Table of Content
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park | Introduction
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park beRedwood National ParkPart of the northernmost Hiouchi area. Redwood National Park is long and narrow, and the park is divided into six areas from north to south: the Hiouchi area, the Crescent city area, the Klamath area, the Prairie creek area, the Bald hills area, and the Orice area, like the Prairie Creek area. AreaPrairie Creek Redwoods State ParkLike the centerpiece, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park is the heart of the Hiouchi area. It has a high percentage of old-growth native redwood forests and several trails worth visiting. Most of the trails are not very long, but they can be enjoyed for more than half a day to a day.
If you're traveling south to Redwood National Park from the north, the Hiouchi area is a must. For those who just want to take it easy, you can at least take a loop of the Simpson Reed Trail to see the classic old-growth redwoods. But I suggest you don't miss the trail along the scenic Howland Hills Road. The redwood forest here is very beautiful and you can see the biggest redwood in the world.
The visitor center in this area is the Hiouchi Visitor Center, which is only open in the summer, so if it is open when you are here, you can come in and take a look at it, and it has more information about the attractions in this area. Near the Visitor Center is Jedediah Smith Campground, which is a good place to camp if you like camping in the northern part of Redwood National Park.
Important Scenic Spots and Trails
Simpson Reed Grove Trail
Simpson Reed Grove Trail is the best easy trail in this area, the total length is only 0.8 miles, and it is a nature trail, so there are quite a lot of educational plants introduced. If you only have one or two hours to spend in this area, come here and walk around.
The day before, we just walked through Lady Bird Trail, another famous trail in the south side of Redwood National Park, and both of them are quite similar, but Simpson Reed is not a paved trail like Lady Bird, so it feels more like walking in the forest, and there are less people here. In fact, the trail here is even flatter than Lady Bird, so I think it is easier to walk here. Besides, Lady Bird seems to be foggy all the time.
The specialty of Hiouchi area is that a large proportion of the redwood forests here belong to Old growth redwoods, which means that they are relatively old native redwood forests full of big trees over a thousand years old. The trees here are older than those in the south, so there are more trees here. The roots of the trees alone are as tall as two people, so standing next to these huge trees, you can feel the insignificance of human beings.
From the Simpson Reed Trail, you can also connect to the Peterson trail loop, but the forest scenery is pretty much the same all the way, so just come here to relax and decide how far you want to walk according to your mood.
Howland Hill Road
Howland Hill Road is a 10-mile long, mostly unpaved, one-way scenic road. Although it is unpaved, there are several famous trails on this road, including Stout Grove Trail, Mill Creek Trail, etc. It is the key area in the northern part of the Redwood National Park, and there are campgrounds and picnic areas nearby, and there are many cars along the way, and it's not easy to find parking spaces. However, after actually walking through the area, I think it's worth a trip here, but it's best to come in the morning, as there will be fewer people.
Stout Grove Trail
This trail is considered the centerpiece of Jedediah Smith State Park and is super popular. The trail itself is very short, only 0.5 miles, but Stout Grove is spectacular. The trail itself is very short, only 0.5 miles, but Stout Grove is very spectacular. Because of the popularity of the trail, the parking space is very easy to fill up, and it is very difficult to get in and out of the entrance. If you can, it's best to come in the morning when it's not too crowded.
Although you can only see the forest on the Stout Grove trail, the Smith River, which is the largest river in the area, is right next to it. The reason why you can see such a big forest here is because the Smith River left nutrients in the soil when it flooded. There is also a fork in the trail that leads to a branch trail that allows visitors to walk all the way down to the Smith River, where many people go down to the river for picnics and swimming.
Grove of Titans / Mill Creek Trail
The entrance to Mill Creek Trail/Grove of Titans can be found at a trailhead in the middle of Howland Hill Rd. From here it is a 1.7 mile route up about 200 ft into the Grove of Titans, some of the largest redwoods in the world.
At the beginning of this trail, there are more stairs, it is a little challenging to climb up, all the way to see Howland Hill Rd from the high place. although there are more ups and downs, but the trail itself is not difficult, in fact, it is considered moderately easy difficulty.
There are tall redwoods all along the way, and the middle part of the trail is quite interesting as you have to go through a huge tunnel of tree holes.
When you see the Welcome to deep forest sign, you will come to the Grove of titans. There is a raised iron walkway on the ground to prevent visitors from destroying the soil ecology. After a short walk, you will see two branches, the right branch leads to Mill Creek Trail, and the left branch leads to Grove of Titans, which has a lot of huge redwoods.
Boy Scout Tree Trail
Howland Hill Rd continues north to Boy Scout Tree Trail, which is of medium to high difficulty, and is the most tiring trail we climbed in Redwood National Park this time, it is 2.8 miles one way, and more than 5 miles back and forth. The gradient is actually not that steep, but the road is covered with intertwined tree roots, so you have to be careful when walking. The forest along the way is quite beautiful, probably because of the higher difficulty level, not many people, quite quiet, if you want to enjoy the feeling of owning a large piece of forest, it is very good to come here for a walk. After we finished the whole section of the trail, we felt that the most beautiful part of the forest was the first 1 mile. If you come here to see the trees, you can walk for about 1 mile, you don't need to finish the whole trail.
We walked for two hours, about 0.5 mile from the end of the road will see a fork in the road, continue to walk on the left to the end is the end of the Fern Fall, in fact, walk a little disappointed, is a common waterfall.
If you walk 0.1 mile to the right of the fork in the road, after a steep uphill walk, you will see the boy scout tree, the tree itself is quite spectacular, but it takes quite a long time to get here, so not many people come here.
Further reading
- Two-Day Adventure Guide to Redwood National Park: An Ultimate Travel Guide
- Redwood National Park | Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
- 【Redwood National Park】Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
- Redwood National Park】Fern Canyon Half-Day Tour
- Humboldt Redwoods State Park | Avenue of The Giant | Scenic Spots | Camping Tips
Thank you for visiting our website.
All the content on this site is original and shared with the purpose of providing valuable information. We sustain the operation of this site through a small amount of advertising and sponsored links. If you click on links to third-party merchants on our site and make purchases, we may receive a portion of the sales as a commission. If you click on links to third-party merchants on our site and make purchases, we may receive a portion of the sales as a commission.
Find more posts on a map Here.
My recommended resources for hotel bookings.
Recommended travel credit card for US-based travelers
Travel with just a backpack!
Buy me a coffee and support my contents!
If you are interested in quoting this article or using any part of its content and images on your website or publication, please contact us via email to request permission.
