Redwoods & Railroads: A Family Trip to Henry Cowell and Roaring Camp

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park | Introduction

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park is located near Santa Cruz, and it takes less than an hour and a half to get there from San Francisco—it's even closer if you're staying in the South Bay. As the name suggests, the main feature of this park is the redwood forest. The park actually has two sections: the southeastern area includes campgrounds, a visitor center, and the popular Redwood Grove Loop Trail along with several other trails—this part tends to be more crowded. The northwestern area, known as the Fall Creek Unit, offers around 20 miles of hiking trails. Since we were there for camping, all our activities were in the southeastern area.

Right across from the main entrance is Roaring Camp Railroads, where you can take a small train that comes from Santa Cruz, making it a fun way to visit. The old Western town atmosphere of Roaring Camp also makes it a joyful and family-friendly destination. If you don't want to camp but still need accommodation, there are plenty of places to stay near Santa Cruz, making this an ideal weekend getaway.

Campsite Review

• Comfort: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Camp Space: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Facility Cleanliness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Convenience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park has 107 campsites and is extremely popular due to its location. We've been there twice and found it quite comfortable both times. While the campsite spaces aren’t particularly large compared to other California State Parks, they are more than sufficient. It’s very convenient to walk from the campsites to the trailheads, making it easy and accessible for those who want to hike. Overall, the area is well-maintained and quite clean. Thanks to the abundant shade from the trees, it also doesn’t get too hot.

Hiking trail

The most popular trail in Henry Cowell is the Redwood Grove Loop Trail near the main entrance. For those camping like we did, there are three main trails accessible directly from the campground: Eagle Creek Trail, Ridge Fire Road, and Pine Trail. If you're looking for a simple one-time hike, I’d recommend either parking at the main entrance and walking the Redwood Grove Loop Trail, or hiking from the campground via Eagle Creek Trail down to the creek, or taking Pine Trail + Ridge Fire Road to reach the Observation Deck. However, all these trails are interconnected, so you can adjust your route freely.

Eagle Creek Trail

Eagle Creek Trail is a creekside trail that we started from the campground entrance. Along the way, there are also many redwood trees. If you follow the creek all the way, you can connect to the River Trail or Pipeline Road. Taking Pipeline Road is more challenging, but walking just along the creek is actually quite gentle and easy. Compared to the Redwood Grove Loop Trail, while this area doesn’t have the famous giant redwoods, the forest is beautiful, and the trail is less crowded, making for a peaceful and enjoyable walk.

Pine Trail/Ridge Fire Rd to Observation Deck

The Observation Deck is the highlight of the loop trail near the campground. This scenic viewpoint is located at a higher elevation, and if you take Fire Road, it's about 1 mile from the trailhead. The trail is quite sandy and soft in many parts, and the section near the Observation Deck is more exposed to the sun.

The Observation Deck is a concrete platform. Once you're up there, the view opens up widely—you can see Monterey Bay and the surrounding mountains of Santa Cruz.

Redwood grove loop trail

The Redwood Grove Loop Trail is a must-do 0.8-mile short trail when visiting Henry Cowell. While you can reach it from other trails, the easier option is to drive and park at the lot in front of the visitor center and enter from there. You can also take the opportunity to check out the exhibits inside the visitor center.

The redwoods along this trail are the largest in the park, and the most famous one is the General Fremont Tree. It's named after John Fremont, who reportedly spent a night inside the hollow of the tree in 1846 while taking shelter from the rain—showing just how large the tree cavity is. Before becoming a state park, this land was privately owned by a businessman named Welch. In addition to logging in the surrounding area, he also operated this grove as a tourist attraction. This privately run destination was quite well known at the time and even drew visits from prominent figures, including President Theodore Roosevelt.

Town of Roaring Camp Railroads

Roaring Camp Railroads isn’t officially part of the state park, but it’s located just across from the park entrance, so even if you don’t plan to take the train, it’s worth stopping by. Next to the station is the Town of Roaring Camp, which maintains the look and feel of a Western town from the 1880s. There’s a blacksmith shop, a printing press, and even a recruitment office with old-style wanted posters hanging outside—just walking around is a lot of fun. If you'd like to ride the train, you can take it all the way to Santa Cruz for a day trip!

There’s an open area behind the town that often hosts events on weekends. When we visited, there happened to be a car show going on.

Further reading

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