Big Trees

Oregon has some big trees, but none bigger than the Klootchy Creek Spruce. It sits within Clatsop County's Klootchy Creek County Park, six miles southeast of Seaside off Highway 26. It was already more than 250 years old when Columbus reached America and rises more than 200 feet in the air from a base circumferance of 56 feet. Unfortunately, it is showing its age. During a recent winter storm, the tree lost a chunk of wood and revealed extensive rot. Nobody is likely to try to cut it down, but sooner or later, it's going to fall.

Trees grow quickly on the Oregon Coast. People seem to think that the only really big trees are "ancient," but they can grow to great size in decades, rather than centuries.