What is the oldest tree in Mountain Home State Forest?
The tree Mountain Home is known for is Genesis, a giant sequoia that ranked seventh among the largest trees known before the 2020 Castle Fire. Its last full measurement, from 2013, gave it 86.2 metres of height and 24.04 metres of girth, figures that date from before the fire took its top and burned its base. Visitors in 2021 found it badly damaged but alive, and nothing more recent has been published. The grove's other named giant, the Adam Tree, held the title of largest in the grove until Genesis was measured in 1985. Neither tree has a published age.
Mountain Home Grove lies in Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest, run by CAL FIRE, in the mountains of Tulare County above the town of Springville. The surrounding land is a patchwork of the state forest, Balch Park and Giant Sequoia National Monument. There is no bus and no shortcut: the way in is by car on mountain roads, and the condition of those roads and of the trails to the two named trees changes with the season and with the aftermath of the 2020 Castle Fire, so check with CAL FIRE or Tulare County before setting out. Entry is free. The Adam Tree stands to the north of Genesis, a few kilometres apart within the grove, and between them they tell the fire's story from both sides: one tree that lost its crown, one that was barely touched. Adam was named around 1884 by Jesse Hoskins and was the grove's largest until Genesis was measured in 1985. Both pins are approximate, and neither tree has a published age. The latest visitor reports date from 2021, so anyone who walks the grove now sees more than we can tell you.
One of Mountain Home State Forest's trees also appears in The Tallest Trees We Have Measured.