Red. Woods. If you enjoy staring up in disbelief all day then this is the park for you. Grove upon grove of trees are waiting for you to wander around and marvel at their size – even the downed ones with little trees trying to sprout from them were so impressively massive. I was struck by how straight they were as they rose without fuss before branching out. Thank you Save the Redwoods League for helping to preserve some of these magnificent trees.
We came down from Portland on the 101 having to stop a couple times to get our gas pumped (I thought New Jersey was the only state where attendants pumped your gas) before crossing the boarder into California. We were stopped at a checkpoint and interrogated about what fresh produce and firewood we were carrying. We passed without having anything confiscated.
The national and state parks are combined and before parking at an RV park along the Klamath River we stopped at the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park to get our first taste of the towering trees. We turned into Douglas Road to see the Stout Memorial Grove and soon found out it was not accessible to trailers or RVs so we went instead to the Simpson-Reed Grove and were delighted with a stroll through those beauties.
Look how massive this downed tree is!
So many beautiful trees to stare in awe at.
After the lovely forest meandering we drove along the coast through the Del Norte Coast Redwoods and took the trail to Enderts Beach stopping first at the Crescent Beach Overlook. Unfortunately it was high tide and we weren’t able to see the cool organisms living in the tidepools.
I love the cool coastal weather even in mid-August! We made one more stop at the Trees of Mystery which was a gimmicky roadside attraction founded in 1931. We didn’t ride their gondola that ran along the treetops but did browse through their impressive museum of Native American artifacts.
The RV park was crowded but had beautiful views of the Klamath River.
The next morning we scootered down to the southern parts of the park. Halfway through the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway I was getting a little cold so we stopped at the Edward C. Wagner Memorial Grove to walk around and warm up for awhile. We also roamed the Rhododendron trail for a bit but unfortunately we were late to observe their spring blooms.
Before reaching the Kuchel Visitor Center in the coast, we also stopped to see Big Tree (1500 years old!) and loop around some more amazing trails.
Ferns taller than my husband!
At the visitor center we visited with a park ranger and found out they still had a couple permits left for the Tall Trees Trail (I read beforehand that they only give out 50 per day). This trail used to house the world’s tallest known tree, Libbey Tree. The tallest tree’s location is unknown but to a few so it remains unharmed. It’s called Hyperion and was discovered in 2006 and is 380-feet tall. It’s still located in the Redwoods.
We had to get a free permit to put on our scooters at the trailhead and also a combination for the locked gate that opens to a 7-mile bumpy gravel road (Tall Trees Access Road). This is accessed first by traveling on the poorly paved Bald Hill Road that skirts the eastern edge of the park for another 7 miles. All that to say, it’s not easy to get out there (on our way back we were following a car that didn’t drive downhill in a lower gear that was smoking with burning breaks.)$
We eventually made it to the Tall Trees Trail Trailhead (say that 10 times fast) and hiked the 4-mile round trip trail that finally leads you to and around the impressive grove. We learned later that the actual tallest tree was not “necessarily” in this grove but at every turn my husband thought he spotted the tallest one. Regardless, we were impressed with the 300 + foot trees.
This was a great adventurous experience and the secluded grove was unique in that it was so removed from the noise of traffic heard at the other groves. I love that my husband is up for these things and that we can tuck these sweet memories away.
Redwood Creek Overlook off of Bald Hills Road:
Some elk seen along the way back to the campsite in the Prairie Creek Redwoods:
This took up the better part of the day so we scootered back north to Klamath to have supper. Afterwards we took Rocky on a short drive to watch the sunset over the Pacific and visit the World War II radar station that was disguised as a farmhouse and barn complete with fake windows that housed antiaircraft guns. We both love WW2 history and it’s always fun to see my husband geek-out.
Those Californian sunsets can’t be beat! We packed a lot in the 2 days we were here but I would still love to return and explore the Prairie Creek State Park some more as it has Fern Canyon (not easily accessible with scooters or RV) where Steven Spielberg filmed parts of The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
The Native American museum at Trees of Mystery inspired me to buy a basket weaving kit at the visitor center to entertain me as we drive down the length of California. Stay tuned to see if I can finish it.
Class C M.D. 