Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest Hike Guide

This is what the oldest trees in the world look like. You’ll be walking amongst them on this hike.

At the sign, hike to the right. The left trail is where you’ll emerge at the end of the hike.

Bring $1 for the excellent guided hike brochure. It’ll help you understand what you see along the way.

The hike starts on the edge of the parking lot. Your hike is the Methuselah Walk, named after the Methuselah Tree, thought to be the world’s oldest tree at 4848 years old, until an older tree was discovered in 2013. That tree is 5066 years old. You’ll walk

The center is named after Edmund Schulman , who was born in Brooklyn and made his way to this remote part of the world to discover the oldest living tree on earth.

The hike starts at the Schulman’s Grove Visitor Center. It was recently rebuilt after some jerk burnt the old one down .

The 4.4-mile Methuselah Trail loop climbs briefly from the visitor center, drops into a bristlecone grove near mile 2, then climbs back to the trailhead.

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The climbing isn’t too tough on this hike. There’s a little steep climb to start, then you hikedown into a valley, and then have to hike back up to the start.

The hike does a loop after a short stretch from the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest Visitor Center. You’ll get great views into Death Valley on the first part of the hike, which follows the top part of the mountain.

I recommend taking some time to read the interpretive signs around the visitor’s center.

This is what the oldest trees in the world look like. You’ll be walking amongst them on this hike.

Keep your eyes open for wildlife on the Bristlecone Pine Forest Scenic Byway. I saw dozens of mule dear and even a wild horse.

There’s some basic camping and fire pits to the right of the White Mountain Peak trailhead.

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