The coast redwood is the tallest tree species that has ever existed on Earth. The tallest living specimen (Hyperion, 380.3 feet) grows somewhere in the Redwood Creek watershed — its exact location is kept secret to protect it from trampling, but the trees around it are nearly as tall. Standing beneath a grove of 300-foot redwoods in full fog, with the light filtering green through a canopy so far above that birds flying through it look like insects, is the closest most people will ever come to experiencing geological time in real space.
The Northern California coast where these trees grow is cold, wet, and frequently fogged — conditions that the coast redwood requires. The park is not easy to reach (6 hours from San Francisco), which is part of what keeps it less overwhelmed than Yosemite. That remoteness is its gift.
Fern Canyon: The Prehistoric Gorge
Fern Canyon is the park’s most photographed location and one of the most visually extraordinary places in California. A narrow canyon cut through the coastal bluffs has 50-foot walls completely carpeted in five-finger ferns — a green tunnel that looks like it belongs in a Jurassic scene (which is why Spielberg filmed there).
Getting to Fern Canyon requires driving an unmaintained road through Gold Bluffs Beach (high clearance recommended) or taking the flat $15 shuttle from the Elk Meadow area. The canyon walk itself is 1 mile round trip — flat, with multiple stream crossings that can be ankle-to-shin deep in spring. Plan for wet feet or bring waterproof boots April through June.
The Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway
This 10-mile paved road through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is the easiest and most accessible old-growth experience in the park. Closed to large vehicles (RVs and trucks cannot fit), it threads through forest where trees 200–300 feet tall grow right to the roadside. Stop at Big Tree, walk any of the trail connections that branch off into the forest, and drive it slowly.
The adjacent Elk Prairie meadow, visible from the parkway and the campground, is where Roosevelt elk graze year-round. Morning and evening, the meadow can hold dozens of elk — bulls with 5-foot antler spreads grazing among the ferns while redwood trees rise behind them.
Jedediah Smith Redwoods and the Coastal Beaches
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, 45 minutes north of Crescent City near the Oregon border, contains some of the densest old-growth forest in the park system. Stout Memorial Grove — a short flat walk from a small parking area — is frequently cited as the most beautiful single grove in the entire Redwood coast. The Howland Hill Road (unpaved but passable in a standard car) winds through old-growth for 10 miles and is one of the great forest drives in California.
The coastal section of the park — Gold Bluffs Beach and the wild shoreline near Orick — has an entirely different character: enormous driftwood logs, sea stacks, tide pools, and occasional Roosevelt elk on the beach itself. The Northern California coast is raw and cold even in summer (water temperature rarely exceeds 55°F), but the scenery is as dramatic as any coastline in the state.
Scott’s Tips
Logistics: The park is a patchwork of national and state lands stretching 50 miles along the coast. Pick your sites in advance and don’t underestimate driving times — Fern Canyon and Lady Bird Johnson Grove are 45+ minutes apart. Crescent City is the practical northern gateway town with grocery stores and budget accommodation. Orick is the southern gateway (small, limited services).
Best Time: May through September for the best access and weather. Summer fog clears by mid-morning most days. October is excellent for fall color, solitude, and Roosevelt elk rut (bulls are active and impressive). Avoid January–February if possible — heavy rainfall and some road and trail closures.
Getting Around: Car only — no public transit. The Newton B. Drury Parkway (closed to large RVs) is the essential drive. Fern Canyon requires either high clearance or the $15 shuttle from Elk Meadow. The Tall Trees Grove road requires high clearance or a 4.5-mile walk. Download offline maps — cell service is unreliable throughout the park.
Money: No federal entrance fee. State park sections charge $8–10 day-use parking. Camping runs $35–45/night. Elk Meadow Cabins are the best accommodation option and book out months in advance for summer. Crescent City hotels run $80–130/night. This is among the most affordable major national parks in the country.
Safety: Driftwood on the beaches is a hazard — never sit or stand on logs near the ocean edge, as wave action can move them suddenly. Sneaker waves are a real threat on the North Coast beaches. Never turn your back to the ocean. Black bears are present — use bear-proof food storage at campsites. Coastal fog reduces road visibility rapidly; slow down on Highway 101.
Packing: Waterproof jacket and pants are not optional — this is a temperate rainforest that gets 60–80 inches of rain per year and fog is present even in summer. Waterproof boots for Fern Canyon stream crossings in spring. Binoculars for Roosevelt elk and coastal wildlife. Mosquito repellent for the dense forest trails.
Local Culture: The coast redwood forests were 95% logged by the mid-20th century — what remains here survived through decades of conservation activism, not inevitability. The Save the Redwoods League has been working since 1918. The Yurok Tribe, whose ancestral territory covers much of this area, have fishing and gathering rights within the park that predate its establishment. The ecology of old-growth forest — the mycorrhizal networks, the epiphytic plants, the centuries-old soil structure — is extraordinarily complex. A guided hike adds dimension to what might otherwise be just very big trees.