Sequoia National Forest · California

Chicago Stump

0.3 mi of trail, end to end · Chicago Stump Trailhead: 0.6 mi out and back in the Service's write-up · native material surface · trail No. 20E07 · trail class 4 · typical grade 5-8% · tread 36-48 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike

Trailhead Chicago Stump Trailhead Drive there

Chicago Stump Trailhead 0.6 mi out and back · the Forest Service's write-up

Standard amenity fee is collected as part of an interagency agreement with the National Park Service.

The Chicago Stump Trail is a short hike to a historical site. The trail weaves through Ponderosa pines and shrubs to a verdant meadow ringed by young sequoias, red firs and azaleas. The Chicago Stump was originally known as the General Noble Tree. In 1892 it was cut down, carefully cut into sections and reassembled at the Worl'ds Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. The felling process was extensively documented by area photographer C.C. Curtis. Onlookers watched as the ancient tree stood for it's last moments in the Converse Basin. Sarah Delavergne Price wrote, "The saw was withdrawn, the last wedge driven. The immense tree quivered like one in agony, and with a crushing, raging, deafening sound it fell, the extreme top, with its branches, falling upon an opposite hill and breaking into a million pieces." The trail is a reminder of past decisions, and hope for the next generation of sequoias.

Distance: 0.6 miles, out and back.

Restrictions Low clearance vehicles are <strong>not</strong> recommended on FS Road 13S03 to access Chicago Stump Trailhead.&nbsp;

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

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About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.