We came for 3 Days in Redwood National Park for the trees, but stayed for the unexpected and special beauty of the ferns, the beaches, and the tidepools! Here is how we had a stunning 3 days in Redwood National Park!
This park, much like Olympic National Park, has a lot more to it than people typically would think. We came from the north on our way from Crater Lake National Park and a quick stop at the Oregon Caves National Monument. The beauty of the drive through the mountains and along the Smith River on Highway 199 was special before we came upon the exit for the Howland Hill Road near Hiouchi, CA in the Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park.
A quick note on the park – it is comprised of three State Parks and the National Park, which are all co-managed and ran essentially as one overall park. This is confusing to think about but each is fairly geographically separated and once you know which part of the broader park a location is in it helps with planning. Don’t overthink this distinction as in the end it is not a big deal.
Howland Hill Road, in Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, is an unpaved dirt road but is very well traveled and suitable for any vehicle in most conditions. The hardest part is the narrow sections where you have to make room for oncoming traffic. It is completely worth it to drive this section as you get right up next to the redwoods that will surround you throughout the park. This section includes the well known Stout Grove Hike which has a small parking lot but it turns over fairly regularly. We enjoyed the hike and the road and would definitely recommend them for your visit.
We rented a home in McKinleyville, so headed south to get settled and get some dinner. On our way, we stopped at the overlook across from the DeMartin Campground and again at the Klamath River Overlook, which is pretty but is a bit far off Highway 101.
3 Day Itinerary for Redwood National Park
Day 1: Fern Canyon
On our first full day of our three days in Redwood National Park, we headed to a very special place – Fern Canyon in the Prairie Creek Redwood State Park. This was the highlight of our trip to Redwood National Park and I simply cannot recommend enough that you plan ahead and make your reservation as soon as you possibly can to ensure you have access to this gem.
After you have your reservation, (which at the time of our trip could be reserved for morning, afternoon, or all day and are only required from May through September) check your email as your permit will come through via email and you will want to print it out. There is a guard shack that will check permits and validate that you have the appropriate one (they weren’t open yet when we arrived but there was a ranger at the campground where we stopped to use the restroom). Coming first thing ensured us a fairly private experience and our all day pass meant we had flexibility to adapt to the weather or other things we wanted to see.
Fern Canyon itself is a special experience with 2 story tall fern walls that tower above you. We had such fun trudging through the trail, which is a mix of boards that cover the creek, to sections where your best option is to scramble up and over logs or through the creek.
The trail is a loop if you would like, but we chose not to take the loop route and instead treated it as an out and back along the creek both ways without any regret. By doing so the elevation gain is almost nothing and the loop trail takes you up and away from the canyon, which seems to defeat the purpose of the hike since you come for the canyon.
There was a pit toilet at the parking lot and the parking lot itself is fairly good sized. The website will talk about a few creek crossings on the drive in but I’m not sure the water was much deeper than a few inches when we visited in late June so not an issue for any vehicle. Don’t let that discourage you, as you can also park at the campground and simply extend your hike a bit and walk down the road as others did. This is also a way to ensure you have access to the canyon – simply stay at the Gold Bluffs Beach Campground and you are able to visit the canyon whenever you want!
After visiting the canyon we stopped at one of the parking lots along the Gold Bluffs Beach Road and spent some time walking the beach and hearing the waves crash against the shore. We stopped in at Elk Meadow again as on our way to Fern Canyon we had seen a whole herd of elk in the meadow and wanted to see if they were still hanging around. Sadly they had moved on!
Our next destination was the Drury Scenic Parkway, which runs parallel to Highway 101 and as a ranger later told us is both more scenic and shorter (5 miles) than the 101. You can’t drive quite as quickly, but we made a priority to drive the parkway whenever we had the time. We read somewhere about the Coastal Trail Road and had thought that it connected through but turned out to be a dead end road with only a hiking trail where the road was gated.
On our way back south we stopped at the Big Tree Wayside and walked the circle trail there before stopping at both the Prairie Creek Visitor Center (small with very limited parking) and Kuchel Visitor Center (bigger and with a lot more parking).
Day 2: Tall Trees Trail
On our second full day of three days in Redwood we visited the other permitted site in Redwood – the Tall Trees Trail. This hike, like Fern Canyon, is special and has pretty stringent restrictions on access so you will also want to make a reservation early. While not as unique as Fern Canyon, the hike down to the loop (the overall hike is a lollipop) is neat and if you keep your eyes peeled you may see slugs and other critters. I hate to say it, but redwood trees, like alligators in the Everglades, all start to look alike and after you have seen a lot of them they lose a small bit of their luster.
Even so, I recommend the Tall Trees Trail as it was one of the few longer hikes we did in the park and being able to get away from the crowds was a gift in this busy park. We chose to have this as our main (and only) activity for the day as it is a 4.5 mile hike with an 800 foot drop (and gain on the way back!) in the first 1.5 miles and didn’t want to overplan the day. We found a few special spots for a family photo and were able to relax after some busy days on the trip.
Jasper, our dog, was excited for our somewhat earlier return and also when we took him to a dog friendly beach near our rental home later in the day to smell all kinds of things he doesn’t get to at home in Minnesota!
Day 3: Enderts Beach
On our third and final day in Redwood National Park we did something that we had heard very few people talk about but was super fun and reminded us of a special day we had on another trip in Olympic National Park. We made an early trip to Enderts Beach, which is just south of Crescent City. We arrived in time for low tide, which gave us the opportunity to explore this special beach and see an abundance of colorful starfish, sea urchins, anemone, and more. Keep an eye on the tide schedule, we highly recommend including a visit to Endert’s Beach or another tide pool on your trip!
Leaving Endert’s Beach we went up into Cresent City to see the lighthouse in town before returning south to visit the Alder Camp Road and High Bluff Overlook. I recommend stopping in at both of the overlooks (we did the south and then the north) as they are distinctive and equally photogenic. We then headed north on the Coastal Drive and stopped into the WWII Radar Station before completing the loop along the Klamath Beach Road. Mixing in some history along with the scenery was fun!
Our visit to Redwood National Park was special and enjoyable for the variety of the sights, especially if you plan ahead so you can get reservations to the Fern Canyon and Tall Trees trails! We enjoyed the diverse surroundings and variety in our three days in Redwood National Park!
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