secret to protect it from trampling visitors.

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Tallest living tree: Hyperion, a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) ·
Height: 116.22 meters (381.3 ft) ·
Location: Redwood National Park, California, USA ·
Year last measured: 2026 ·
Second tallest: Helios, 114.7 meters (376.3 ft) ·
Oldest non-clonal tree: Methuselah, ~4,850 years

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
3Timeline signal
4What’s next
  • Redwoods continue growing; Hyperion may surpass its current height in coming years (Cast out of Eden)
  • Scientists estimate a physiological maximum of 122–130 m for trees (Cast out of Eden)

Six key facts, one takeaway: Hyperion towers over all known trees by a significant margin, but its age remains a puzzle.

Attribute Value
Name Hyperion
Species Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
Height 116.22 m (381.3 ft)
Location Redwood National Park, California, USA
Year Discovered 2006
Last Measured 2026

What is the tallest tree in the world?

Hyperion: the record holder

  • Hyperion is a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) growing in a remote area of Redwood National Park, California (Guinness World Records (official record keeper)).
  • Its exact coordinates are kept secret to protect the tree from damage caused by visitors (Mongabay (environmental news outlet)).

How tall is Hyperion?

  • The most recent measurement places Hyperion at 116.22 meters (381.3 feet) as of 2026 (Cast out of Eden (independent nature blog)).
  • Earlier measurements by Guinness World Records recorded 116.07 m (380.9 ft) in 2019 (Guinness World Records).
  • The tree’s diameter is 4.94 m (16.2 ft) and its estimated aboveground dry mass is 209 metric tonnes (Guinness World Records).

Why is Hyperion so tall?

  • Coast redwoods like Hyperion thrive in the foggy, temperate climate of the Pacific Northwest, which provides consistent moisture and moderate temperatures year-round.
  • Guinness notes that Hyperion has the world’s deepest crown, with foliage starting only 90.9 m (298.2 ft) from the top (Guinness World Records).
Bottom line: Hyperion is the undisputed tallest living tree, but its height may still be increasing. Visitors must stay on established trails — entering the restricted area near Hyperion can result in a $5,000 fine and six months in jail (AccuWeather).

What is the 2nd tallest tree in the world?

Helios and other contenders

  • The second tallest known tree is Helios, also a coast redwood, measuring approximately 114.7 meters (376.3 ft) (Guinness World Records).
  • Other notable tall redwoods include Icarus and Daedalus, all located in the same region of California.

How does the second tallest compare?

  • The gap between Hyperion and Helios is about 1.5 meters — roughly the height of an average adult.
  • Both trees are part of the same grove, but Hyperion’s precise location is far more restricted.

Top 5 tallest trees

Four contenders, one pattern: coast redwoods dominate the top spots, but a mountain ash in Tasmania is the tallest tree outside California.

Rank Name Species Height (m) Location
1 Hyperion Coast redwood 116.22 California, USA
2 Helios Coast redwood 114.7 California, USA
3 Icarus Coast redwood 113.7 California, USA
4 Daedalus Coast redwood 113.0 California, USA
5 Centurion Mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) 99.82 Tasmania, Australia

The pattern: California’s coast redwoods claim the top four spots, but Australia’s mountain ash, the tallest flowering tree on Earth, breaks the monopoly at number five.

What tree is 80,000 years old?

Pando: the clonal colony

  • Pando is a clonal colony of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in Utah, estimated to be around 80,000 years old (Wikipedia (encyclopedic reference)).
  • It consists of about 47,000 genetically identical stems connected by a single root system, covering 43 hectares.

Old Tjikko: a 9,500-year-old spruce

  • Old Tjikko is a Norway spruce (Picea abies) in Sweden, radiocarbon-dated to about 9,500 years old (Wikipedia).
  • Like Pando, it is a clonal organism — the trunk may be younger, but the root system has persisted for millennia.

Methuselah: oldest non-clonal tree

  • Methuselah is a bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) in California’s White Mountains, estimated at 4,850 years old (Wikipedia).
  • It is the oldest known non-clonal single-stem tree on Earth.
Why this matters

Age records shift depending on how you define a tree. Clonal colonies like Pando are orders of magnitude older than single-stem trees, but they raise a philosophical question: is a forest of connected stems one tree or many?

How tall is the tallest tree compared to a human?

Hyperion vs. football fields and humans

  • Hyperion is as tall as a 26-story building (AccuWeather).
  • It is equivalent to 1.27 football fields laid end-to-end.
  • An average human (1.7 m tall) would need almost 70 people stacked to reach Hyperion’s height.
  • Hyperion is taller than the Statue of Liberty (93 m), Big Ben (96 m), and the Saturn V rocket (110 m) (AccuWeather).

Visualizing extreme heights

  • The deepest crown on any tree is Hyperion’s, at 90.9 m — that’s roughly the height of a 25-story building of just foliage (Guinness World Records).
The catch

Hyperion’s height is impressive, but it also makes the tree vulnerable. Wind exposure increases with height, and the shallow root system of redwoods limits how much taller they can grow. Some estimates cap maximum tree height at 122–130 m (Cast out of Eden).

What is the oldest tree in Ireland?

The Silverbeech of Tollymore

  • The oldest recorded tree in Ireland is a yew tree (Taxus baccata) in the grounds of St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, estimated to be over 1,000 years old (Wikipedia (list of oldest trees)).
  • Another notable ancient tree is the Silverbeech at Tollymore Forest Park, though its exact age is less certain.

Other ancient Irish trees

  • Ireland hosts several old yew trees, many associated with monastic sites, but none rival the age of Methuselah.

What this means: Ireland’s oldest trees are modest in global terms, but they are culturally significant and protected under Irish heritage schemes.

Timeline signal

  • 2006: Hyperion discovered by Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor in a remote part of Redwood National Park (Guinness World Records).
  • 2006–2019: Multiple measurements confirm Hyperion as the tallest living tree (Guinness World Records).
  • 2019: Height measured at 116.07 m (380.9 ft) (Guinness World Records).
  • 2026: Latest measurement records Hyperion at 116.22 m, still the tallest (Cast out of Eden).
  • Ongoing: Protection efforts keep exact location secret; fines up to $5,000 for trespassing (AccuWeather).

Clarity check

Confirmed facts

  • Hyperion is the tallest known living tree as of 2026 (Guinness World Records).
  • Coast redwoods are the tallest tree species (Guinness World Records).
  • Pando is estimated to be around 80,000 years old (Wikipedia).
  • Methuselah is approximately 4,850 years old (Wikipedia).

What’s unclear

  • Exact age of Hyperion is debated (600–800 years) (AccuWeather).
  • Whether taller undiscovered trees exist in remote forests.
  • Measurement precision and methodology variations among researchers.
  • The exact age of Pando is debated because clonal dating methods vary (Wikipedia).

“The tallest tree currently living is a specimen of Sequoia sempervirens…”

— Guinness World Records (official record entry)

“We encourage visitors to enjoy redwoods from established trails.”

— National Park Service (via AccuWeather)

For California’s Redwood National Park, the choice is clear: keep access restricted to protect Hyperion, or risk losing the world’s tallest tree to trampling and vandalism. The fine and jail time may seem harsh, but they reflect a necessary trade-off between wonder and preservation. For the rest of us, the tallest tree is best admired from afar — and from the pages of the record books.

Standing over 115 meters tall in California’s Redwood National Park, the worlds tallest tree is a coastal redwood known as Hyperion.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Hyperion open to the public?

No. The area around Hyperion is closed to the public, and entering the closure can result in a $5,000 fine and six months in jail (AccuWeather).

How was Hyperion discovered?

Hyperion was discovered in 2006 by naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor while exploring a remote area of Redwood National Park (Guinness World Records).

What is the tallest tree in the world in feet?

Hyperion stands at 381.3 feet (116.22 meters) as of the latest measurement (Cast out of Eden).

Can other trees grow taller than Hyperion?

Scientists estimate a physiological maximum of 122–130 meters for trees, so it is possible that taller specimens exist or could grow (Cast out of Eden).

What is the tallest tree species besides redwood?

The mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) of Australia is the tallest flowering tree species, with the tallest known specimen, Centurion, reaching 99.82 meters (Guinness World Records).

How accurate are tree height measurements?

Measurement methods vary: tape-drop climbing is considered the gold standard, but laser and lidar are also used. Differences of a few centimeters are common (Guinness World Records).

What is the tallest tree ever recorded in history?

The tallest reliably measured tree ever was a coast redwood called the Dyerville Giant, which fell in 1991 and stood about 113.4 meters (372 ft) (Wikipedia). Hyperion now holds the record.

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