Trees of Mystery
15500 US-101 South
Klamath, CA
A giant talking Paul Bunyan, a gondola through the redwood canopy, and eighty years of roadside Americana in the middle of the tall trees.
Trees of Mystery is the kind of place that defines a road trip. Since 1946 it has drawn travelers off Highway 101 into the redwoods of far northern California with a mix of genuine old-growth forest and joyful roadside spectacle, anchored by a fifty-foot Paul Bunyan who greets the parking lot, his blue ox Babe beside him.
Behind the statues, a trail winds through the redwoods past trees so strangely shaped they earned names like the Elephant Tree and the Cathedral Tree, a family of trunks that fused into a natural chapel where couples still marry. Overhead, a gondola carries visitors up through the canopy, and a museum holds one of the region's notable collections of Native American art.
What Guests Love
- The towering roadside statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, a visual icon since the 1940s
- The SkyTrail gondola that climbs through the redwood canopy for a treetop view
- A forest trail past oddly shaped and famous named redwoods with chainsaw carvings of forest lore
- The End of the Trail museum of Native American art and artifacts
Worth Knowing
- This is a privately run, ticketed attraction, unlike the free national and state parkland around it
- The gift shop and Bunyan statue are free to see from the parking lot even without a ticket
- The coast here is often foggy and cool, so bring a layer even in summer
- The trails are walkable but include some stairs and grades through the forest
Details
Klamath, CA
Learn about Trees of Mystery
Eighty years of roadside legend
Trees of Mystery opened in 1946 and has been running ever since, making it one of the oldest continuously operating roadside attractions on the West Coast. The giant Paul Bunyan out front has a history all its own: the first version was made in Long Beach and melted in the coastal rain, a wood-and-concrete replacement went up in 1947, and a third, far larger Bunyan was raised to catch traffic heading to the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.
The attraction leans into the tall-tale mythology of Paul Bunyan, the legendary lumberjack of logging-camp folklore, with roughly fifty chainsaw carvings depicting characters from forest legend along the trail, cut into milled redwood.
Into the canopy and the grove
The SkyTrail gondola is the modern highlight, a rare canopy gondola that climbs nearly 600 feet in a third of a mile up through the redwoods to a viewpoint over the treetops and, on clear days, the ocean. It is one of the only forest gondolas of its kind on the continent.
On foot, the trail passes the property's celebrated named trees. The Cathedral Tree, a circle of trunks grown from one root system, is the emotional heart of the place, while the Brotherhood Tree and others show the strange forms redwoods can take over a thousand years of growth.
The redwoods and their people
The attraction sits within the greater Redwood National and State Parks and on the ancestral coast of the Yurok people, the largest Native nation in California, whose reservation follows the nearby Klamath River. The End of the Trail museum on site holds a large collection of Native American baskets, carvings, and artifacts from across the West.
The surrounding forest is the real thing: old and second-growth coast redwoods in a cool, fog-fed rainforest, with ferns, sorrel, and the constant drip of coastal moisture.
When to go
Trees of Mystery is open year round. Summer and early fall bring the driest weather and the most reliable gondola views above the fog, and also the biggest crowds on the highway. Winter is wet and quiet, with the redwoods at their greenest.
Even if you do not buy a ticket, the towering Bunyan and the gift shop are worth a quick stop, and the attraction pairs naturally with the free old-growth groves and wild beaches of the national and state parks all around 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 Klamath
Redwood National and State Parks
Surrounding the site
The cooperative parks protecting the world's tallest trees, with old-growth groves, elk prairies, and wild coastline all around Klamath.
Klamath River Overlook
About 5 miles south
A high bluff where the Klamath River meets the Pacific, a prime spot for watching gray whales and seabirds.
Crescent City
About 18 miles north
A working harbor town with the Battery Point Lighthouse, reachable on foot at low tide, and a gateway to the northern redwoods.