#34: Redwood National & State Parks
Visiting Redwood National Park was a bit tricky. There are many Redwood "parks." The Redwood forests covers a lot of ground, and not all of it is the National Park. The National Park overlaps with various state parks. On the map below, green areas are the National Park, but you can see that some state parks are part of that area.
I hit three different areas of the Redwood Forest:
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
Redwood National Park
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Humboldt Redwoods State Park was my first taste of the Redwoods. This park is not visible on the above map as it is south of it and inland of The Lost Coast. The must-see here is the Avenue of the Giants. Addie and I opted for the auto tour of this area, which enabled us to cover the most ground.
The Avenue of the Giants Auto Tour is a self-guided drive that runs north and south, through all the largest Redwood trees and also a few small towns. Drivers can pick up a brochure at either end of the stretch from a little box near the information sign. The brochure marks all the notable spots to stop. Some stops were giant trees, and others were short hiking trails. There was also a visitor center, but it was closed when I was there.
The trees were massive. At times I found myself just stopping and staring in awe. It was incredible.
There is also something even more epic in this area of the Redwoods: the drive-thru tree.
It is hokey, it is cheesy, and I had to do it. At the entrance, there is a $10 fee to get in. I was glad I had cash on me. The man at the entrance booth measured my car from the ground to the top of my Thule overhead rack and determined that my vehicle was low enough to go through the tree. He told me to watch my mirrors on the sides, though.
A fellow guest guided me through the tree as I approached the tunnel. I was slowly inching my way through. Inching, inching, inching…
And then we called it: I wasn’t going to fit through. Damn it!
It was a bummer, but it didn’t take me long at all to get over it. I got a decent photo of the tree from the “out” side, and I was on my way.
Quick Fun Fact:
Did you know that Redwoods are the tallest living thing in the world? Sequoias that I saw at Sequoia National Park are the largest, but Redwoods are the tallest. Also, Sequoias are a type of Redwood.
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park + Redwood National Park
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is part of Redwood National Park. So, I visited both in one day. It was a little confusing due to multiple visitor centers, various signs, etc. But after speaking to some rangers, I learned what the best things were to see and do with a pooch.
Our first stop was at the beach. There are multiple pull-offs to get onto the beach, and I randomly chose one. Addie was technically not allowed, but there was no one else there, and I felt rebellious. And I caught a glimpse of some elk hanging out on the beach!
Next, we headed to a forest road/trail called Cal-Barrel. I was able to take Addie with me on this six-mile up and back trail. Even though it was technically a road, cars were not allowed on it. We didn’t care that it was a “wide” path. We got to see some true beauty and have some solitude with no one else on the trail.
After a scenic drive back to our campground, we had gotten our fill of Redwood trees. I booked one more night at the campground because a) I liked it there, and b) I needed to do laundry and clean the Airstream. This campground was on grass, which was somewhat of a luxury because you don’t drag dirt into the trailer when you go in and out of it - something I never would have realized before living in an Airstream. I was on a roll cleaning and felt so great hitting the road in a clean car and trailer.
On the way out of the Redwoods, I saw Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe!
