Redwood National Park

Coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) are the tallest trees on Earth, and this park protects some of the finest old-growth groves left. These trees can live more than 2,000 years and grow past 300 feet, and a handful climb even higher. What lets them get so tall is the ocean fog. During California's dry summers, redwoods drink moisture straight out of the fog that drifts in off the Pacific, so the forest stays cool and damp even when it has not rained in weeks. The thick, tannin-rich bark of an old redwood also shrugs off fire and insects, which is a big part of why they last so long.

The most famous places to meet these trees are the groves. The Tall Trees Grove, set in a river bend deep in the park, holds some of the giants and is reached by a long trail down a gated access road. The Lady Bird Johnson Grove offers an easier, level loop through undisturbed old growth, a favorite first walk for families. Nearby, in the joined state parks, Fern Canyon is a narrow gorge whose walls, fifty to eighty feet high, are draped almost top to bottom in green ferns. It looks so ancient that it stood in for a lost world in a Jurassic Park film.

Beyond the groves, the park spreads across open prairies, river bottoms, and miles of wild coast. On the prairies you may spot herds of Roosevelt elk, large and unbothered, grazing in the grass. Along the shore, gravel roads and trails lead out to windswept beaches and bluffs where the fog and the surf never seem to quit. It is cool, damp, green country almost all year, and that steady mist is the quiet engine behind everything that grows here.

• The park is reached from multiple access points off US-101 between the small towns of Orick and Crescent City, and these are open year-round. There is no single main gate, so the highway itself is the spine of the park, with grove trails, scenic parkways, and beach roads branching off it.
• The Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center sits just south near Orick, right off US-101, and makes the natural southern gateway. It is the best first stop for maps, current conditions, and the free permit you need for the Tall Trees Grove access road.
• Driving in, the park is on the far North Coast in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, roughly 330 miles north of San Francisco. From the south, follow US-101 up the coast through Eureka and Arcata. From the north or from Interstate 5, come across on US-199 to Crescent City, then drop down US-101 into the redwoods.

• Lady Bird Johnson Grove is the classic first walk, a level 1.4-mile loop through undisturbed old growth where the trunks are so big that photos never do them justice. On some weekends a volunteer guide service helps you make sense of what you are seeing.
• The Tall Trees Grove holds some of the tallest redwoods in the park, reached by a strenuous trail down a gated access road. A free permit, available from the visitor center, is required to drive the road to the trailhead.
• Fern Canyon, in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, is a narrow gorge with fern-covered walls that many visitors call the most memorable spot in the whole complex. Reaching it means driving unpaved Davison Road and, on the trail, crossing the creek more than once, so plan on wet feet.
• The Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway is a slow, beautiful old-highway alternative to US-101 that winds directly through towering old-growth redwoods, with pullouts and short grove walks along the way.
• Elk Prairie and Gold Bluffs Beach, in Prairie Creek, are the best places to see wild Roosevelt elk grazing in the open and to walk a long, foggy stretch of Pacific shore backed by tall bluffs.

Long before it was a park, this coast and its redwood forests were home to Native peoples who have lived here for thousands of years and who remain here today. The Yurok, Tolowa, Karuk, Wiyot, and Chilula peoples all hold deep ties to this land, where the redwoods, the rivers, and the coast are central to their cultures, histories, and daily life. Their knowledge and care shaped these forests long before the first trail was ever cut, and their connection to this place continues.

In the 1800s and 1900s, heavy logging swept the region and cut down most of the ancient redwoods. The species once covered around two million acres along the California and southern Oregon coast, and by the time protection took hold, only a small fraction of the old growth remained. Alarmed by how fast the giants were falling, conservation groups and everyday citizens began buying up groves to save them, and public pressure grew for the government to step in.

That effort led to Redwood National Park, established in 1968 to protect the surviving old-growth forests and the coast around them. The state of California had already set aside several redwood parks of its own over the previous decades. In 1994 the national park and three of those state parks, Prairie Creek Redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods, agreed to be managed together as Redwood National and State Parks, so the forests, rivers, and shoreline could be cared for as one whole rather than in pieces.

Much of the work since has been about healing the land. Crews have spent years removing old logging roads and replanting cut-over slopes so the forest can slowly recover, and the parks were recognized by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site for the rare treasure these trees represent. It is one of the few national parks whose main job is not just to hold the line, but to help a wounded landscape grow back.

• Coast redwoods are the tallest trees on Earth. The record holder, a tree named Hyperion, stands around 380 feet, and its exact location is kept secret so crowds do not trample the ground around its roots.
• The fog is the secret to their size. On dry summer days the trees pull moisture straight from the ocean fog, so the forest stays cool and damp without rain.
• Old-growth redwood forests pack in more living plant matter per acre than tropical rainforests, making them some of the most productive natural places on the planet.
• High in the canopy, hundreds of feet off the ground, redwoods build up mats of soil where huckleberry bushes take root and where salamanders and insects can live their whole lives without ever coming down.
• Only about five percent of the original old-growth redwood forest survived the logging era, which is why the groves that remain are protected so carefully.
• The parks are actually four parks in one: one national park and three California state parks, jointly managed across roughly 139,000 acres since 1994.
• Fern Canyon's prehistoric-looking walls were used as a filming location for The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
• A redwood can resprout from its own base after being damaged, which is one more reason these trees can persist for two thousand years or more.

• There is no entrance fee to Redwood National Park, and none across the joined Redwood National and State Parks complex, so the redwoods are free to visit.
• The park is open year-round, and US-101 stays open through it, but some smaller access roads and features are seasonal. Davison Road to Fern Canyon and Gold Bluffs Beach may require a timed vehicle permit in summer and bars large vehicles and trailers.
• A free permit is required to drive the gated access road to the Tall Trees Grove trailhead; pick it up at the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center near Orick.
• Dress for cool, foggy, damp weather in every season, with layers and a rain shell, since the coast stays chilly even in summer. Sturdy shoes help on wet, root-crossed trails.
• Services are spread out along a rural coast. Fuel and supplies are found in Orick, Klamath, and Crescent City, so top off the tank and pack what you need before heading into the groves.

No. Redwood National Park is free, and so is the rest of the joined Redwood National and State Parks complex. A few specific features, such as certain campgrounds or the Davison Road access to Fern Canyon and Gold Bluffs Beach, may carry their own fee or permit, but simply visiting the redwoods costs nothing.

Coast redwoods are the tallest trees on Earth, topping 300 feet, with the record holder reaching around 380 feet. The reason they get so tall on this coast is the fog. During California's dry summers the trees drink moisture straight out of the ocean fog that rolls in each day, so the forest stays cool and damp even without rain. That steady fog is the quiet engine behind the whole forest.

Yes, a free permit is required to drive the gated access road down to the Tall Trees Grove trailhead. Pick one up at the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center near Orick before you head out. The number of permits is limited to protect the grove, and the hike itself is long and strenuous, so plan for a good chunk of the day.

Yes. Herds of wild Roosevelt elk are often seen grazing on the open prairies, especially at Elk Prairie in Prairie Creek. They are large wild animals, so keep your distance, stay in or near your vehicle when they are close to the road, and never approach or feed them, particularly during the fall rut and in spring when calves are around. Give them plenty of room and enjoy watching from afar.

Fern Canyon is a narrow gorge in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park with sheer walls draped almost top to bottom in ferns, and it is many visitors' favorite spot in the park. You reach it by driving unpaved Davison Road off Highway 101 north of Orick, which winds through redwoods and along the beach to the trailhead. A timed vehicle permit may apply in summer, the road bars large vehicles and trailers, and the trail crosses the creek more than once, so expect wet feet.

Cool, foggy, and damp much of the year, even in summer, because this is the Pacific coast and the ocean fog is constant. Dress in layers with a warm mid-layer and a rain shell, and wear sturdy shoes for wet, root-crossed trails. The same fog that can chill you is exactly what keeps the redwoods so tall, so it is part of the experience.

The redwoods are green and beautiful year-round, and the park is open in every season. Late spring through early fall brings the most reliable trail conditions and the fullest visitor services, though summer fog is common on the coast. Winter is quiet and lush but wet, and some access roads can be affected by storms, so check current conditions before you go.

You can walk one of the easy groves, like Lady Bird Johnson, and get a real feel for the trees in a half day. To add Fern Canyon, drive the Newton B. Drury Parkway, and look for elk on the prairies, give it a full day. Two or more days let you spread out along the coast and reach the more remote groves like the Tall Trees.

Pets are welcome in developed areas, campgrounds, roads, and some beaches, but they are not allowed on most forest trails or in the backcountry, so they cannot join you on the grove walks. Keep pets leashed, bring water, and never leave one in a vehicle. Check the park website for the current pet rules before you go.

There is no hotel-style lodging inside the redwoods, but the parks offer several developed campgrounds, some near the coast and some in the forest, that fill up fast in summer and are worth reserving ahead. For a bed and a hot shower, the nearby towns of Orick, Klamath, Crescent City, and Eureka to the south have places to stay within an easy drive of the groves.