Visited: July 2019
Nearby towns: Crescent City, CA; Eureka, CA
“One of my most unforgettable memories of the past years is walking through the Redwoods last November - seeing the lovely shafts of light filtering through the trees so far above, feeling the majesty and silence of that forest, and watching a salmon rise in one of those swift streams - all our problems seemed to fall into perspective and I think every one of us walked out more serene and happier.”
-Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady of the United States, July 30, 1969
Lady Bird was right. The Redwoods are incredible and unforgettable. Although not quite as large as their Sequoia cousins in inland California, these coastal giants are a sight to behold. Walking through them is truly a profound, and almost spiritual, experience.
This national park is a jewel of the Pacific Northwest. Very impressive groves tower over the landscape, and are usually covered in morning fog in the summer months due to their proximity to the ocean.
These are some of the oldest trees in the world, some have been growing here in these remote slopes for over 2,000 years. These trees have stood the test of time. Their bark is over a foot thick, and although their roots don’t grow very deep, they are over 80 ft long in order to support their massive trunks.
Jedediah Smith, a trapper and explorer, was the first American of European descent to see these mighty trees in 1828. The region was home to the Yurok, Tolowa, Karok, Chilula, and Wiyot Indian tribes. They used fallen Redwoods for boats and even homes. Discovery of gold along the Trinity River in 1850 brought a rush of miners to the area, hoping to strike it rich. Once the gold mines quickly dried up, settlers turned to the redwoods to profit from the growing lumber trade. Grove after grove started to be cleared and the wood helped build many of the cities of Northern California. However, a growing group of citizens became concerned that if nothing was done to curb the logging, the groves would soon be gone. In 1918, they formed the Save-the-Redwoods League, and began lobbying to protect and preserve these Redwood forests. This led to the establishment of 3 state parks: (1) Prairie Creek, (2) Del Norte Coast, and (3) Jedediah Smith Redwoods. In 1968, Redwood National Park was created by Pres. Lyndon B Johnson to preserve more land. Many historians credit First Lady and wife of President Johnson, Lady Bird, for convincing Congress to pass legislation creating the park. The National Park and the 3 state parks are jointly administrated by the NPS and the State of California. The parks protect approximately 39,000 acres, representing 45% of all remaining coastal redwoods.
We entered the park at the southern end, and stopped at the Kuchel Visitor Center. We spent some time here to picnic and enjoy the ocean.
Just north of the visitor center, take the turn off to head to the Lady Bird Johnson Grove. The hike is only about 1.5 miles, and it is well worth a stop. A very pleasant stroll through the forest.
Further down this road is the trail head to the Tall Trees Grove. This grove is home to Hyperion, the tallest tree in the world, at 379 feet. Hyperion is not marked, and park officials do not let its exact location be known, in order to protect the tree. But it is in the Tall Trees Grove. You need a permit in order to drive the road all the way down to the trailhead, a permit can be obtained at the Kuchel Visitor Center on a first-come first-served basis. The hike is around 4 miles or so. We did not head down to the Tall Trees Grove. Maybe next time though.
Our next stop was incredible fern canyon. You can take a long, 10 mile hike from the Prairie Creek Visitor Center to get to Fern Canyon. Or you can take the Davison Road to Gold Bluffs Beach and a short walk to the canyon (probably only a mile or so). Be aware that Davison Road is unpaved, narrow, and windy, but it’s not too rough. There is one spot where you have to ford a river in your car. We handled it ok in our little Toyota Corolla. I was a little bit nervous though. 😬
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On our way back to the main road we picked up some hitchhikers. They had hiked from the Prairie Creek Visitor Center, and didn’t realize how long it would take to get there. It was getting kind of late in the day, and they didn’t want to hike back. They were from the Phoenix area, so it was fun to talk a little bit about Arizona with them (where I’m from) and talk about our adventures in the park.
Our next stop was the Klamath Beach and Overlook. Great views here. You also pass by the Trees of Mystery. It’s kind of a tourist trap, but worth a quick stop, at least for a picture opportunity with the gigantic statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe, the Blue Ox.
In the little village of Klamath, Tara got to cross off a bucket list item. Ever since she was little, Tara has wanted to go through one of those drive-thru trees. 😃 Another kind of touristy trap thing, but it was only $5 and Tara got a big kick out of it. 😄
The next day, we went back to Prairie Creek Visitor Center. It lies at a beautiful clearing in a redwood grove. You have a pretty good chance to see deer and elk in this pristine meadow.
There are a number of trails you can take in this area (as mentioned previously, you can hike to Fern Canyon from here, but it’s long). We hiked to the “Big Tree” - if you want to go directly to the tree, it’s only about a mile. We slowly meandered our way to the tree. Just explore the area, it’s lots of fun. It’s fun to get lost in a redwood grove.
As the sign states, Big Tree is 286 ft tall, 23.7 ft wide at its base, and a volume of 28,619 cubic feet.
Just south of the Prairie Creek Visitor Center is the short trail to Trillium Falls. The trail head is right at the start of Davison Road (the same road to Fern Canyon). The full trail is about 2 miles, but it’s just under a mile to the falls.
We concluded our visit to the Redwoods by heading to the Jedediah Smith State Park, on the north end of the park near the town of Crescent City (a low-key, good home base for exploring the park). Here you will find the unpaved Howland Hill Road, that leads to the trailhead for Boy Scout Grove. We didn’t head to this one, instead opting for Stout Grove (which is much closer to the main highway, but you do have to go down a little bit of Howland Hill Road to access. Stout Grove is very impressive and a must-see. The groves of Jedediah Smith State Park is where George Lucas filmed scenes of the Forest Moon of Endor in Return of the Jedi. Walking through these giants will make you feel as small as an Ewok. 😄
Walking through these incredible redwood groves is truly a once in a lifetime experience.
Bonus #1
This is Bigfoot Country. While driving out to the park we went through the small town of Willow Creek, home of the Bigfoot Museum. This town is near the site of the infamous Patterson-Gimlin film from 1967 that allegedly depicts Bigfoot walking deep in the forest. It’s a fun and quirky stop.
Bonus #2:
We stayed in the coastal town of Crescent City to explore Redwood NP. It’s in the extreme northwestern corner of the state of California. We visited on the Fourth of July. Our hotel was prime viewing for the fireworks display, and they offered hotel patrons free hot dogs and hamburgers. Crescent City went all out for Independence Day. With tons of fireworks being lit off of boats in the harbor, and all throughout town. It was quite the celebration. It was amazing to visit a National Park on the Fourth of July. A special time indeed. A great way to celebrate “America’s Best Idea.”
We loved our stay at Redwood National Park. A wonderful place to explore. As Lady Bird so eloquently stated, you will leave the park feeling more serene and happier. More info: https://www.nps.gov/redw/index.htm
