After driving the adventure truck through the Klamath Tour-Thru Tree and visiting the Immortal Tree, we were looking forward to more odd roadside attractions and the Eternal Tree House, the Shrine Drive-Thru Tree, and the Living Chimney Tree was up next!
The Eternal Tree House is a 20 foot room inside the living stump of a 2,500 year old giant redwood tree hollowed out by a fire hundreds of years ago.
Today this popular roadside attraction along California’s world famous Avenue of Giants, sits behind the Eternal Tree House Gift Shop and is free to visit. Partially hidden by foliage, a short ramp leads through the front door into the hollowed out large empty cave. A log chandelier hangs from above over a guest book and handwritten signs tell of the tree’s history.
The Eternal Tree House is just one of four redwood tree and tree stumps that have been turned into homes, rooms, and gift shops. The other include the Living Chimney Tree, the One Log House, and the World Famous Tree House.
We had fun checking out the tree house, poking around the gift shop, wandering by the carved redwood statues, and stopping in the Redwood Gift Shop next door to pick up some pressed pennies!
The History Of The Eternal Tree
The main portion of the tree was felled by loggers in the early 1900s to make fence rails, roof shakes, and railroad ties for the then new railway to Eureka.
The remaining stump contained a huge cavern created by fire and was originally used by Indians, trappers, hunters, and travelers for shelter. In the 1910s, expert wood splitter Harry McLeod hewed out the interior to create a new tourist attraction. The 20 foot room was further refined in the 1950s and a Gift Shop opened inside.
Although the original trunk of the tree is gone, it continues to live and is the parent of more than a dozen Redwoods that grow from its roots and are now standing up to 40 feet tall.
Know Before You Go
- The Eternal Tree House is located at 26510 Avenue of the Giants (State Route 254), Redcrest, California 95569 near Scotia in Humboldt County.
- Admission is free and the parking area is large enough for trailers, RVs, and buses.
- The tree house is open from sunrise to sunset.
- The Eternal Tree House Gift Shop offers many different locally-crafted redwood products, apparel, gifts, souvenirs, seed kits, and live burl seedlings.
- There is an onsite café and a picnic area under the redwood trees.
