Redwoods National Park

As we approached the state line between Oregon and California, the scenery changed from rolling hills to tall Redwood trees. I’d never been to Northern California before, and so I was a little underprepared for the weather. Its been a little chilly and we didn’t pack very many “chilly” outfits, so laundry day was coming up quicker than expected. I guess whenever I think of California, I think of beach and sunshine. But Northern California blew us away. The redwoods were enormous and we found ourselves at each tree we saw stating, “No, this has to be the biggest tree!”

Trip Details:

Where: Redwood National Park, CA

Campsite: Ramblin’ Redwood RV Park, site 78 (sites 40 and 42 would be other great options)

Length: 4 days

Itinerary:

Day 1: Redwood NP/Jedediah Redwoods State Park

Day 2: Redwood NP/Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Day 3: Relax Day/Redwood NP/Jedediah Redwoods State Park

Day 4: Enderts Beach/Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Charlotte’s Highlights: All the hikes we got to go on - favorite was Grove of the Titans

Paige’s Highlights: All the tall trees

Adult’s Highlights: Enderts Beach, Howland Hills Road Scenic drive, Grove of the Titans hike and Tall Tree hike

The first day after setting up camp, we realized we chose a campground that was more north of the national park than expected. Actually, this national park is called Redwood National and State Parks and is made up of 1 national park and 3 state parks (Jedediah Smith Redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods, and Prairie Redwoods State Parks). Since we were closest to Jedediah, we ventured off to check it out. It was crazy to see all these huge trees as we drove though the unpaved scenic path of Howland Hill Road. Of the 3 scenic paths we took while at Redwoods, Howland Hill Road was our favorite! It had some great twists and turns and some beautiful scenery everywhere. We learned that Howland Hill Road was created in the 1800s as a stagecoach path. When they made it into a road for the national park, they never changed the path, but just made it a little more car-friendly.

The next day was our first full day and we were lucky enough to secure a permit to the Tall Tree Grove and Trail. The park only offers 50 permits a day for this trail and we booked it a couple of months in advance. After hanging out in Howland Hills Road, we didn’t think Tall Trees could be any bigger, but we were wrong. After packing up our water backpacks with some food and snacks, we drove a good distance down to the southern end of the national park and then took a scenic route though Bald Hills Road to get to Tall Trees Trail. Once we got there, we had a special gate code to get in. The trail is approximately 4 miles long with a 600 foot drop in elevation. There’s a mile and a half walk down to the loop, then a mile loop around these giant trees. Everywhere we looked, we were in awe. It was like we were in a world of giants and felt like ants.

Also, little did we know that we were about a quarter of a mile away from Hyperion, the tallest tree in the world at 380 feet. To keep the tree protected, there’s not a trail to it so we didn’t visit it, but it’s still cool to see! Here’s a pic pulled from the internet as we didn’t have a good view to grab a picture like this one!

source: https://technobyte.org/hyperion-tallest-tree-in-the-world/

On our way back, we stopped at Lady Bird Johnson Grove to hike this easy mile hike. When we were there, we met a couple from Minnesota who were talking about a hike called Fern Canyon. It was another hike that required a permit to see. It’s mostly ferns and didn’t have any redwoods, but it was a film location for Jurassic Park 2, so that would have been cool to see. So if you’re planning a trip to Redwoods, consider Fern Canyon too.

As we continued our journey back to the camper, we took our third scenic drive though Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. This was a pretty drive, but the highlight was seeing the elk conveniently in Elk Prairie.

The next day we used the morning to relax, do some chores and laundry. But in the afternoon, we hit the road again to try a couple more hikes. One of the rangers recommended Grove of the Titans hike and I’m so glad she did. By the way, can I just say how friendly and fantastic the National Parks Rangers are! This was by far our favorite hike. Aaron said it felt like an amusement park ride, with all its weaving around trees, up and down hills and a really cool tunnel along a nursery tree. Again, these trees seemed only to get bigger after every one we saw. On this hike, we also saw our first of many banana slugs!

Our other hike was close to the Titans hike and was called Stout Grove. All the hikes are fantastic, but if you only have time for a couple, then Tall Trees and Grove of the Titans hikes, and a drive through Howland Hills Road are a must!

That night we decided to treat ourselves to a dinner out at Chart Room Restaurant. Their clam chowder was yummy (but not as good as Pikes Peak Chowder in Seattle). We also did get a window seat, so one could say we got to eat with the lazy sea lions!

Our last day, we started the morning at low tide and hung out at Enderts Beach. This beach is part of Redwood National Park and was a fantastic opportunity for the girls (and Aaron and myself included) to check out all the marine life in the tidepool! We saw starfish, anemone, rock crabs, hermit crabs, muscles and seaweed. It was a chilly time in the water (not as cold as Crater Lake though!). This was a blast - so if you plan to visit Redwoods, check out when low tide is and go visit Enderts Beach!

We headed down south again to see High Bluff overlook and have lunch with a view.

As the girls and I feel asleep in the car, Aaron drove us over to check out Big Tree Wayside…. Spoiler alert… its not the biggest anymore.... might not be worth the drive haha :)

And here's a riddle for you: In the picture below, no one took this photo for us and Aaron and I both held the camera. Photoshop was not involved. How did we do it? :)

All in all, Redwoods did not disappoint. It really did take four days to see it all, but it was a beautiful park and we really are sad to leave the area. Thanks for coming on our adventure! Until next time….

~ Mary