These lucky hikers spotted a tree trunk that trails off into a hollow tunnel along the forest floor. The curious group ...

A massive sequoia tree that was carved into a tunnel in the 1800s toppled to the ground during a winter storm in California on Sunday, according to Calaveras Big Trees State Park officials.

Joyce Brown was 12 when her parents first took her to visit the Pioneer Cabin Tree, a giant sequoia “tunnel tree” in California famous for a car-size hole carved into the base of its trunk.

A tunnel was carved into the tree's trunk in the 1880s to let tourists pass through. It had allowed cars, but more recently was only crossed on foot.

"The tree had been among the most popular features of the state park since the late 1800s. The tunnel had graffiti dating to the 1800s, when visitors were encouraged to etch their names into the bark.

John and Lesley Ripper pose in the Pioneer Cabin tunnel tree, a giant, centuries-old sequoia, that had a tunnel carved into it in the 1880s. The tree took a dive Sunday as a massive storm swept ...

The tree was hollowed out in the 1880s – an attempt to lure tourists in the fashion of Yosemite’s famed Wawona tunnel tree. At the time, the Pioneer Cabin grove was part of a private resort.

The Wawona tree was killed by the process and later fell during a storm in the 1960s, but the Pioneer Cabin Tree clung on, showing signs of life well into the 21st century.

A n ancient tree, which had a living tunnel carved into it 137 years ago, was felled by an intense winter storm in California‘s Calaveras Big Trees State Park on Sunday, according to SFGate.com ...

A massive sequoia tree that was carved into a tunnel in the 1800s toppled to the ground during a winter storm in California on Sunday, according to Calave ...