diff --git a/python/tests/test_topology.py b/python/tests/test_topology.py
index cb77a87e52..c7122a4726 100644
--- a/python/tests/test_topology.py
+++ b/python/tests/test_topology.py
@@ -7951,3 +7951,22 @@ def test_star_branch_length(self):
 
         assert ts.node(ts.first().root).time == branch_length
         assert ts.kc_distance(topological_equiv_ts) == 0
+
+    def test_balanced_equivalent(self):
+        for extra_params in [{}, {"span": 2.5}]:
+            for n in range(2, 10):
+                tree = tskit.Tree.generate_balanced(n, **extra_params)
+                # balanced shape is the last shape in the rank
+                assert tree.rank()[0] == tskit.combinatorics.num_shapes(n) - 1
+
+    def test_balanced_bad_params(self):
+        for n in [-1, 0, 1, np.array([1, 2])]:
+            with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+                tskit.Tree.generate_balanced(n)
+        for n in [None, "", []]:
+            with pytest.raises(TypeError):
+                tskit.Tree.generate_balanced(n)
+        with pytest.raises(tskit.LibraryError):
+            tskit.Tree.generate_balanced(2, span=0)
+        with pytest.raises(tskit.LibraryError):
+            tskit.Tree.generate_balanced(2, branch_length=0)
diff --git a/python/tskit/trees.py b/python/tskit/trees.py
index b86b9a8fb9..a1a8dc7bda 100644
--- a/python/tskit/trees.py
+++ b/python/tskit/trees.py
@@ -2390,6 +2390,65 @@ def generate_star(num_leaves, *, span=1, branch_length=1, record_provenance=True
             )
         return tc.tree_sequence().first()
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def generate_balanced(
+        num_leaves, *, span=1, branch_length=1, record_provenance=True
+    ):
+        """
+        Generate a single bifurcating :class:<Tree> where the tree is as balanced as
+        possible (i.e. all parents have exactly 2 children, and the number of branches
+        (edges) between each leaf and the root is either :math:`n` or :math:`n+1` where
+        :math:`n = \\text{floor}(\\text{log}_{2}(\\text{num\\_leaves}))`. If
+        ``num_leaves`` is an integer power of 2, the tree will be fully balanced, such
+        that all leaves have :math:`n` edges to the root.
+
+        .. note::
+            This creates a tree topology identical to that generated by
+            ``tskit.Tree.unrank((tskit.combinatorics.num_shapes(n)-1, 0), n, span=span)``
+            but is more efficient for large n. However, the ``unrank`` method provides
+            a concise way of generating alternative (non-balanced) topologies.
+
+        :param int num_leaves: The number of leaf nodes in the returned tree (must be
+            be 2 or greater).
+        :param float span: The span of the tree, and therefore the
+            :attr:`~TreeSequence.sequence_length` of the :attr:`~Tree.tree_sequence`
+            property of the returned :class:<Tree>
+        :param float branch_length: The default length of branches in the tree. If the
+            tree is fully balanced (i.e. ``num_leaves`` is an integer power of 2) then
+            all branches will be this length, otherwise some branches may be double
+        :return: A balanced tree. Its corresponding :class:`TreeSequence` is available
+            via the :attr:`.tree_sequence` attribute.
+        :rtype: Tree
+        """
+        if num_leaves < 2:
+            raise ValueError("The number of leaves must be 2 or greater")
+        tc = tables.TableCollection(sequence_length=span)
+        tc.nodes.set_columns(
+            flags=np.full(num_leaves, NODE_IS_SAMPLE, dtype=np.uint32),
+            time=np.zeros(num_leaves),
+        )
+        merge_nodes = list(range(num_leaves))
+        while len(merge_nodes) > 1:
+            t = tc.nodes[merge_nodes[-1]].time + branch_length
+            merge_up_to = (len(merge_nodes) // 2) * 2
+            for merge_index in range(0, merge_up_to, 2):
+                node1 = merge_nodes[merge_index]
+                node2 = merge_nodes[merge_index + 1]
+                parent = tc.nodes.add_row(time=t)
+                merge_nodes.append(parent)
+                tc.edges.add_row(left=0, right=span, parent=parent, child=node1)
+                tc.edges.add_row(left=0, right=span, parent=parent, child=node2)
+            del merge_nodes[0:merge_up_to]
+        if record_provenance:
+            # TODO replace with a version of https://github.com/tskit-dev/tskit/pull/243
+            # TODO also make sure we convert all the arguments so that they are
+            # definitely JSON encodable.
+            parameters = {"command": "generate_balanced", "TODO": "add parameters"}
+            tc.provenances.add_row(
+                record=json.dumps(provenance.get_provenance_dict(parameters))
+            )
+        return tc.tree_sequence().first()
+
 
 def load(file):
     """