Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest (Methuselah Trail)
White Mountains, Schulman Grove · near Big Pine · Eastern Sierra
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- loop
- Distance
- 4.5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 800 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Mid-May–late November · White Mountain Rd snow-gated the rest of the year; opens earlier than the Sierra lake basins
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No wilderness permit. A small recreation day-use fee (or Interagency pass) collected at the Schulman Grove Visitor Center. No overnight camping. Trailhead at 9,846 ft.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 0 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Oldest known living non-clonal organisms on Earth (~4,800+ yrs) · The unmarked Methuselah tree · Twisted ancient timber on white dolomite · Sierra crest panorama across Owens Valley
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- The mileage is easy but the thin, dry air at ~10,000 ft makes it feel harder — bring extra water and sun protection (minimal shade). It's ~75 minutes from Bishop; check the visitor center is open (seasonal).
The guide
These gnarled bristlecones are the oldest individual living things on the planet — some were already millennia old when the pyr…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest (Methuselah Trail) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.3856, -118.1789