Hiking in Redwood National Park and Prairie Park, California

Humboldt County (map) See for general orientation on North California parks. Redwood National Park and neighboring Prairie Creek Redwoods Park Prairie Creek Redwoods Park: Rhododendron Trail from Drury Scenic Parkway (short and easy) Prairie Creek Redwoods Park (park your car on the road before the visitor center): visitor center (look for the big sign of the trailhead and go right) to the Miners' Ridge trail to the end, then go left 100 meters to Gold Bluffs beach and campground, then retrace your steps and go north on the coastal road until the end of the road (about 2 kms), right into Fern Canyon (note: no sign) to James Irvine trail (you can also take a brief detour into the canyon) for a total of about 19 kms Prairie Creek Redwoods Park & Murrelet State Wilderness (park your car on the road before the visitor center): Prairie Creek visitor center to Prairie Creek Trail to the West Ridge trail north to Coastal trail then south to Fern Canyon trail, then up the canyon to the stairs (the stairs are easy to miss) to the James Irvine trail that loops back to headquarters (a 21km loop) Prairie Creek Redwoods Park & Murrelet State Wilderness (park your car on the road before the visitor center): Prairie Creek visitor center to James Irvine trail to Fern canyon up north on the coastal trail to the end, right on the Ossagon trail to the highway (it requires car shuttle or walking 2-3 hours on the highway to get back to the visitor center and note that the Butler Creek, just before the Ossagon trail turnout, often requires wading with water up to your knees) North of Prairie Park: Klamath Section of the Coast Trail (wildlife, rivers, ocean views, whale watching) from Klamath River Overlook off Requa Rd to Wilson Creek off highway 101 via Hidden Beach (13kms each way) South of Prairie Park: Bald Hills Rd Tall Trees Grove, the tallest trees (about 3kms north of Orick take Bald Hills Rd from 101 and go east past the Redwood Creek overlood about 10 kms of unpaved road, and then hike about one hour to the Tall Trees trail which takes you to the Tall Trees Grove). Note that this requires a permit to open the gate, and it is not as impressive as the Lady Bird Johson loop. Lady Bird Johnson Trail, most visited trail in Redwood National Park (very short, not even 2 kms, but one of the best for tall redwoods) that starts from 4 kms into Bald Hills Rd Redwoood Creek Trail (26kms one way) from Bald Hills Rd to the Tall Trees Grove

Weather forecast for Prairie Creek Park Weather forecast for Lassen Weather forecast for Eureka Weather forecast for Avenue of the Giants North Prairie Park map South Prairie Park map Pictures of these hikes Camping in Prairie park: Elk Prairie Campground (75 family sites), often full. Gold Bluffs Beach campground (26 sites) requires a permit and can be reached from Davison Rd, between Orick and Prairie Park (unmarked as of 2020): drive 5 minutes north from Orick on hwy 101 and turn left into the road for Elk Meadow which soon becomes an unpaved coastal road with a sign for Gold Bluffs Beach. The road is passable to low-clearance vehicles as long as it is not muddy from heavy rains. Free camping at Redwood Creek but it requires a hike: get a permit from a Redwood National Park visitor center (eg the one at the Orick exit of highway 101), then drive up Bald Hills Rd (3 kms north of Orick), turn right after the overlook into the gated dirt road (the combination to open the lock is in the permit), drive to the end of the road, park, hike down, turn left at the first junction and then go straight down to the Redwood Creek, camp on the tiny sandy section of the river bank (a steep 2km hike) Camping on the beach: go to Patricks Point Park and get a permit to camp on the beach north of the park