A Weekend in Redwood National Park
*Scroll to the bottom for the at-a-glance weekend rundown!
I am definitely one for squeezing as much into a trip as possible, and the drive down to the redwoods was no exception. We had two full days to explore the park, so we headed down after work on a Saturday. Coming from Portland, our first camp spot was at Lake Selmac off the 199. We had picked this lake because it was directly off the highway, and I’ve found (the more trips that I do), that everything is less enjoyable if I drive into the night, so I always try to stop before midnight if I can. We had fitted out the car with foam pads, sleeping bags, and tons of pillows so we could pull off the road, throw all our gear into the front seats and just crash. We had campsites lined up for the following two nights and planned to tent camp.
Our drive went as planned, we arrived at the lake in the quiet just before midnight, climbed into the back and were talking about our plans for the next two days. Since we had just moved all our stuff, I suddenly had a realization and asked my friend, “Did we bring the tent?” The dead silence from the other side of the car was not reassuring. So, typical of most of my early adventures, we had forgotten a very important piece of what we would need for camping. We were in a Subaru Forester and while we can sleep in the back of it, without a fancy build-out, it is not very comfortable. While I do appreciate the extra head space in the Forester, it leaves something to be desired for car camping. The seats angle, the bar that tilts them down digs into your hip all night, and only people under 5 feet would have enough room to stretch out. Not to be discouraged, we tried mightily to put it out of our minds as we fell asleep that first night.
We took in Lake Selmac the following morning as we drove out of camp (it’s a lovely little spot) and started south again. It was no time at all before we had entered the Jedediah Smith State Park section of the Redwood Forest. We crossed the Smith River and hopped off the 199 onto Howland Hill Road, which quickly changes to a rutted dirt road. We pulled off at the River Trail to take a walk through Stout Grove.
This section of the park is breathtaking, and home to the trees you think of as stereotypical when thinking about the redwoods. Stout Grove will have you tripping over your feet as you walk around looking up at the behemoth trees. The light was pouring through the canopy in the early morning, birds were chirping, and the river was rushing by, making for quite the idyllic hike. We spent a very long time wandering that forest before heading back to the car. The hike itself is only about a mile and a half round trip, and only took us about an hour because we spent so much time meandering. Heading back out down the road to Crescent City, you’ll pass another couple of trailheads, and if you have the time, Boy Scout Tree Trail is definitely one to do!
We stopped in to Crescent City to have lunch with a view of the ocean and spotted a whale! If you are in the area between March and the beginning of May, it’s prime whale watching time, so if you’re lucky you’ll see a few of them on a mellow wind day. About an hour south of Crescent City is the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center, which is where our next stop was.
Going south on the 101, you pass in between sections of state and national park. There are lots of scenic byways and places to stop at (all advertised on billboards as you drive along). We made it to the visitor center and popped inside to check it out, then walked out to sit on the beach and do some planning, now that we were armed with maps. Checking out the coast is definitely a must while you’re there, whether it’s just the visitor center beach or the beautiful Gold Bluffs Beach further north.
We were actually headed in the direction of Gold Bluffs next, to the number one hike I had on my list for the trip, Fern Canyon. During the summer months, they put foot bridges in on this hike, but in the winter, it’s up to you to find a way across the flowing river. I had only ever done a hike where the trail is the stream in Oregon, so I was pretty excited to find one that felt like home in California.
From the visitor center, we headed north on 101 and made a left onto Davison Road. You’ll pass Elk Meadow which, true to its name, was full of elk when we drove in. We paused to watch them for a while and continued on as the road turned to gravel. It’s a pretty rough road in, and as you wind down toward the beach, you’ll eventually come to a guard stand. The rangers were very helpful, recommended some hikes and places to go while we were in the park, and sent us on our way. The road along the beach has a couple stream crossings (yay for high clearance!) and is very rutted, but we made it to the end and the trailhead for Fern Canyon.
I don’t think I can emphasize enough how beautiful this place is. The walls are just lined with ferns, making the whole place a verdant green. In the late afternoon sun, it was almost neon, it was so bright. The trail winds through the canyon and getting your feet wet quickly becomes unavoidable. People had thrown down logs and branches to walk across, but at one point I decided to just tromp through the middle of it and it really wasn’t so bad. Waterproof boots or hiking sandals would be a good idea for this trail if you’re doing it off season. I had read before we arrived that the trail was partially closed due to log jams. It’s normally a loop, but we got about a mile and a half in and the river got a little deeper and we decided to turn around. That mile and a half was brilliant though, scrambling over logs, running through the freezing cold water and admiring the ferns (whose ancestry, as the informational sign will tell you, can be traced back 325 million years)!
Changing out of our wet shoes after the hike, we hopped back in the car and headed toward our camp spot at Elk Prairie. It’s just a short drive back out on the 101 to the turn and the Prairie Creek State Park. The road runs along another meadow that the elk like to hang out in. At the very beginning of the meadow is a small trail that leads you through the elk prairie for even better views of these guys when they’re around!
During off season, you can drive in and grab a campground but I would recommend booking in advance for the summer months. The Prairie Creek Visitor Center is worth checking out, as it’s on the way in to the campground. Our spot for the night was along the river and we were treated to beautiful light rays through the trees that evening. At the end of our camp loop was the Redwood Access Trail. It’s a short, winding ¼ mile trail with beautiful views of some of the larger redwoods. It leads out toward the visitor center and a little amphitheater where the ranger programs take place. It’s definitely worth the short stroll in the evening after dinner!
We sat on the edge of the river behind our campsite to enjoy the last rays of sunlight and got up early to get some more hiking in! The first stop was a short drive from the campground at The Big Tree. It's one of the biggest trees in the park, and is quite impressive. There are tons of trails that start and intersect here and you could plausibly spend your afternoon just weaving through them all. We took the short Circle Trail hike and then hopped back in the car to head south.
The Tall Trees Grove was our next stop, but first we had to pick up a permit from the Thomas H Kuchel Visitor Center. If you don’t get a permit, you can still do the hike, but will add a considerable amount of mileage by having to walk down the road. This hike is also in the national (rather than state) park section. We snagged a permit and got the code to the gate and drove back north to Bald Hills Road. After a quick stop at the Redwood Creek Overlook, we headed down the gravel road to the trailhead. The rangers all noted it was a 4 hour commitment to do this hike, but if you’re used to mountain roads and have high clearance, the drive is much quicker than they tell you.
The hike is a little over 4 miles round trip, and absolutely gorgeous! You head down some switchbacks toward the river, crossing under fallen giants, and even walking through an arch carved into a collapsed redwood. When you get down into the grove, the trees loom tall above you, and in spite of the 75 degree weather, it was quite cool near the forest floor. We saw a herd of elk (well, we heard them first, they were breaking branches and making a ton of noise as we approached) and stood to quietly watch them for a while. This is an active cougar and bear area, and initially we were convinced we were about to walk into a cougar taking something down, but it was just some very ungraceful elk.
We veered off the loop trial to the Redwood Creek Trail to check out the water which was running deep and quick. This is another area that has bridges during the summer but not in the off season. Heading back up the trail, we saw the first people we’d seen all day heading down as the afternoon was starting to heat up. We were glad to get the uphill out of the way before it was too hot.
If you’re so inclined, the LadyBird Johnson Grove hike is on the way back out to the 101 from here, but we were a little short on time, so continued north. I would highly recommend returning to the Newton B. Drury Parkway to take the scenic byway back out of the park. We stopped at the Corkscrew Tree and the Ah-Pah Interpretive trail on the way out, but if you have more time there are so many more hiking opportunities in this part of the park! Nearly all the trails in Prairie Creek connect, so it would be easy to park the car and wander through the woods for a while.
The Redwoods are definitely worth the drive, even for a short weekend trip like we did. Summer months will be decidedly more crowded, so if you can go during the off season, it’s not a bad idea. We enjoyed the solitude that can sometimes be hard to find in national parks. There are also opportunities for backcountry camping, which is (in my personal opinion), the best way to get to know a park and to see some wildlife! Although, even just car camping, our count for the trip was tons of elk, a stray bat (clinging to a log in the middle of the day), hawks, deer, an eagle, and a quail. Whether you choose to do the highlights or spend a week in this beautiful place, you won’t be disappointed!
At-A-Glance Weekend Rundown
Day 1: Stout Grove hike, Elk Meadow wildlife viewing, Fern Canyon hike, Redwood Access Trail, Camping at Elk Prairie
Day 2: The Big Tree Loop or the shorter Circle Trail hike, Tall Trees Grove hike, Newton B. Drury Parkway Scenic drive, stopping at all the interesting spots along the way!