Driving Through the Redwoods

Imagine the feeling of being immersed in a vibrant forest shrouded in misty fog, with the sounds of trickling water through the dense understory, a distinct earthy smell, and your senses awakening with each step as you gaze reverentially at the towering trees surrounding you. Like something out of a fairy tale, you question whether it’s real or a glorification of some pre-conceived, fantastical notion. Our country’s great natural wonders are often bestowed familiar platitudes by modern day explorers looking to express the magnitude of their impact on the human experience. They repeatedly fall short of adequate description, not through insincere contemplation, but rather through the sheer incomprehensibility of such majesty. We’ve all likely heard these sentiments about such marvels as the Grand Canyon, the Northern Lights, Niagara Falls, and many others. As the tallest trees in the world, and some of the longest living, the coast redwood forests are among such wonders. Regardless of how much homework you’ve done on the matter, you cannot possibly be prepared to face up to these monstrosities that make you feel incredibly small. Find a new word for ‘awe’ because you will get tired of using it. I believe renowned author John Steinbeck said it best - “The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe. It's not only their unbelievable stature, nor the color which seems to shift and vary under your eyes, no, they are not like any trees we know, they are ambassadors from another time.”

While you won’t find the Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) listed among the most popular national parks as far as annual visitation is concerned, it has quickly become my personal favorite. The RNSP is relatively unique in that it is cooperatively managed by both national and state park systems. In addition to the national park, the three state parks that make up the RNSP are Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, and Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. Another state park not included in the national park partnership but included here for added value is the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Our journey into the northern coastal region of California started where Highway 20 meets historic Highway 101 near the town of Calpella. We spent a paltry six days in the region, traveling from the Humboldt Redwoods State Park at the southern edge, to the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park on the northern edge. The eager traveler can also find redwoods at the many other California state parks up and down the coast, but time was not on our side. Our perspective is one of vehicle supported adventure travel which obviously involves more time and other considerations. Although always game for an offroad adventure into the wilderness, unfortunately those considerations coupled with lack of offroad opportunities in the area nevertheless resulted in some awesome adventuring along several incredible scenic drives that also allowed us to explore more random roads along the way. So, in keeping with that spirit of adventure and exploratory driving, I’ve compiled my personal top three drives you must take if you’re in pursuit of all things redwood and this incredibly diverse and scenic area, as well as some of the key stops along each.

Davison Road – Located in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park near the town of Orick, this mostly unpaved road runs about seven miles from Highway 101 to the Gold Bluffs Beach area. Most of the road is lined with redwoods and features a fairly dense canopy cover. With thick ground cover, including old growth redwoods and tropical forest plants, you feel like you’re driving through a scene from Jurassic Park.

You’d be on the right track since one of this drive’s best features is found at the end of the road near Gold Bluffs Beach and was prominently featured in the second Jurassic Park movie “The Lost World”. Fern Canyon is an experience you don’t want to miss. As its name suggests, the canyon walls are blanketed with ferns. Water trickles down the sides and embraces the rivulets of water running along the bed of Home Creek that forms the pathway into the canyon, making for a wet footpath. At just over a mile in length, the trail can be hiked in a loop or out and back fashion. I didn’t track how far we went in but unfortunately, we didn’t complete the loop. We were thwarted by an increasing number of downed trees in the path that my clumsy self couldn’t navigate without falling.

Upon leaving Highway 101 and embarking on this scenic drive, you’ll encounter the gathering place for a large herd of Roosevelt Elk. If you’re into wildlife at all, these creatures are a sight to see. Seemingly unaffected by the volume of traffic around them, they appear nearly domesticized. Even so, they’re still wild animals and as the plentiful signage around the area indicates, should not be approached. There are several other spots along this road, and in the general area, you might see them as well.

Before you get back on Highway 101, be sure to park and hike the Trillium Falls trail. Officially measured at 2.7 miles, it’s a longer, more moderate hike but well worth it. This path through the forest is an utterly immersive experience leaving you dumbstruck at the sheer beauty of old growth redwoods, ferns, and many other diverse flora and fauna. I’m not sure I’ve ever found myself in such a magical, surreal place where it felt as if I was on sensory overload. The waterfall itself is rather small but the sounds and essence of it only add to the total experience.

Howland Hill Road – As you travel out of Crescent City towards the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, you’ll find yourself on this scenic drive through enormous redwoods. According to the National Park Service (NPS) this is a ten-mile stretch of road with just over five miles of unpaved road through the park, then parallel to and just short of the Smith River. That unpaved stretch, believed to be an old stagecoach route, is narrow and windy as it meanders through the trees encroaching on the road. Once again you find yourself completely enshrouded in the forest ecosystem. It was quite rainy when we were there, so we didn’t get to hike as much as we’d have liked to. Must-see stops along this incredibly scenic road are the Grove of Titans and Stout Grove. Overall, I found the Jedediah Smith Redwoods to be richer and more all-encompassing. It seemed as if the forest was denser, lusher and had more continuity throughout than the other parks in the system. Both understory and canopy were thicker, with more old growth covering the spongy forest floor.

Avenue of the Giants – This famous thirty-one-mile stretch of highway runs mostly parallel to Highway 101 along the Humboldt Redwoods State Park and makes quite an impression. This was our introduction to the redwoods and set the tone for the entire experience. Although it’s a paved road (a section of state highway), it’s mostly two-lane and much slower paced which allows you to really take in your surroundings. It seemed to be the road less traveled giving us time for awe and wonder.  While technically not part of the NPS, the Humboldt Redwoods are still a must-see park with many worthwhile stops. The forest seems to be more open here although there are numerous fallen trees as well, most notably the Dyerville Giant in Founders Grove. This is an area I highly recommend taking a walk through. Getting close enough to touch these trees will leave you in awesome wonder. The Immortal Tree, near Redcrest, is a unique visual of how not only these trees have stood the test of time, but also those who’ve lived among them. We had a serendipitous encounter with the gentleman who owned the land where the Immortal Tree stands (as well as the house we’d rented) which proved to be one of the many memorable encounters on this trip. The Eel River that runs along the Avenue of the Giants is also something to see. It has an unusual grayish color and there are many places within the various groves where you can drive your adventure vehicle right down onto the gravel bars for a better view.

Honorable Mention:

Highway 101 – This drive was such a pleasant surprise and an enriching experience. There’s just so much beauty on this one in general with many unique and interesting stops along the way. Some stretches will have you going through more populous towns and can feel like a freeway, but it’s worth it for all the times that it’s not. In addition to getting a good look at the Pacific Ocean, must-see stops along the 101 are the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge; Klamath River mouth and beach; the Battery Point Lighthouse, beach and pier at Crescent City; and Sue-Meg State Park at Patrick’s Point - particularly Wedding Rock and Agate Beach.

As an important side note, Mattole Road would likely be ranked quite highly on this list if we’d been able to take it. Unfortunately, we could only go as far as Bull Creek, which is a little over a couple of miles off the Avenue of the Giants. This road will take you west through the wilderness of the Lost Coast all the way to the ocean but was heavily damaged by the extraordinarily harsh winter storms of spring 2023. I’m hoping the future holds a trip down this road for us. This is where I could see us spending some quality offroad time in the area.

There are a few things to consider when traveling these scenic drives. Make sure you allow plenty of time. Even though you can see a lot simply by driving through these areas, there will be several places you’ll want to stop and explore on foot. We did a lot of hiking and there are some incredible trails if you’re so inclined. Also, if weather permits, I highly recommend driving these roads with the top off. While we’re rarely able to remove the entire top on long trips like this, we did have the Jeep’s freedom panels out for a lot of these drives which only provided enhanced views of the soaring redwoods. For those who prefer to camp, I understand there are developed and backcountry campsites available in the parks. You can check out the park’s camping information at nps.gov. Apart from the few towns scattered along the way, there aren’t a lot of resources beyond vacation rentals, but we did well in that area for the most part.

This part of California really surprised us. I’m grateful we were able to fulfill our deep-seated aspirations of seeing these magnificent giants. I would encourage you to take the leap and start checking things off that bucket list. Meanwhile, I’m already looking forward to going back.