Lady Bird Johnson Grove
Bald Hills Rd
Orick, CA
An easy loop through ancient, fog-hung redwoods on the ridge where Redwood National Park was dedicated, named for a first lady who fought to save wild beauty.
Lady Bird Johnson Grove is a short, gentle loop that delivers one of the great experiences in California: walking among ancient coast redwoods, the tallest trees on earth, on a ridge where the fog moves through their crowns like slow smoke. The trail is easy and mostly level, which makes this cathedral of old growth reachable for almost anyone.
The grove also marks a moment in conservation history. It was here, in 1969, that Redwood National Park was dedicated, and the grove was named for Lady Bird Johnson, the first lady who made the protection of natural beauty her life's cause. Standing beneath these thousand-year-old trees, it is easy to understand why people fought so hard to save them.
What Guests Love
- An easy, mostly level loop among enormous old-growth redwoods
- The dreamlike fog that drifts through the trees on many mornings
- The quiet and the sense of standing among some of the tallest living things on earth
- A short, accessible trail that even brings the very old and very young into ancient forest
Worth Knowing
- The access road, Bald Hills Road, is steep and winding, and the trailhead can be foggy and cool even when the coast is clear
- The loop crosses a footbridge over the road and is mostly gentle, but the surface is natural and can be muddy after rain
- Redwood weather is damp and cool most of the year, so bring a layer even in summer
- This is one of several redwood groves in the park, and the elk meadows and coast nearby are worth adding to the day
Details
Orick, CA
Learn about Lady Bird Johnson Grove
The dedication and the name
Redwood National Park was established in 1968 after a long battle to protect the last great stands of old growth from logging. The park was formally dedicated the following year on this ridge, and the grove was named in honor of Lady Bird Johnson, whose beautification and conservation efforts had helped bring the park into being.
A simple plaque near the loop marks the dedication. It is a fitting spot: not a monument of stone but a grove of living giants, the very thing the park was created to save.
Old-growth giants
Coast redwoods are the tallest trees in the world, and the ones in this grove are ancient, many of them centuries old and some far older. They grow in a narrow band of the foggy North Coast, where cool summer fog gives them the moisture they need to reach such heights.
The forest floor is soft with needles and ferns, and downed trees nurse new growth from their fallen trunks. Walking here, the scale is hard to take in; the trunks rise straight up past the limits of what the eye easily follows, and sound goes quiet among them.
The fog forest
The grove sits high enough that fog often pools among the trees, drifting between the trunks and softening the light into something otherworldly. On such mornings the redwoods seem to fade in and out of the mist, and the whole grove feels hushed and ancient.
That same fog is the forest's lifeblood. Redwoods comb moisture from it through their needles, and the drip feeds the ferns, mosses, and the trees themselves through the rainless summers. The forest and the fog are one system.
The redwood parks around it
Lady Bird Johnson Grove is part of Redwood National and State Parks, a patchwork of national and state lands that together protect much of the world's remaining old-growth coast redwood. Nearby, the meadows of Prairie Creek shelter herds of Roosevelt elk, and Fern Canyon and untouched beaches lie within a short drive.
The whole North Coast redwood country rewards slow travel, with grove after grove, wild rivers, and a coastline of sea stacks and driftwood. This easy loop is one of the finest introductions to it.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Orick
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
About 10 miles north
Old-growth groves, the mossy walls of Fern Canyon, and open meadows where herds of Roosevelt elk graze along the highway.
Trinidad
About 25 miles south
A tiny fishing village on a dramatic headland, with a small harbor, a landmark lighthouse, and coves framed by sea stacks.
Redwood National Park visitor centers
Along Highway 101
Park information, ranger programs, and access to trails, tall-tree groves, and scenic drives throughout the redwood parks.