REDWOODS NATIONAL PARK
HUMBOLDT COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: Visited July 2020
Redwoods National Park and National Forest was established in 1968. The park is 217 square miles compiled of 3 National Forest to make one park, The Del Norte Coast, Jedidiah Smith, and Prairie Creek. This park is world renowned as home to the largest trees in the United States, the Redwood. The largest tree in the park Hyperion, is 377 feet tall! Alongside the giant redwoods is a diverse ecosystem of ferns, slugs, and other coastal species.
PRAIRIE CREEK
BIG TREE WAYSIDE
Distance: 200ft Elevation Gain: 0 ft Approximate Time: 5 minutes
Prairie Creek is on of the more popular areas of the park. It is home to the most popular hikes and campgrounds as well as the most popular redwoods, such as the Big Tree Wayside. He stands at 300ft tall, 7 ft around, and is over 1500 years old.
This tree, which is one of the largest in the park, is also one of the most convenient to walk to! It is less then 200ft away from the parking lot!
*Hyperion, which is largest tree in the park, is not listed on any maps as it’s location is protected. It was only discovered in 2006 and it was decided to be off limits to protect it from “big tree hunters” (why are people TERRIBLE) and to protect it for many many years to come from abuse.
JAMES IRVINE TRAIL
Distance: 12 miles Elevation Gain: 1,075 feet Approximate Time: 4-5 hours
This hike was EXTREMELY strenuous. We actually only made it 10 miles but ended up turning around when it started to get dark.
The hike takes you past TONS of big redwood trees. Majority of the hike is in shade (duh!), so although it is strenuous, it isn’t too hot, just humid!
All along this hike, we saw TONS of cute banana slugs and black slugs. They were just as big as the redwoods! …compared to the average slug.
One interesting thing we cam across was where a wildfire had occurred in the park. Redwoods have a natural fire retardant in their bark. So although the fire was devastating to the forest, majority of the redwoods actually survived.
CORKSCREW TREE TRAIL
Distance: 800ft Elevation Gain: 0ft Approximate Time: 5 minutes
This short little hike marked by a sign on the side of the road (Newton B. Drury Pkwy). The walk takes you past incredible ferns and towering redwoods. The Corkscrew Tree is not actually one single tree, but multiple trees twisted around one another.
PRAIRE CREEK TRAIL
Distance: 4.3 miles
This trail is connected to the corkscrew trail. Although we didn’t walk very much of it due to time, after just walking 5 minutes, wed ourselves SURROUNDED by ferns. This is one of my favorite places in the world. It is is easy to see why.
CAMPING
While we were in the redwoods area, it was the height of COVID-19, so camping was difficult to find in the park. We ended driving 20 minutes north to Klamath Kamp RV park. This places ended up being great and very empty. I have never seen a BETTER night sky than at this park. We could see every star in the sky, the milky way, and tons of comets. Just amazing.
