The 20 largest living trees in Ohio

Across Ohio, living giants tower over fields, rivers, and woodlots — the state’s biggest trees.

These champions are measured not by age or legend, but by their size: a simple combination of circumference, height, and crown spread. Some of these trees stand in quiet corners of farmland or along creeks. Others grow in parks, cemeteries, or old woods where they’ve been spared the saw for generations.

The list below highlights the 20 largest known trees in Ohio, measured and recorded through the state’s Champion Tree Program. Several of these trees also appear on the National Champion Tree Register, which recognizes the largest known specimens of each species in the United States.

About Ohio’s Champion Tree Program

This program keeps an official record of the largest trees in the state, species by species. Anyone can nominate a tree. Foresters or trained volunteers then measure it using the standard formula developed by American Forests:

{Total Points} = {Trunk Circumference (in inches)} + {Height (in feet)} + {Average Crown Spread (in feet)}

The tree with the highest point total for each species becomes the state champion. The program doesn’t focus on age, rarity, or historical significance — only on size.

The National Champion Tree Register

This register is managed by American Forests. It uses the same formula to track the largest trees of each species nationwide.

Some of Ohio’s biggest trees are also recognized at the national level as you’ll see below. Being listed as a national champion means the tree is one of the largest —  and sometimes the largest — of its kind in the United States.