October 5th – 10th, 2017

Redwoods National Park

Crescent City, California

We made it to another state! Sunny California. Up first on our to do list, Redwoods National Park. We found some great free camping just North of the park, and we even did a night of backcountry camping on a beach. With so much to do here and great camping, we stayed for a week.

It’s hard to describe how magnificent the trees are here. They defy gravity! Most of the pictures with us in them you can only see our chins because we were constantly looking up. The trails are epically green with ferns, plants, trees, and lots of mushrooms. We had so much fun and hugged so many trees. Another contender for favorite National Park!

Here is the first of our photos.

Off to Explore the Park!

Laura forgot her remote trigger. It’s a miracle she didn’t trip!

Time to find a campsite for the night.

This is what most of the roads look like around the park. The amount of old growth forest is actually a really small area. Which is pretty sad.

Next Day. Back to Exploring the Park!

The Next Day. Backcountry Camping!

L

The Next Morning… Fern Canyon!

The next morning we got up early to do a short hike that was nearby our beach camp. It starts with a half mile of walking through a canyon that is covered in ferns. This place blew our minds! Here are the photos from our short hike.

Canyon Time!

Time to Hike back to Tina!

Time to drive to a new campsite South of the Park.

Four must-see trails we hiked:

Boy Scout Tree Trail – 5.2 miles round trip (2.6 to the waterfall) – Moderate

The drive up to the trail through the redwood trees is spectacle enough, but this trail in the old growth section of Jedidiah Smith State Park (one of the many parts that make up the whole national park) is a great showcase of amazing trees taller than you’ve ever seen in your life. The trail has a spur up a steep hill to its namesake massive tree the boy scout tree which is worth the short climb. Keep an eye out for the “B.S. tree” sign pointing to the right. The trail ends at fern falls which is not too impressive in early autumn, but still a cute spot to stop for a snack.

Stout Memorial Grove – 0.5 mile loop – Easy

Fairly flat but beautiful old growth grove. The parking lot has a pit toilet if you gotta go. This loop was a little short for our liking so we crossed Mill Creek (footbridges are removed in the offseason) to get to the Mill Creek Trail and hiked it until the trail crossed the road, taking the road back up to our truck at the Stout memorial grove parking lot.

Miner’s Ridge Trail – 4.5 miles – Moderate

We obtained a permit to camp at the Gold Bluffs Beach Campground and took this trail from the Prarie Creek Visitor Center all the way to the beach. If you’re staying overnight you have to park your car across the street by Ranger’s housing. The trail felt difficult with full packs like we were walking uphill the entire time. This trail isn’t very flat but it’s beautiful. We saw tons of mushrooms along the trail and passed by many memorial groves dedicated to those who helped make the park possible.

Fern Canyon Loop Trail – 0.7 mile loop – Easy (wet)

Watch out for slippery rocks. During the summer, footbridges are available but it’s best to have waterproof boots with good treads. To complete the trail you have to climb through some fallen trees. The Rangers specifically told us to climb through and not over the trees as people had broken bones in that spot last summer. There aren’t any California Coastal Redwoods to see on this trail but the walls of ferns make this a must-see part of the park!

Thanks for reading our blog! Up next…. Visiting friends in Arcata, CA!

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