Largest & Tallest Coast Redwoods, Parks, Photos
Redwood National Park, Prairie Creek, Jedediah Smith Redwoods
With Lost Monarch: largest & Hyperion: tallest. Maps & Hiking ... Books ... Photos
Copyright 2008 - 2010 by Mario Vaden
Welcome to coast redwoods. A variety of redwoods information is provided, including three albums with 200 photos, information about Hyperion the tallest redwood in the world, and much more. Photographs include albino redwood, Jedediah Smith redwoods, Rockefeller Forest, Avenue of the Giants, Lost Monarch, Prairie Creek redwoods, Jedediah Smith redwoods and more. Wi-Fi Hotspots also. Search over 40 of my redwoods pages with Google, using this query box:
You will find leads for groves & hiking destinations, maps, lodging and reading. Photos also include El Viejo del Norte, Del Norte Titan, Stratosphere Giant, Howland Hill Giant, and Terex Titan. Links for researcher Sillett and explorer Taylor are also provided. Photo right: near Lost Monarch in Jedediah Smith redwoods: image courtesy of G. Beranek.
Exploring: my time in the redwoods is hiking, camping and exploring. The redwoods are an outdoor museum which led to interesting conversations and new friends. For visitors from afar who need a local guide, drop an email for a name or two: not for Hyperion or such, but a memorable redwoods experience. 2008 & 2009 provided opportunities to explore with Michael Taylor, Chris Atkins & Prof. Steve Sillett, in Redwood National Park, Prairie Creek redwoods and Jedediah Smith redwoods. The days were strenuous, and enjoyable. Miles of deep forest exploring and discoveries. Plus a chance to lend a hand with locating tall redwoods related to LIDAR data. Continued on: Exploring Redwoods
Three redwoods albums. Album 3 has more big trunk views
Over 220 images. Note Frame #2. Image Policy: for websites, projects, Stock Photo, Wikimedia : Image Use Policy
9 largest coast redwoods + tallest redwoods list + more
Coast redwoods provide many hikes, and drives: Bald Hills Rd. or Avenue of the Giants. Expect park staff & rangers to be helpful: they have been for me. Keep in mind that northern California has the best places to see redwoods. Oregon redwoods are a forest walk for locals.
More to read ...
Dan Bain Redwood Photos || Redwood King of Humboldt || Cathedral Grove Canada
1964 National Geographic || 1899 Nat Geo || Redwood Doctor || Dr. Donald Perry
Railroading Redwoods || Bull Creek Giant & Ishii Hiroaki || Redwood & Forest Facts
Forest Service Employees Article January - February 2001 || Conifer Country Education
Centurion Tallest Eucalyptus || Redwood conifers.org || Photos Multimedia Nat. Park ServiceThe menus below are for a few places of interest among the north redwoods or in close proximity, which provide entertainment, scenery or resources:
BOOK REVIEWS & READING SUGGESTIONS:
Several redwoods in this page and albums are mentioned in The Wild Trees by Richard Preston: a redwood adventure and fact storehouse. See Book Review: The Wild Trees. Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast by Robert Van Pelt is also in that review page: a giant for information and photographs. In October 2009, National Geographic Magazine published an article The Tallest Trees Redwoods, including the Michael Fay Redwood Transect: he walked about 1800 miles among redwoods. Here is the Fay redwood transect file for Google Earth: load kmz redwood transect. The Nat Geo magazine is listed below. It has a big Redwood photo fold-out by Nick Nichols.
Select For Details
Preston
Dunning
Noss
Hill
Barbour
Rohde
October 2009 
Barbour
Carranco
Rohde
Grove of Titans & Atlas Grove
This web page all began when I first located the Grove of Titans. A bunch of folks enjoyed reading about the experience, so I moved my adventure and comments to a full page of its own:
Continued: Grove of Titans aka 'GOT'
The Grove of Titans was discovered by Prof. Steve Sillett & Mr. Michael Taylor, and Atlas grove was discovered by Taylor, while explorating Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The location is undisclosed. Atlas Grove is in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, north of the town Orick. Image at right: Iluvatar redwood in Prairie Creek redwoods. It is the 3rd largest coast redwood known.
Over the past century, a trickle of people exploring the north redwoods have entered portions of Atlas Grove: the majority passing by, but not recognizing champion dimensions. Just a handful of people besides botanists know this grove.
Discovery by Steve Sillett and Michael Taylor meannt being first to document for the record, because others may have appreciated the grove in a casual fashion. Atlas redwood grove does preserve markings which must date from near World War II era: predating The Wild Trees story, connoting awareness in the past.
The redwoods of Atlas Grove caught the attention of Michael Taylor differently than folks preceding him. He was on a quest to discover, measure and record redwoods. Names were given like Atlas, Zeus, Iluvatatar, Pleiades, Bell, Rhea, Kronos, Broken Top, Buena Vista, Promethius and Ballantine. The Four Horsemen, have one called Poseidon with a huge canopy fern garden called the Heart of Poseidon. See here:
Image at right: two-thirds diameter of Lost Monarch in the Grove of Titans, described in Preston's book. Michael Vaden is dwarfed, the image not showing the other one-third diamter to the left. At 26' wide, its larger than all but 7 giant Sequioa, with a trunk that's a few inches wider than General Sherman at chest level.
Redwood hiking is the best exercise I've ever done. Beats the gym. I would not explore for big trees alone, because I do not revere forests. I enjoy them. Exploring provides recreation that overlaps my professional work and education. For me, the biggest redwoods provide landmarks to memory peg learning. Redwoods should glorify God, not displace him.
For size, Oregon redwoods don't compare with north California redwoods. To see huge redwoods, pick Jedediah Smith redwoods like Boy Scout Tree trail and Stout Grove, or Prairie Creek Redwoods: Brown Creek trail or James Irvine trail. Minutes from Oregon and why I occassionally camp at Harris Beach State Park by Brookings, Oregon, for the best coastline and forest.
The coast redwoods of Del Norte and Humboldt county have a rainforest, unlike areas like The Trail of 100 Giants or Kings Canyon in the Giant Sequoias. The coast redwood forests and trails tend to be more lush and green: and the coast redwoods seem to be revealed as you move along.
This page began Lost Monarch was 1st, Iluvatar 2nd and Del Norte Titan 3rd for trunk volume. But changes came to pass as research climbing and discovery continued. Redwoods trade places for biggest or tallest as they grow, break, or research teams re-measure.
Photo right: Screaming Titans is an undisclosed redwood at the Grove of Titans: courtesy of G. Beranek.
An anonymous redwood appeared in 2008 on a Humboldt State University page, for 39,100 cubic feet as a new 2nd biggest redwood, at 348.8' tall. It brought to mind Fusion Giant at 348.6' tall and 22.4' DBH from old tall tree list. August 2008 in Redwood National Park, I found 2 redwoods close to that diameter. The first was 23.5' wide, and very high on a steep slope in Redwood National Park. That one I now refer to as Episkopos,
Eh-pis'-kop-oss = Overseer. That is the Sequoia semperivens which etched in my thoughts that another largest redwood may exist until every acre of remaining old growth is thoroughly scouted. 23' of DBH is a beastly trunk for steep hillside 300 feet elevation above a creek in the sunny exposure.
The same day in Redwood National Park yielded another redwood of 22.9' diameter, which turned out to be Fusion Giant. Photos of both are in the albums. A small image of Fusion Giant is on this page. Fusion Giant is now called Melkor. Fusion Giant was already discovered, but just measured for tall height years earlier. Fusion Giant was as massive as Del Norte Titan for years, but not realized until years later.
Comment for Redwood National Park: several species of fish can be found in Redwood National Park, including salmon, steelhead and trout. Factors like shade or frequency of pools affect those. The habitat changed significantly due to logging, and is continually studied. Coho for example, need summer water below 64° F. Another species affected was the seabird Marbled Murrelet which prefer old growth conifer nesting. Extreme logging of old growth was a big factor for putting this species at risk. This is one reason that permits for climbing redwoods are seasonal.
The image at right is a gimme, along Drury Parkway in Prairie Creek redwoods. One of the large redwoods along that route. Several of the trails in the park have big redwoods that are comparable. Prairie Creek Trail, Brown Creek Trail and elsewhere. Some of the giants are next to trails, others are set back.
Comparing recent largest redwoods to historical records, others were much larger than known Giant Sequoia. Lindsey Creek Tree with a reported trunk of 90,000 cubic feet. And there was a report of a 70,000 cubic foot redwood logged in 1926: the Crannell Giant. It was actually 61,573 ft³. I added the photo and more information on another page. See: Crannell Creek Giant coast redwood
The large redwood in the photo at right below is in the Grove of Titans. Almost 23' wide, its the Del Norte Titan. The base reminds me of ancient Greek columns. The natural garden of ferns provides a green corridor with the backdrop of taller plants.
Trivia & Online Articles: when you have a moment, here are a few more pages, photos or articles. The first 2 are online:
Below, the Day of Discovery is an article excerpt from one chapter from The Wild Trees. It covers when the Grove of Titans was found at the end of a full day trek through the heart of Jedediah Smith redwoods.
Above, Climbing the Redwoods was an article prior to release of The Wild Trees. The New York Times story describes the redwoods,climbing, and introduces Atlas Grove and Adventure redwood in Prairie Creek redwoods.
WW II Bombing: A Japanese aviator Fujita bombed the west coast, September 1942, attempting to start fires near the north redwoods, retaliation for the April 1942 Doolittle Raid. The plane was transported by a submarine. That was the only WW II air bombing of the continental United States. occuring near Crescent City and Brookings. See: Reference 1 | Reference 2 | Reference 3
Bigfoot Legend: There have been several reports of a Bigfoot or Sasquatch in the redwoods. If Bigfoot amuses you, a room size Bigfoot trap was built in the 1970s with permission from the USDA Forest Service, east of the redwoods in Oregon. Located about 3 miles north of the California and Oregon Border. To see that page and GPS, go to: The BIGFOOT Trap
Hyperion: Photo at right
115.61m | 379.1' tall, 15.88' dbh
Image use: Image Use PolicyMore at Hyperion Redwood Page
January 2009, was the month I located Hyperion redwood, the tallest known tree in the world: 379.1 feet tall and a trunk over 15 feet wide at DBH.
Hyperion redwood was discovered September 8, 2006, by Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor, naturalists who explored California coast redwoods including Redwood National Park. Preliminary measurement was done with a laser rangefinder. In September 2006, Prof. Steve Sillett climbed Hyperion for a tape drop measurement filmed by National Geographic. A rod can be used also, to measure tips overhead out of reach.
Continued at: Hyperion Redwood Page
Helios & Icarus: In Spring of 2009, I located Helios redwood also, memorable for the effort to get there and scenic tranquility. Its a fine looking redwood. Because its trunk looks bigger than Hyperion, Helios seems more husky and primeval. But the diameter is comparable. The grove has many fallen limbs and limbs concealed under a heavy cover of sword ferns, and fast progress is asking for injury. The redwood Icarus is in the same grove. The closest stream has been called Dry Heaves Creek and the grove Helios Grove. Helios must get water from a spring because its a quite a ways up the mountain. Apparently, Helios could overtake Hyperion as tallest in time.
www.redwoodhikes.com
Excellent redwood hiking maps and photos. redwoodhikes.com is worth 5 star rating ***** ~ hands-down the best site for reviewing grove and hiking destinations. Redwood photos, trail ratings, big detailed maps, elevations and more. Covers Muir Woods, Montgomery Woods, Jedediah Smith, Prairie Creek, Redwood National Park and more. Be sure to take a moment and visit : Redwood Hikes ~ www.redwoodhikes.com
Some lodging, campgrounds & RV resorts are in the directory at the end of the page. Here are a few options to look at for general online maps and park information.
Oregon Redwoods Nature Trail 1111 ..... Muir Woods & Trails Muir Woods
NPS Redwoods NPS Map Redwood Parks ..... Redwood National & State Parks Campgrounds
Humbold Redwoods State Park & Camping Maps ..... Save the Redwoods Explore a Park Map
Humboldt Lagoons State Park Lagoons, Hiking, Fishing
Most of the largest and tallest coast redwoods are in the northern parks, like Rockefeller Forest and Avenue of the Giants, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Redwood National Park, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.
Image at right: 6th Largest Howland Hill Giant
Indians and the Redwood Coast ~ One of my recent interests are Indian tribes among the redwoods. The workmanship of some Indian crafts displayed at the Kuchel Visitor Center in Orick, California, inspired curiosity.
If you want to see a great collection of Native American Indian artifacts, drop in at the Trees_of_Mystery in Klamath. They have a fine museum in several rooms with one of the best private collections in the country. One book worth ordering: Handbook of the Indians of California Bulletin. A steep price increase from soft to hardback. But an affordable entry level cost.
Continued on: see Indian Tribes of the Redwood Coast
REDWOODS & SITES OF INTEREST
Most of these pertain to redwoods and Redwood Coast for lodging, tours, guides, camgrounds or dining. Redwood National Park is managed by the US Forest Service. Contact them for information too.
Redwood Chambers of Commerce in this menu
View Larger MapMaps to the right: upper map is the route south from Portland. The bottom map is the route north from San Francisco.
PHOTOGRAPHY by Lowell Cottle Professional photos by local naturalist and photographer Lowell Cottle . Redwoods, birds and much more.
Redwood Tree Profile by Flower Essence Society. The contemporary Coast Redwood is Sequoia sempervirens. The Latine species name means “forever living” or “forever green.” They are conifers (cone-bearing) gymnosperms (naked seeds), like pine, fir and spruce, keeping green needle leaves all year.
Fernwood Resort Big Sur Motel, Cabins, Camping. Centrally located in the Big Sur valley, with direct access to hiking trails in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, swimming in the Big Sur river.
Historic Requa Inn in Klamath: National Georgraphic Traveler magazine 2009 Stay List. The Historic Requa Inn, located in Klamath, California, is ideal for your vacation in Redwood National Park and Del Norte County. The inn offers you a spectacular view, comfortable yet simple rooms, home-cooked food, camaraderie with guests. Built as a 22-room hotel in 1914, the building is now a bed-and-breakfast country inn with 10 charming rooms, each with a private bath, and lots of room in common areas for reading and conversation. The inn is surrounded by the stunning scenery of the north California coast, in the center of Redwood National Park, on the Klamath River, just one mile from the ocean.
Palms Motel & Cafe Orick, California. Motel, restaurant. Wi-fi & Indoor Pool. Home made pies and jellies. Located on Highway 101, next door to Redwood National Park.
Trinidad Bay Bed & Breakfast Welcome Guests! In the heart of Town, on a bluff overlooking Trinidad Bay and the Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse, is the Trinidad Bay Bed & Breakfast Inn. The only historic B&B in Trinidad. This Cape Cod style home was lovingly converted to a B&B about 25 years ago. It is a quintessential B&B, and one of Trinidad's Icons.
Redwood Education Guide Nearly 100 pages. Redwood Ed is a resource for those who want to learn about the coast redwood community and those who want to help others learn about the redwoods. In one document, Redwood Ed provides the user with: Information on the human history of the coast redwood region, information on basic scientific principles, and Information on the science particular to the coast redwood ecosystem Lessons and activities for before, during, and after a park visit Up-to-date resource and contact lists.
The Redwood Coast Nature Guide Jenny Hanson, naturalist & guide for individuals, families, groups, people w/ limitations.
Trees of Mystery Welcoming visitors to this part of the world for over 50 years. A premier Nature Attraction on California's North Coast.south of Crescent City. Cable car / Gondola ride, motel, gift shop and the Forest Cafe. Visitor center includes a native Indian artifact museum: one of the best collections in the country.
Benbow Hotel and Resort near Garberville. Tudor-style hotel,. pool-side fun, RV resort and golf. Just minutes away from the breathtaking vistas of the Lost Coast, hiking, kayaking and birding in the North Coast, and majestic old growth redwood forests along the Avenue of the Giants. Benbow Hotel & Resort is perfect place to find romance and total relaxation.
North Coast Photos with Redwoods North Coast photography
Tarol's Webpage Park Ranger personal site.
View Larger Map101 Things to do in Humboldt County Ad magazine, printed and online, full of places to see and do..
Drive Through Redwood 175 miles north of San Francisco in the hamlet of Leggett, is the Chandelier drive-thru redwood. Visit the gift shop, picnic by the pond or hike the Park's 250 acres of wilderness. Drive-Thru Tree Park is open dawn to dusk year round.
Sunny Fortuna About Fortuna, a small town near Richardson Grove, and just north of Rockefeller Forest..
Curly Redwood Lodge Motel Highway 101 at Crescent City, California. Near food and shopping. One of northern California’s most unique lodges. It was built from one curly redwood tree that produced 57,000 board feet of lumber. Curly redwood is unique because of the curly grain of the wood, unlike typical straight grained redwood. 5 minutes away from the Redwood State Park.
California Redwood Coast Photos, places, food, lodging, events.
The Chart Room An excellent restaurant for seafood and other meals. This is where I eat most often in Crescent City.
Gilbert Redwood Excursions Redwood tours near San Francisco
KOA Redwoods Campground ~ Crescent City, California. On 17 forested acres
Explore Del Norte The Real Northern California and part of America’s Wild River Coast, is world-renowned for towering ancient redwoods, the wild and scenic Klamath Smith river, world-class fishing, and exceptional bird watching. Spectacular beaches, abundant wildlife, and majestic redwood forests provide pure unspoiled nature and a magical place to get away from it all.
Redwood Adventures Tours, hiking and more. Just outside Orick. Looking for the perfect family vacation, romantic holiday, wedding or corporate retreat? Want to get away and enjoy quality time in the great outdoors? We offer full-service hospitality to all visitors of Redwood National and State Parks. Conveniently located in the heart of Redwood National Park, near Fern Canyon, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park and beaches. Just a few minutes from world famous Lady Bird Johnson Grove.
Highway 199 ~ Redwood Highway Check out the Redwood Information and Map option too.
Redwoods RV Resort The RV resort offers a terrific camping combination for lovers of dramatic natural beauty. Nestled deep into the towering Redwoods along the Northern California coast, The Redwoods RV Resort is the perfect place to discover the incredible majesty of the forest. Experience the thrill of RV, tent & cabin camping under a canopy of soaring spruce, hemlock, Douglas fir and Redwoods — the world's tallest trees — towering overhead.
Sequoia sempervirens And informative page on Coast Redwoods with a lot of info and photos
Ancient Redwoods RV Park Home of the Hollow Log Truck. Located one mile north of Redcrest, California, on the world famous Avenue of the Giants. The park sits amongst the tallest living things in the world, near Founders grove, Rockefeller Forest, and Humboldt Redwoods State Park Visitor Center.
Humboldt Redwoods Interpretive Located along the Eel River in northern California, Humboldt Redwoods State Park contains some of the world's most majestic redwoods. The park encompasses over 53,000 acres, including 17,000 acres of old-growth coast redwoods. In 1921 Save the Redwoods League dedicated the first Memorial Grove, Colonel Raynal C. Bolling Memorial Grove, in what is now Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The park contains a diverse coast redwood ecosystem, which includes Rockefeller Forest, the largest remaining old-growth forest in the world, and the entire Bull Creek watershed. With more than 250 camp sites, 100 miles of hiking, biking, and riding trails, and the scenic 32-mile Avenue of the Giants, Humboldt Redwoods State Park offers something for everyone.
North California and Redwoods Virtual Photography PIck a park and view one of the 360 degree photography tours.
M. D. Vaden Cargo Trailer Conversion M. D. VADEN camping trailer. The switch from RV trailer to Cargo trailer.
The best best place to see redwoods is Jedediah Smith Redwoods between Hiouchi and Crescent City, Prairie Creek Redwoods by Orick, and Humboldt Redwoods near Redcrest, south of Fortuna.
California Redwoods | Oregon Redwoods | Atlas Project | Atlas Tree | Lettuce Lungwort | Epiphytes | Redwood Creek | Godwood Creek Giant | | Rhea | Pipe Dream Redwood | Redwood Tours | Redwood Stock Photos | Redwood Tours | Redwood Guides | Sequoia sempervirens Tours | Mill Creek Trail | Boy Scout Tree Trail | James Irvine Trail | Fern Canyon | Damnation Creek Trail | Cathedral Redwoods Trail | Stratosphere Giant | San Francisco | Arcata | Avenue of the Giants | Matole Road | Big Basin | Founders Grove | Muir Woods | Ferguson tree | Robinson Tree | Crown Jewel Grove | Boole Tree | Stagg | Lincoln | President | General Grant } Grizzly Giant | Neptune | Ol' Jed Douglas fir | FortyFour Creek | New Hope | Skeleton Forest | Best Place to see the Redwoods | Best Place to see the Redwood Trees. Red Wood