Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is a protected area high in the White Mountains in Inyo County in eastern California.

The forest is east of the Owens Valley, high on the eastern face of the White Mountains in the upper Fish Lake-Soda Spring Watershed, above the northernmost reach of the Mojave Desert into Great Basin ecotone.

The Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) trees grow between 9,800 and 11,000 feet (3,000–3,400 m) above sea level, in xeric alpine conditions, protected within the Inyo National Forest.

[9] The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is generally open from mid-May through the end of November, weather permitting.

[6] The Methuselah Grove trail starts from the visitor center at 9,846 feet (3,001 m) and makes a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) loop that includes the side valley of the Methuselah Grove where the oldest tree lives, a high section looking out eastward over Nevada's basin-and-range region, and side trails to old mining sites.

Pinus longaeva – bristlecone pines in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains , California
The Schulman and Patriarch groves are located about 30 mi (48 km) from Bishop, California .