Angel Oak Tree On Johns Island, Charleston, SC

Just a short 10 minutes drive from the James Island County Park and Campground is a local legend.

The Angel Oak Tree.

What a magnificent specimen of nature!

The Angel Oak Tree is located in a town park on Johns Island, one of the surrounding islands of Charleston, SC.

So what can I say about a tree?

Well, this is no ordinary tree that’s for sure.  Some websites, like here and here, say that the tree is in excess of 1500 years old.  When we went to the park, the sign said it was 400-500 years old.  When we asked the parks employees they said they did a core sample a few years back and it was indeed 400-500 years old.  Not to mention, according to them, oak trees can not live that long.

So who is right? I don’t know. I do know that this is one giant tree.

It stands over 66 feet tall, measures over 28 feet in circumference and produces a shadow of over 1700 square feet! And get this…it’s longest branch is over 187 feet long! There are some houses that are shorter in length than that.

The green that you see all over the branches are actually ferns.  These ferns are growing all over and are just beautiful.

The branches are so large and heavy the parks people had to support them with wood stands and metal supports. They have taken good care of the tree, from what we can see.

It is said that this Angel Oak Tree is one of the, if not THE oldest living thing in the US! Needless to say, the parks people are trying to preserve this tree for many more generations to come. They don’t allow tripods for your camera or anything that could potentially damage the tree’s roots.

After some asking and showing them our equipment, they said yes to us videoing the tree with the quadcopter. As long as we stayed outside the tree canopy.

Yeah! So here’s a short video that David made of the Angel Oak Tree.

Enjoy!