Tree Hugging Family - Living Green

Good places to go visit trees

by Jennifer on March 22nd, 2008

There are some places where you can see amazing trees, or loads of amazing trees. Next time you’re planning your family vacation you might want to consider one of the following cool tree areas.

Beartooth Loop: Beartooth has been called the “most beautiful highway in America” and I’m prone to agree. After Humboldt, the area of Beartooth is likely one of my favorite spots on the planet. It runs from Yellowstone Park’s northeast entrance, across the Beartooth Mountain Range in Montana and Wyoming - so you can stand in both states at once. Beartooth is the highest elevation highway (10,947 feet) in the Northern Rockies, and it’s stunning.

I took a million pictures, but sadly, I don’t take great photos. Here’s one shot. We were about halfway up the mountain. The trees look like they go on forever when you’re really there.

We drove from Red Lodge, Montana to Yellowstone over Beartooth and it was amazing. The thing that got me is that it looks like you’re going up a steep mountain from the Red Lodge side. So you assume the top will be sort of small - or I did anyhow. Then you get to the top and it’s so vast. It’s like a whole other world.

This is a shot from the top, when we were at the Montana and Wyoming divide. I did not expect such diversity once we hit the top, but there were fields of wildflowers, tons of trees, these crystal blue areas of water, and much more.

To see some pictures of Beartooth, from people who know how to handle a camera, visit here. Also just a note- I’d skip Yellowstone. There are some cool things about it, but overall Yellowstone upset me. There are too many people, people messing with animals, and it was just sort of like nature taken over by lodges and people. It had a few decent points, but I wouldn’t go back.

Humboldt county - shocking that I said Humboldt right. You haven’t really seen trees until you get out in one of the many Northern California forests and hike around. Everyone’s heard of the giant redwoods, but seeing them is an entirely different ballgame. You feel very small and yet amazed at the same time. The best thing about seeing the trees in Humboldt, is that you can go to one of those areas with lots of tourists, but there are also plenty of spaces where no one else is.

The cool thing about Humboldt trees is that trees are used in different ways. My son loves hiking in the redwood forests but his favorite tree area in Humboldt is at the Sequoia Park, seen below.

I think that San Francisco is another great place to see trees. There are plenty of places in the city that feature trees and tons of day trips that also feature trees. It’s a nice mix of city + nature in certain areas. My favorite urban area to see tree tops in the San Fran area is Berkeley. If you head up to the gardens behind the University, there are views of San Francisco through the trees that are stunning, especially if you can catch it on a non-cloudy day.

I tried to take a picture:

That drop off corner is the bay - I could see more, but this picture is a sad representation. Although, what I do love is the mix of trees, plus the fact that it’s so dense from above that it looks like a carpet.

Other great places to see trees:

Ashland, Oregon - go in the fall, it’s so beautiful. There’s the best mix of large trees, quaint town, and classic homes. Actually most places in Oregon you can see lots of trees. Depending on where in OR you are, the variety of landscape and trees can really differ. Crater Lake is really cool, because besides trees you can also see the amazing lake.

I also like Stillwater, Minnesota, which is sort of a little town sticking up through the trees. The trees are cool, not as cool as other places, but the thing I like about it, is that they mixed the city in with the landscape, they didn’t remove the landscape. The best view is actually from Wisconsin - which is across from Stillwater.

Where are some of your favorite places with trees?

[Sequoia Park photo by Don Leonard: Courtesy Humboldt County CVB, redwoods.info.]

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POSTED IN: All About Trees, Travel