While closed to vehicles, this is a popular route for cross country skiers and snowshoes. The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest Scenic Byway closes at the Sierra View Gates with winter snowfall. Both sites have picnic tables and restrooms (vault toilet) but no water. Patriarch and Schulman Grove are popular for photography in the early morning light. Bristlecone pines and limber pines dot the landscape with a background view of the Great Basin in Nevada.Ī visit to both Schulman Grove and Patriarch Grove is possible in the same day if you can get an early start. Only a few bristlecones in isolated, harsh environments have been able to grow to incredibly. The wood is very dense and resinous, and thus resistant to. Its splendid remoteness and moonscape appearance gives the Patriarch Grove a surreal atmosphere. Bristlecone pines are fairly common in the regions where they grow. Notes: The bristlecone pines are the oldest single living organisms known, 4000+ years old specimen. Patriarch Grove is home to the world's largest bristlecone pine, the Patriarch Tree. Advise a speed limit of 15 mph is suggested to avoid flat tires punctured by the sharp rocks on this road. Several self guided trails allow you to explore the forest.īeyond Schulman Grove lies the Patriarch Grove, 12-miles north on a good quality dirt road. They belong to three species: the Great Basin bristlecone pine (P. The visitor center at Schulman Grove is open in summer, with interperative programs, gifts, and information about the trees. Bristlecone pines are small- to medium-sized, slow-growing, long-living evergreen. Some of these living trees exceed 4000 years of age and exhibit spectacular growth forms of twisted and beautifully colored wood. A few are known to have lived for over 5,000 years. The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is home to the oldest trees in the world, bristlecone pines. The bristlecone pine is the longest-lived species in the world.