Redwood National Park Trail & Visitor Guide
Redwood National Park · United States · The national park alone covers about 112,500 acres of federal land; combined with the three state parks, Redwood National and State Parks total roughly 138,999 acres (about 217 square miles), protecting roughly 45 percent of all remaining old-growth coast redwood.
Why Visit Redwood National Park
Redwood National and State Parks protect 45% of the remaining old-growth coast redwoods, the tallest trees on Earth. Hyperion, the tallest known living tree at 380 feet, grows in a remote grove. These trees can live over 2,000 years and thrive on the coastal fog that rolls in from the Pacific. The parks also preserve 40 miles of pristine coastline with tidepools and sea stacks.
Free Redwood National Park Audio Guide with Roamee Pro
Roamee Pro offers a free, self-guided Redwood National Park audio guide. It narrates trails, viewpoints, geology, and wildlife as you explore — Tall Trees Grove, Fern Canyon, Lady Bird Johnson Grove, plus quieter spots like Damnation Creek Trail and Stout Memorial Grove. No guide, no schedule, works offline.
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Signature Trails
- Tall Trees Grove Trail4 miles round trip · Moderate to strenuous (about 800 ft elevation gain on return)
Reaches a grove of some of the tallest trees on Earth; requires a free permit and a gravel access road gate code obtained at the Kuchel Visitor Center.
- Fern Canyon Loop1 mile round trip · Easy, with creek crossings
Walls up to 50 ft high covered in ferns; used as a filming location for The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Expect to wade; access requires the seasonal Gold Bluffs Beach permit.
- James Irvine Trail to Fern CanyonAbout 12.5 miles round trip · Strenuous
Old-growth redwood forest from Prairie Creek to the coast, connecting to Fern Canyon and Gold Bluffs Beach.
- Lady Bird Johnson Grove Loop1.5 miles round trip · Easy
Flat old-growth loop dedicated by President Nixon in 1969; one of the most accessible old-growth groves, often fog-shrouded.
- Boy Scout Tree Trail5.6 miles round trip · Moderate
Dense old-growth along Howland Hill Road in Jedediah Smith; ends near Fern Falls.
Must-See in Redwood National Park
- •Tall Trees Grove — a permit-required trail through one of the tallest groves including trees over 360 feet
- •Fern Canyon — a 1-mile loop through a narrow canyon with 50-foot walls covered in ferns, featured in The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- •Lady Bird Johnson Grove — a 1.5-mile loop through old-growth redwoods at 1,200 feet elevation
- •Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway — a 10-mile drive through the heart of an old-growth redwood forest
Best Viewpoints
- •Klamath River Overlook (around 600 ft above the Klamath river mouth; whale-watching point off Requa Road)
- •High Bluff Overlook on the Coastal Drive
- •Lady Bird Johnson Grove (fog through the canopy)
- •Crescent Beach Overlook near Crescent City
- •Cal-Barrel Road and Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway pullouts in Prairie Creek
Quieter Corners of Redwood National Park
- •Damnation Creek Trail — a 4.4-mile round trip descending through old-growth forest to a hidden rocky cove
- •Stout Memorial Grove — a 0.5-mile loop through a cathedral-like redwood grove across the Smith River, often uncrowded
Wildlife You May See
Entrance Fee
Redwood National Park charges no entrance fee. However, the three associated California state parks charge a day-use fee of about $12 per vehicle at developed areas (e.g., Prairie Creek's Elk Prairie, Jedediah Smith). A permit is required to visit the Tall Trees Grove (free, limited daily, reserved online via recreation.gov), and the Fern Canyon (Gold Bluffs Beach) area requires a timed-entry permit May 15 through September 15.
Getting There
The parks straddle US Highway 101 in far northwestern California, in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. Crescent City is the northern hub; Orick (near the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center) anchors the south. Closest commercial airport is Del Norte County Regional (CEC) in Crescent City; larger access via California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport (ACV) near Eureka/Arcata, roughly 1 hour south of Orick. Driving, it is about 6.5 hours north of San Francisco and 5.5 hours south of Portland on US-101.
Where to Stay
There are no lodges inside the national park. Developed campgrounds are in the state parks: Jedediah Smith, Mill Creek (Del Norte Coast), Elk Prairie (Prairie Creek), and Gold Bluffs Beach, all reservable via reservecalifornia.com. Backcountry camping requires a free permit. Motels and hotels cluster in Crescent City to the north and Klamath; Orick has limited lodging. Eureka and Arcata, about 45-60 minutes south, offer the largest selection of hotels and services.
Best Time
Open year-round. Summer (June-September) has the driest weather but heavy fog and the busiest trails; this is also when Fern Canyon/Gold Bluffs and Tall Trees permits are required. Late spring (May) brings rhododendron blooms. Winter is wet (this is a temperate rainforest receiving 60-80 inches of rain annually) but quiet and good for whale watching.
Safety
The top hazard is sneaker (rogue) waves and strong rip currents along the coast and beaches such as Gold Bluffs and Crescent Beach; never turn your back on the ocean and stay well above the waterline. Secondary hazards: tsunami risk (this is an active tsunami zone; know evacuation routes if you feel a strong earthquake), creek crossings in Fern Canyon that can flood after rain, narrow unpaved roads (Howland Hill, Cal-Barrel, Coastal Drive) unsuitable for RVs, and black bears and Roosevelt elk during fall rut (keep at least 50 yards away). Fog and limited cell coverage are common; carry a map.
Scenic Drives
- •Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway (about 10 miles of old-growth through Prairie Creek, parallel to US-101)
- •Howland Hill Road (unpaved, narrow, through Jedediah Smith old-growth near Crescent City)
- •Coastal Drive Loop (gravel, ocean bluffs and the World War II radar station)
- •Bald Hills Road (climbs to Lady Bird Johnson Grove and the Tall Trees Grove access)
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