Tucked away in a redwood forest in Willits stands what’s likely to be the world’s tallest living Christmas tree — only accessible via train.
The brilliantly lit and decorated coastal redwood, towering at 222 feet tall, is Mr. Skunk’s Giant Christmas Tree. The festive conifer belongs to the famous Skunk Train in Northern California, which is offering holiday train rides to visit the tree through Dec. 31 (except on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day).
Train rides depart from Skunk Train’s depot in Willits (299 E. Commercial St.) and wind through the redwoods to the grand Christmas tree. The trip includes complimentary hot chocolate and holiday cookies as well as Christmas music and games. Tickets are $68.35 per person, $12.49 per dog and free for infants 2 and under. VIP tickets are $100.65 per person and include advanced boarding, priority concessions and a commemorative gift. Learn more and purchase tickets on skunktrain.com.
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According to Guinness World Records, the world’s tallest cut Christmas tree, recorded in December of 1950, was a 212-foot Douglas fir erected at Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington.
Since then, various other places have claimed to house the world’s tallest or largest holiday tree.
In 2019, the Citadel Outlets shopping center in Commerce, California, purported to have the world’s tallest Christmas tree, though it stood at just 115 feet. The city of Enid, Oklahoma, asserted to have the tallest, fresh-cut Christmas tree in 2021 — however, it stood at 140 feet (and came from a forest in Northern California).
No other known, fully decorated Christmas tree, living or cut, can top the Skunk Train’s 222-foot merry redwood. The only ones taller are artificial, like the 236-foot Christmas tree in Colombo, Sri Lanka — recorded in the Guinness Records in 2016 as the largest artificial Christmas tree.