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Humboldt Redwoods state park | Introduction
Humboldt Redwoods State ParkIt's a state park in Northern California, and it's more than a three-hour drive north from San Francisco, but this state park is located in the north of San Francisco.Redwood National ParkIt's a great stopover on the way to the California Coastal Redwoods. This park actually has the largest area of old-growth California coastal redwood forest in the world, totaling 17,000 acres. The park is not as famous as the national parks, so the number of tourists is much less. There are many trails in the redwood forest, suitable for those who like hiking and walking. In addition, there is also a 32-mile-long, very beautiful Avenue of Giants Scenic Road, which is the best place to see the redwoods by car.
Although many people come here probably on their way to theRedwood National ParkThe Humboldt Redwoods State Park itself has a lot of redwood trails and a pretty good camping environment, which makes it a very suitable destination for a weekend trip. On our four-day weekend trip to Humboldt Redwoods State Park, we spent two half days here. If you don't like camping but like hiking, you can also stay in nearby cities like Eureka.
Find a stay at Eureka:
Hidden Springs Campground | Campground Environment
- Comfort: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Space: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Cleanliness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Convenience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We camped at Hidden Springs Campground this time. The privacy of the campground was superb. At first, we couldn't even see our campsite when we stopped the car, but it turned out that the campsite was on the hill above the parking space, which was blocked by the vegetation, and of course, we couldn't see our neighbors at all. The campsite was smaller than other state parks because of the terrain, so we could only put up two tents, which is not as spacious as other group sites in California, but that's mainly because of the many trees. Overall, the campground is quite cozy, and the humidity in the forest is just right. There are no bears and cell phone reception is very good, so you won't be cut off from the rest of the world for more than a few days.
Unmissable | Humboldt Redwood State Park Visitor center
Humboldt Redwood State Park's Visitor Center is a very informative place to visit. In addition to introducing the Redwoods, the center also features the life of Charles Kellogg, a well-known naturalist who was a Bird caller, or an expert at mimicking the sounds of birds (for those who are curious, you can follow me to Youtube to find out more!Recording), who was a well known figure at the time because listening to birdsong was very popular during the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was so concerned about redwood conservation that he made a car out of redwood and drove it around in the hope of arousing conservation awareness. This car is called the Kellogg travel log, and it is now on display in the visitor center. From the outside, it looks like an old RV, which is very interesting.
Outside the visitor center, there is a short walkway where Ranger introduced the ecology of the redwood forest and raised Banana slugs in pots for us to observe. It seems that the park is run with great care.
Unmissable | Avenue of The Giants
Avenue of The Giants is 32 miles long, I highly recommend this redwood forest scenic route, if you don't like to climb mountains, it's a good idea to drive here, I think it's much more beautiful than the roads in Redwood National Park. avenue of the giants is parallel to 101 highway, if you take 101 to the neighborhood, you will start to see alternate scenic route signs on 101, you will leave the highway and go to Avenue of The Giants. If you take 101 to the neighborhood, you will start to see the alternate scenic route indicator on 101, follow the instruction and you will leave the freeway and go to Avenue of The Giants. both sides of the road are huge redwoods, if your destination is somewhere else, although you drive a little slower, it is not less than a kind of enjoyment to take this road.
A map of Avenue of The Giants is available at state parks, marking some of the memorable sites and trails. If you're willing to get out of the car and walk like we did, you can also find a few favorite places to hike. Some popular trails are Big Tree Trail, Rockfeller Loop, and Founder's Grove Trail, which are the highlights of Humboldt Redwoods State Park.
Drury Chaney Loop Trail
Drury Chaney is the northernmost trail on Avenue of The Giants. It is said to be the best forest trail in the park, we only did the first part, but we highly recommend it. It was actually raining that day, but the forest was so thick that we could hardly get wet, and we walked up to a huge fallen redwood, which was as wide as three people.
Grieg French Bell Grove
The Grove is a bit hard to find, you can see a sign at the entrance, but you have to go inside. There are no signs at all, and there are a lot of forks in the road, but in reality you only need to walk about 0.2 mile, try to go left all the way and you will find the Grove in the end.
The road is full of lucky grasses and is a relatively open forest trail. The main attraction is a big tree in the Grove with the lower part of its bark peeled off. Who pulled the bark off the tree? The family named French in the name of Grieg French Bell Grove. The father and son stripped the bark of the tree and transported it outside for exhibition, which is quite a cruel behavior. But the redwood is really strong, even so it is still standing.
Chanceller Grove
The Grove is on a hillside, a little steep to climb, but only 0.2 mile away, and you can see three huge redwoods growing together.
Dyer Field Overlook
This is a purely historical site. Originally a bustling town in the area, it was destroyed in 1955 due to river flooding, and later razed to make way for a highway. The only thing you can see from here is the railroad bridge across the river.
Big Tree Trail
The Big Tree Trail starts at the Big Trees Day Use Area, which is the highlight of the park and should not be missed.
After crossing the bridge at the parking lot, you can go to the short trail across the street to see the Flatiron Tree, which is a super big tree, but its life span is over, so what we saw was a fallen Flatiron Tree.
After seeing the Flatiron Tree, go back to the Big Tree Trail on the other side of the river. The flat trail along the river is quite comfortable.
Tall tree can be seen on the Big Tree Trail, and as the name suggests, the tree is really, really tall.
The Big Tree Trail is 0.8 miles long and ends at a campground near here. If you've already made it all the way here, you might want to head north from the campground on the North Trail and pick up the Homestead Trail on the hillside, which also loops back to the Big Tree Trail's starting point.
Rockfeller Loop Trail
Rockfeller Loop Trail is a short 0.6 mile trail that is very popular, but parking is also very limited on this side.
Founder's Grove Trail
Founder's Grove Trail is a 0.5 mile long nature trail, it was very crowded, we even met a tour group. It's no wonder that the Grove is really big, it's even bigger than the one in Redwood National Park. The highlight is the fallen tree in the middle of the trail, that size looks like a long city wall, it's hard to describe if you don't see it in person, no wonder people in the old days would want to cut down the redwoods or skin them and send them to exhibitions as evidence.
Mahan Plaque Loop
Mahan Plaque Loop is right next to Founder's Grove, it's only 0.6 mile long, not too long and flat, but not as crowded as Founder's Grove, it's quite quiet. The state of the forest is quite similar to Founder's Grove, so if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and absorb the phencyclidine, this is the place to come.
Bowling Grove
The Grove is directly off Avenue of Giants, no need to walk at all, and has picnic tables for a nice picnic.
FK Lang Grove
The southernmost trail of Avenue of The Giants is a short 15-minute loop, which is actually quite magical because there are no more trees along the roadside of Avenue of The Giants, but once you enter the entrance, you walk into the forest.
Other Recommended Trails
Garden Club of American Redwood Grove
Humboldt Redwoods State Park has many forest trails near the visitor center. Look for the Garden Club of American Redwood Grove, a Day use area, not far from the Visitor Center, and there is a 0.9 mile loop trail that is not bad. Most of the groves here are named after people or organizations. Because of the redwood forest preservation movement in the early 20th century, there were different organizations and celebrities who bought private forests to protect them, and the Garden Club of America was one of them, which was founded in 1913, and bought 2,250 acres of forests. These groves are now given to the state, but it is not uncommon to see groves in state parks commemorating these organizations and personalities.
Humboldt Redwoods State Park has a large redwood forest, so there are a lot of trails and groves here, and there is a River Trail next to the Eel River that connects the groves along the river. We walked along the River Trail for a short while and then we accidentally connected to the River Trail.
The trees along the way are very beautiful, we walked for a long time without realizing it. However, there is a drawback here, that is, because California State Parks are often not clearly labeled, it's not a problem to find the entrance by looking at the map. However, because of the large forest here, the Grove is sometimes renamed, so it's quite easy to get lost by looking at the map, and we were a little bit lost at the end of our walk, so it's best to memorize the way you came here if you are coming to have fun.
Children's Forest Trail
Another favorite trail is the Children's Forest Trail, which is a bit hard to find, there is a gate next to the William's Grove Day Use Area, after you pass through the gate, you have to walk along the river for 0.4 mile and cross the bridge before you reach the trail. However, the bridge seems to be seasonal, and you need to wade in the water when the bridge is not in place, so if you don't have shoes with you, you can only grill and play in the water by the river.
Other Surrounding Attractions
Chandelier Tree
The Chandelier Tree is a well known attraction in Northern California. The tree is over 2000 years old, 315 feet tall and 21 feet in diameter, and is one of the largest redwoods in the area. To find this place on Google map, search for Drive-Thru tree park, and it costs $10 to enter. This famous candlestick-shaped tree has a hole underneath it that cars can pass through. Of course, the car can pass through probably refers to the previous car is relatively small platform, like nowadays general caravan is at most barely pass through it, several cars are in the side of the circle but do not dare to really try. This tree has been featured in many movies and TV programs, including Star Wars and The Runaways.
Redwood National Park
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
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