Sight · Olympic National Park
A storm-split giant still towers over a pocket of coastal old growth.
Overview
The Kalaloch Big Cedar Tree is a huge western redcedar beside a short path in the coastal forest. Its trunk split during a storm in 2014, but the standing section and broken wood still make it a memorable stop. It's worth a look if you're driving this stretch of coast, and the path continues beyond the landmark to more large cedars.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy stop for this treeMap
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Olympic Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Olympic National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Olympic audio tourRecorded for this place
Kalaloch Big Cedar: Beyond the Split Trunk“You're nearing Kalaloch's Big Cedar Tree, a quick forest stop with a giant western redcedar just a short walk from parking.”
Plays as you drive up to Kalaloch Big Cedar Tree in the Parkwolf Olympic Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
The main tree is near the parking area, so you can see it without a long walk. The short, mostly level path continues beyond it through more old-growth cedars. Don't turn around at the first trunk: the other large trees make the walk feel more like a small grove than a single roadside stop.
A coastal storm split the tree on March 8, 2014. Before that, it was reported at roughly 175 feet tall and nearly 20 feet across. Those are historical estimates of the tree before the storm, not measurements of what still stands. The split trunk and its enormous base are the parts to look at now.
Western redcedar was a practical material as well as a giant of the coastal forest. Coastal Indigenous communities used its trunks for house planks and canoes, branches for harpoon line, and bark for clothing, baskets and bedding. An interpretive account at the tree also described other trees growing from its trunk as a nurse log.
Wildlife
710 sightingsOlympic MarmotMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
30 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
42 sightingsGrey WhaleMost seen around noonSighting map
23 sightingsMountain LionMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
71 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
306 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Olympic. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyBig Cedar Trail (Kalaloch)0.3 mi · 20 min · At the trailheadThe storm-split cedar is only the first stop on this short walk.
ModerateBeach 4 Trail0.4 mi · 45 min · 1.6 mi awayA stairway to Kalaloch tide pools and a rugged Pacific beach.
EasyBeach 6 Nature Trail0.4 mi · 21 min · 1.8 mi awayA brief forest descent to Beach 6’s rocky shore.
ModerateBeach 3 Trail0.3 mi · 45 min · 2.3 mi awayA steep forest stairway drops to tidepools and rocky shore.
EasyRuby Beach Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 2.6 mi awayA short bluff descent to tide pools and sea stacks.
EasyKalaloch to Browns Point Trail3.2 mi · 2 hr · 4.4 mi awayTree roots and tide pools along an easy beach walk.
EasyKalaloch Nature Trail1 mi · 36 min · 4.6 mi awayMossy forest and a creek view on this easy Kalaloch loop.
Scenic pullout · 1.3 mi awayBeach 6 OverlookBinoculars might earn their keep on this Pacific pull-off.
Beach · 1.6 mi awayKalaloch Beach 4Low-tide pools, sea stars and a Pacific overlookBeach · 2.4 mi awayKalaloch Beach 3Low-tide pools reward the short, steep path down to the coast.
Beach · 2.6 mi awayRuby BeachSea stacks, tide pools, and driftwood make low tide worth timing.
Sight · 4.3 mi awayTree of LifeA Sitka spruce with roots stretched above a bluff cave.
Campground · 4.4 mi awayKalaloch CampgroundSome sites face the Pacific; others sit among the trees.
Beach · 4.5 mi awayKalaloch BeachWalk a driftwood-strewn shore and watch Pacific surf.
Lodging · 4.9 mi awayKalaloch LodgeStay beside the Pacific in a lodge built from driftwood timber.Parkwolf’s Olympic ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
