Avenue of the Giants

In 1917, three travelers drove through this country and watched loggers felling redwoods that had been standing for thousands of years. Horrified, they helped launch the Save the Redwoods League, which argued that cutting an ancient forest was like smashing a grandfather clock, destroying in an afternoon something that could never be rebuilt.

From the acquisition of a single grove in 1921, which became Humboldt Redwoods State Park, the League and its donors spent decades buying up land grove by grove. The Avenue itself was originally part of US Route 101; when a bypass freeway was completed in 1960, the old road was preserved as the Avenue of the Giants, a slow alternative built for wonder rather than speed.

Humboldt Redwoods spans around 53,000 acres, and roughly a third of it is old-growth, making it the largest expanse of ancient coast redwoods left on the planet. Coast redwoods are the tallest living things on earth, and the biggest here soar past 300 feet, with the oldest measured in the many hundreds to well over a thousand years.

The park protects entire watersheds of this forest rather than a single showpiece grove, which is what gives the Avenue its unbroken quality. Rockefeller Forest, off the Avenue, is often called the largest contiguous old-growth redwood grove in the world, a place where the trees stand shoulder to shoulder in every direction.

Coast redwoods thrive in this narrow band of Northern California because of a very particular climate: mild temperatures, heavy winter rain, and summer fog that rolls in off the Pacific and drips moisture down through the canopy. That fog is a big part of why the trees can grow so tall, supplementing the rain through the dry months.

Beneath the giants lives a whole cool, green world, sword ferns and redwood sorrel on the floor, banana slugs on the damp logs, and salmon and steelhead in the Eel River that winds through the park. Roosevelt elk, black bears, and a chorus of birds move through the understory, most of it easy to miss until you slow down and walk.

The Avenue is meant to be taken slowly. Turnouts, short interpretive loops, and named groves line the route, and several classic roadside stops, from a drive-through tree to a visitor center near Weott, break up the drive. The real reward, though, comes from parking and stepping into a grove, where the temperature drops, the light goes soft and green, and the true scale of the trees finally registers.

Because the forest holds moisture, it stays cool and often damp even when the surrounding valleys are hot, so a layer is welcome in any season. Sticking to established trails protects the redwoods' surprisingly shallow root systems and the delicate life of the forest floor.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The Avenue of the Giants is a world-famous scenic drive winding for about thirty-one miles through Humboldt Redwoods State Park in Northern California, alongside the Eel River. This breathtaking route runs beneath towering old-growth coast redwoods, some of the tallest and most magnificent trees on Earth, offering an unforgettable journey through ancient forest. Dotted with pullouts, hiking trails, notable groves like the Founders Grove, and quirky roadside attractions, the Avenue of the Giants lets visitors drive, walk, and marvel among the giant redwoods. It is one of the most beautiful and beloved drives in California and a highlight of the redwood country.

You can drive the scenic route slowly beneath the towering redwoods, stop at pullouts and short trails to walk among the giants, visit notable groves like the Founders Grove with its fallen giant and the Rockefeller Forest, one of the largest old-growth redwood forests, picnic and swim along the Eel River in summer, and see quirky roadside attractions like drive-through trees nearby. The visitor center offers information. With its magnificent redwoods, walking trails, river access, and easy driving, the Avenue of the Giants offers an accessible and awe-inspiring way to experience the ancient redwood forest.

The Avenue of the Giants is about thirty-one miles long, and while you could drive it in under an hour without stopping, most visitors take much longer, often several hours or a leisurely half or full day, to stop at the many pullouts, walk the short trails among the redwoods, visit the groves and visitor center, and simply soak up the majesty of the forest. Driving slowly and stopping often is the best way to experience it. Allowing ample time to get out and walk among the giant trees makes the drive far more rewarding.

The Avenue is beautiful year-round, with late spring through early fall offering the driest, warmest weather, ideal for hiking and swimming in the Eel River, though the redwoods are often atmospherically misty even in summer. Fall is lovely and quieter, and winter is wet but lush and green. The drive is accessible in most conditions, though heavy winter storms can occasionally affect roads. For the most pleasant weather and river access, aim for late spring through early fall, bringing layers for the cool forest, though the majestic redwoods reward a visit any season.

The Avenue of the Giants runs through Humboldt Redwoods State Park in Northern California, near the towns of Garberville and Weott, with the Eel River, drive-through redwood trees, and the Lost Coast within reach, and the Redwood National and State Parks farther north along the coast. That makes the Avenue of the Giants a magnificent stop to combine with Humboldt Redwoods State Park, the North Coast towns, and the other redwood parks and coastal attractions of Northern California on a visit to the redwood country.