Redwood Trees in Stout Grove

The best redwoods: Humboldt & Del Norte

The best places to see redwoods.

The best time to visit the redwoods.

The places to go if you are taking dogs.

For a few lodging ideas, see Largest Coast Redwoods: likewise for redwood hike maps

Note: have an itch to climb? 2 contacts: Pacific Climbing Institute of Eugene, Oregon, 208 miles NE of the redwoods, and New Tribe & Climbing Northwest of Grants Pass, 72 miles NE of the redwoods

Copyright 2009 by Mario Vaden

Recommended Parks and Places for Redwood Hiking & Exploring

Del Norte Titan Coast Redwood discovered by Sillett and Taylor

If you are coming to see the redwoods, my suggestion is the north redwood parks of Humboldt and Del Norte counties. With a limit of 2 - 8 days or so, the redwoods farthest north are the ones to visit. Muir Woods near San Francisco is nice, but not in the same league. Even if you have 10 days for a vacation, keep the Humboldt and Del Norte redwoods in your sights for the ultimate in redwoods exploring.

Certainly acquire maps and contact the visitor information centers. See my main redwood page for visitor centers and hiking map sources. Suggestions below are parks & trails followed by comments about taking dogs, plus the best time to visit. Feedback from an expert redwood forest explorer is included too.

If you are not restricted to the San Francisco area, keep your sights set on the far noth redwoods: a California version of an Alaska Wilderness trip. From San Francisco, its only 220 miles to Humboldt Redwoods. Just a few hours.

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park: this park is at the north end for California redwood parks. Its west border is almost adjacent to Crescent City, and you can enter the park using Howland Hill Road or Highway 199. Howland Hill Road is an old state road through the midst of the park.

In this park, some of the best places to visit are:

  • Stout Grove
  • Simpson Reed Discovery Trail
  • Boy Scout Tree Trail
  • Howland Hill Road
  • Mill Creek Trail

Those are my top picks for starters. On rare occassions in winter, Howland Hill Rd. is closed due to storms. That could isolate you from Boy Scout Tree Trail. Faced with that rare occurance, hike in from Hy. 199 on the Hiouchi Trail to where it meets Mill Creek Trail. At that point, you can cross over Mill Creek right into Stout Grove, and then cross back to continue on Mill Creek Trail for a mile extra or more, then backtrack your route to Hy. 199 again.

Crescent City is a full-service city with lodging, food, clothes and more. If you have extra hours, travel east on Hy. 199 along the scenic Smith River for 10 or 20 miles. If you have an extra day to spare, the Oregon coast toward Brookings and Gold Beach is gorgeous. Consider maybe 50 miles of Oregon coastline: among the finest coastal scenery along the west coast.

Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park: when you leave Crescent City headed south, highway 101 leads to this park almost immediately. There are several turnouts for parking with excellent views of the Pacific Ocean.

  • Damnation Creek Trail - 4 mile round trip. Moderately vigorous. Trail reaches ocean.

To fit the page them, the most in one visit, this is the one trail I will list for this park. There is a huge turnout for it, but the trailhead sign is hard to see, and the highway sign may be missing. The trailhead is supposed to be by mile marker 16. Using a map, the trailhead turnout is 8 miles south of where Humboldt Rd. and Enderts Beach Rd. meet Highway 101 by Crescent City.

Typcally, Damanation Creek Trail is typically a great Rhododendron blossom area most years: late May into June. 2010 was a particulary bleak year for Rhodie flowers. But the trail is well-reported by many people all through the year for general redwood hiking.

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park: this is the next major old growth redwood park to the south. It is very close to the town of Orick, California. On the way along Highway 101, there is a Trees of Mystery stop along the way near Klamath, and its probably worth a stop for 1, 2 or 3 hours.

In this Prairie Creek, some of the best places to visit are:

  • James Irvine Trail: 1 or 2 miles, or 8 mile round trip to beach. Can combine with Miners Ridge Trail.
  • Big Tree across Drury Parkway from the visitor center. Near parking area
  • Brown Creek Loop Trail
  • Arco Giant Redwood: look for a path / road at the south end of the prairie stretching into forest
  • Prairie Creek Trail starting from the visitor center end: at least 1 or 2 miles. Or more.
  • Fern Canyon ~ see note below

Fern Canyon is nifty. But it's either a 9 mile round trip hike, or you will need to travel around the park on roads to get there. If you are accustomed to destinations like Eagle Creek Trail in Oregon, the Grand Canyon or similar, I'd suggest skipping Fern Canyon if going there means sacrificing spots like Brown Creek Trail or James Irvine Trail.

So far, I've been able to get fuel in Orick during daytime. And you can get fuel in Klamath. Unless you will be near Prairie Creek or Redwood National Park for more than a day, I would skip lodging in Orick, and stay near Eureka, Fortuna, or maybe Crescent City.

Redwood National Park: this is almost adjacent to the town of Orick, to its east. The main access is Bald Hills Road off Highway 101

Some of the best places to visit are:

  • Lady Bird Johnson Grove
  • Tall Trees Grove
  • Check out the Kuchel Visitor Center at the south side of Orick
  • About 5 to 10 extra miles of scenic travel past Lady Bird Johnson Grove if you have time for Bald Hills Rd.

Lady Bird Johnson Grove parking is maybe 5 minutes up Bald Hills Road. It is a pretty easy walk. I don't think that "hike" describes it. An all ages place. Its attractive, and popular in summer.

Tall Trees Grove a favorite of mine. Its got a lot more going for it than many reviews. Some folks don't realize exactly whats in that grove area. And I don't mean Hyperion or Helios redwoods. Some hikers and writers have underestimated the grove in their reviews. Look at all the species in there including old growth Douglas fir and several hardwoods. The bigleaf maples are huge. It's smooth sailing going down the trail. But a bit vigorous for the 1.3 mile return. In summer, I prefer to get there in morning, to hike back up before the weather warms. If you take children 8 to 10 years, they can probably return under their own steam. If you take a 4 year old, you will pay in sweat carrying them back up.

The drive along Bald Hills Road is hard to convey with words. Its very scenic. There are Prairies on the hills that meet the redwoods. With wildflowers in spring, and Roosevelt Elk much of the year

Humboldt Redwoods and Rockfeller Forest: the Rockefeller Forest and Avenue of the Giants area is expansive and scenic with towering old growth. There are so many trails, parking areas and nearby attractions that you will want to use a visitor center and several online resources to select places to visit. Be sure it remains on your itinerary. Here are a few suggestions for starters:

  • Founders Tree
  • Bull Creek Flats
  • Bull Creek Flats Rd.
  • Mahon Plaque Trail
  • Women's Federation Grove
  • Avenue of the Giants (old coast highway)

The drive beween Rockefeller Forest and Prairie Creek will provide many sources for supplies, lodging and food in Eureka and Arcata. Plus several other towns.

Extra Ideas to add:

  • Logging Museum in Scotia
  • Tour Thru Redwood in Klamath
  • Samoa Cookhouse near Eureka
  • Carson Mansion and Carter House Inns in historic old town Eureka
  • Ferndale if you like Victorian architecture

Redwood Explorer, Michael Taylor: Favorites

For extra feedback, I emailed Michael Taylor, an expert redwood explorer, about the redwood parks. Michael is a co-discoverer of Hyperion, the tallest known redwood, and has been hiking and exploring redwood parks for much of his life. These are his favorite parks as pertains to pure enjoyment, in this order:

1. Humboldt Redwoods State Park ~ especially Rockefeller Forest
2. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park & Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park ~ virtual tie
3. Redwood National Park
4. Montgomerery Woods State Natural Reserve ~ NW of Ukiah taking Highway 101 and Orr Springs Rd.
5. Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park ~ near Carlotta, Ca. ~ closed until 2011
6. Hendy Woods State Park ~ near Boonville, about 18 miles W x SW from Ukiah, CA, as the crow flies
7. Richardson Grove State Park ~ 7 miles south of Garberville, CA ~ closed until 2001
8. Headwaters Forest Reserve ~ near Fortuna, CA

 

Curly Redwood Lodge Motel Redwood Forest Rooms and Lodging

Best Time to Visit the Redwoods

The best time to visit the redwoods, depends on what you want to do, and what weather you can become comfortable in. Personally, I like October to June, when the weather is relatively cool and moist. And from November to April, it begins to feel like you almost have the place to yourself. The ultimate for me, would be winter, like December and January. The founder of redwoodhikes.com responded that winter is the best time. But winter weather variables may be challenging for redwood vacation travelers coming from across the country. For people planning trips from out of state or out of country, June to October will probably provide the most reliable weather conditions.

Spring: around late May into June, the Rhododendrons are blooming. If you are committed to taking Rhody photos, this is the best time in the redwoods for you. Late spring brings fresh fern fronds.

Summer: there are more cars, but not many. Trails are not busy, and don't compare the north redwood trails to Muir Woods in summer. Early summer, you will see some nice lilies in several areas. This is the most reliable season for the most trails to be open with the best access. Seasonal bridges are in place across rivers.

Autumn: some fall color of course. Mosses become more green. Some colorful fungi and mushrooms start emerging from the forest floor and logs.

Winter: provides greater view corridors because you can see farther. Deciduous leaves have fallen, exposing different opportunities for photos. The moss is very green. Some trunks are almost flourescent-like highlights. Some parks have seasonal ponds. Falling water droplets can almost sound musical. Dust has washed from the foliage of evergreens like huckleberry and ferns. There are hundreds of small seasonal brooks and waterfalls. With few visitors, you feel like being in a private park.

Dogs at the Redwoods

Most redwood parks don't allow dogs on trails. But there is enough to keep your dog busy for 3 or 4 days. I don't think that I'd recommend bringing dogs for far north redwood vacations like 7 days long if you plan to be on the trail a lot. Unless your pet does well sleeping 4 hours at a time in a vented car. Which may be feasible if you give them a good walk first then go on your own several hour hike. There are many full shade parking areas if you look around. Veterinary care is available up by Brookings, Oregon, and Crescent City, and Eureka, if you need assistance. One lodging off the top of my head that allows dogs is the Hiouchi Motel.

In Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park use the old Howland Hill stage road as your trail, with some of the best old growth in the park. Its several miles: right through the midst of the park. In summer, it may be dusty from cars. The same park provides you and your dog with Walker Road, off Highway 199. There is also the campground paved loop and day use area. Use several beaches near Jedediah Smith, around Crescent City, and on the way to Klamath. Add Brookings, Oregon, area Harris Beach and Lone Ranch Beach near Jed Smith redwoods. I've seen many people with pets at Lone Ranch Beach.

Then in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, take Cal-Barrel Road all year. Hardly any traffic even in summer. Gate often locked during the rainy season, but just walk right around it. Miles worth of old growth walking. You should be able to take a bicycle on Cal-Barrel Road, even if the gate is closed if you want to ride alongside your dog. Traffic is often light along the paved Drury Parkway, and most of it has plenty of shoulder room and a lot of old growth redwood. Miles of redwoods and virtually no dust. On the west side of the park, use maps to get to the Gold Bluffs Beach area.

For Redwood National Park, there is an old road up at Lost Man Creek. Ask for the directions at the Crescent City, Prairie Creek, or Orick visitor centers. You could go for a scenic prairie-side walk up on Bald Hills Road that overlooks the redwood forest below. Not much of a road shoulder, but after 7 miles, there is not much traffic once you get up on the mountain. The scenery is very nice.

Then Humboldt Redwoods State Park near Avenue of the Giants, walk along Bull Creek Flats Road which leads to Mattole Road. Some summer traffic, but okay. Paved with very little dust. And the Avenue of the Giants works if you like. Some sections have plenty of room to the side of the lanes. There is a short driveway down to the Woman's Federation Grove. And likewise a nice paved lane that leads to and passes Founders Grove, off Avenue of the Giants.

Just one of those walking hiking options for each park, would be plenty. The redwoods are huge. And you are going to pass by rivers, beaches and turnouts. If you couple that with meal times and a few stops for supplies, you can have a fine redwood experience.

There are several beaches where you can get your dog out too. Jedediah Smith redwoods and Prairie Creek redwoods both have plenty of shade parking that you can find in case you want to take a short trail hike yourself after walking the pet, and need to leave it in the vehicle with the windows partially open.

Maps below - left, from Portland; right, from San Francisco


View Larger Map
View Larger Map