If I Were Going...: Coast Redwoods in a Conglomerate of Parks

Ferns and big trees!

I have been to Redwood National Park before, but I don’t think I blogged about it. Previous stops were very short. This trip with Caty would be a chance to enjoy this beautiful place at a leisurely pace. And we did, despite arriving later than planned because of our stop at Oregon Caves.

When we arrived it was raining and, throughout our stay, we did have some rain, fog and overcast. That’s the coast of California, for you.

The trees like the damp

I was referring to our visit as to Redwood National Park, but, in actuality, we visited Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP), which comprises four intertwined entities: Redwood National Park and three State Parks (Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith Redwoods and Prairie Creek).

North and South sections of Redwood National and State Parks

Plus, I am not sure I realized that it is Redwood NOT Redwoods (plural) or, if I did, I forgot. So, I apologize for any past gaffs.

While we were there, I was never positive which of the four units we were in.

The combined RNSP contains 217 square miles of coastline, prairie and old-growth temperate rainforests. The 61 square miles of forest comprises almost half of all remaining coast redwood forest on Earth.

A special place

Corkscrew tree

The native range of coast redwood is a narrow strip along the Pacific coast from northern California to southern Oregon. The nearby ocean keeps temperatures in the area between 40°F and 60°F all year, providing the trees the steady temperate climate they prefer.

The redwoods grow at elevations ranging from sea level to 3,000 feet. They are found no closer than a mile or two from the coast to avoid the salty air, but never more than 50 miles inland. The trees receive moisture from heavy winter rains and persistent summer fog.

Fog and mist provide up to one-third of coast redwoods' annual water needs

Parts of RNSP are threatened by climate change because increasing average temperatures lead to reduced water quality and rising sea levels threaten Park structures near the coast. On the other hand, the trees themselves will probably be OK because Redwoods benefit from higher carbon levels and are fairly resilient against temperature changes. Still, the range in which they live is likely to shift along with weather patterns.

The coast redwood is the tallest, among the oldest and one of the most massive tree species on Earth. It is closely related to the giant sequoia of central California and more distantly to the dawn redwood of China. Coast Redwoods are taller but have less mass than giant sequoias; but both are big. Really big.

Height makes them hard to photograph

The tallest of all 3 trillion trees on earth is found in RNSP: the 379-foot-tall Hyperion Redwood. To keep it safe, its location has been kept from the public since its discovery in 2006. The tallest known giant sequoia is about 325 feet. (For comparison, the greatest coast redwood circumference is about 90 feet, compared to the giant sequoia at 112 feet). These giant trees have tiny cones, just about an inch long.

Mature coast redwoods live an average of 500 to 700 years and a few are documented to be 2,000 years old, making them some of the longest-living organisms on earth. Their thick protective bark and high tannin content make them highly resistant to disease. Redwoods prefer sheltered slopes near water sources such as rivers and streams.

Redwood trees develop enormous limbs that accumulate organic soils that support plants, including full trees, usually growing on branches more than 150 feet above the ground. The soil mats provide homes for invertebrates, mollusks, earthworms and salamanders. Basically, they create an elevated forest.

Tree growing from a log

During droughts, treetops can die, but the trees stay alive, later regrowing new trunks from other limbs. These secondary trunks, called reiterations, develop root systems to transport water to the highest reaches of the trees.

History

Archaeological studies show that people arrived in the RSNP area as far back as 3,000 years ago and that at least 15 Native American groups inhabited the area at some point.

Photos: Humboldt County Visitors Bureau, Del Norte County Historical Society

The original inhabitants harvested the trees and used them to build boats, houses and small villages. To construct buildings, they cut the timber into planks, erected the planks side by side in a narrow trench and bound the upper portions with leather strapping held by notches cut into the supporting roof beams. Redwood boards were used to form a shallow sloping roof.

Recreated house; Photo: Yurok Tribe

In 1828, Jedediah Smith became the first person of European descent to visit the area. Twenty years later, the Gold Rush brought hundreds of thousands of Europeans and Americans to the northern California. Native peoples were displaced, raped, enslaved and massacred. By 1895, one third of the Yurok remained; by 1919, virtually all members of the Chilula tribe had either died or been assimilated into other tribes. There are still Yurok, Tolowa, Karok, Chilula and Wiyot living in the RSNP area today. We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Klamath, California, adjacent to the Yurok reservation (yep, it had a casino).

When the Gold Rush fizzled out, many miners stayed and became loggers, clearcutting huge expanses of forest.

Lumberjacks posing as they cut a tree; Photo: Amusing Planet

By 1910, conservationists began seeking ways to preserve the remaining trees. In 1911, U.S. Representative John E. Raker of California introduced legislation for the creation of Redwood National Park. But, nothing happened.

By 1927, a decade of work by the Save the Redwoods League resulted in the creation of Prairie Creek, Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith Redwoods and Humboldt Redwoods State Parks. Humboldt is the largest of the individual Redwood State Parks, but not in the Redwood National and State Parks system.

Trees protect themselves from nature, but not from man

High lumber demand during World War II and the construction boom that followed delayed creation of the much-wanted National Park.

By the time the federally managed National Park was finally created in 1968, nearly 90 percent of the original redwoods had been logged.

In 1994, the National Park Service and the California Department of Parks and Recreation combined the four Parks into a single administrative unit in order to cooperatively manage and stabilize the forest and watersheds.

Expansions came when the Save the Redwoods League and other entities purchased and donated almost 160 square miles and the U.S. government added another 75 square miles, moves that spurred protests from the timber industry but provided more protection for the environment.

The United Nations designated RNSP a World Heritage Site in 1980.

Nature

In addition to the coast redwoods, the forest has Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce, tanoak, Pacific madrone, bigleaf maple, California laurel and both white and red alder trees. Huckleberry, snowberry, blackberry, California rhododendron and azalea are common, especially in old-growth forest.

Sword fern are prolific, particularly near ample water sources

The ecosystems of RNSP preserve a number of threatened animal species, including the Tidewater Goby (possibly already extirpated from the Parks), Chinook Salmon, Bald Eagles, Northern Spotted Owls and Steller Sea Lions.

More than 40 species of mammals have been documented, including Black Bears, Coyotes, Mountain Lions, Bobcats, Beavers, River Otters (there also used to be Sea Otters, but no more), Red Squirrels, Big Brown Bats, Northern Flying Squirrels (I would soooo love to see a Flying Squirrel), Black-tailed Deer and Roosevelt Elk.

Roosevelt Elk jumping a fence

Also known commonly as the Olympic Elk and Roosevelt's Wapiti, this species is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of Elk in North America by body mass. Mature bulls can weigh up to 1,200 lbs. and stand 5.5 feet tall at the withers. Even with its size, however, the Roosevelt Elk's antlers do not approach the Rocky Mountain Elk's in size.

Male Roosevelt Elk

Roosevelt Elk live in coastal forests and mountains throughout the Pacific Northwest, west of the Cascades, from northern California to southern British Columbia; they were introduced and thrive in Kodiak, Alaska.

We saw a large herd right by the highway near the Prairie Creek Visitor Center

While there were several big males, this female was clearly in charge of the herd

Along the coastline, Harbor Seals, California and Steller Sea Lions and, occasionally, Northern Elephant Seals can be seen in the water, on the shore or on the rocky outcroppings just off the coast.

A variety of cetaceans live offshore; most commonly seen are Pacific Gray Whales. Less common are Orcas and Humpback Whales. Rarely seen, but possible are Sperm, Sei, Minke, Goosebeak, Fin and False Killer Whales.

Pacific White-Sided, Risso’s and Common Dolphins and Harbor and Dall’s Porpoise may be seen.

We saw no cetaceans; just beauty

There are many reptiles and amphibians. Most common are the Northwestern Ringneck Snake, Northern Red-legged Frog, Pacific Giant Salamander and Rough-skinned Newt.

The Banana Slug is a famous inhabitant

And, there are allegedly more than 400 species of birds, but we saw very few.

We hoped for a California Condor, but this was just a much smaller Turkey Vulture

The Parks are located in the most seismically active area in the country: the North American, Pacific and Gorda Plates meet at the Mendocino Triple Junction 100 miles southwest of the RNSP. Frequent minor earthquakes cause shifts in river channels, landslides and cliff erosion. During the 1990s, more than nine magnitude 6.0 earthquakes occurred along the fault zone.

Both coastline and the mountains of the California Coast Ranges can be found within Park boundaries.

Pacific coast

The majority of the rocks, uplifted from the ocean floor millions of years ago, are easily eroded and are exposed as cliffs on the coast and gorges cut by rivers and streams.

Infrastructure

RSNP has five Visitor/Information Centers: Hiouchi, Jedediah Smith, Crescent City, Prairie Creek and Thomas H. Kuchel.

One of many trails

Since the late-2019 closure of the DeMartin Redwood Youth Hostel, there are no hotels or motels within the Parks' boundaries.

There are four campgrounds which can be accessed by vehicle and seven backcountry camping areas. RNSP has 200 miles of hiking trails, some of which allow horseback riding and mountain biking.

Water sports include kayaking and canoeing, especially on the Smith River, which is the longest undammed river remaining in California. Both river and ocean fishing are popular.

The main roads are fairly narrow and, because they are through highways, have speed limits that prohibit trees gazing. But, fortunately, there are lots of nice pull-outs. We spent a lot of our time just stopping and looking at the giant trees, sometimes taking short trails into the deep forest.

Caty and me giving you an idea of scale

“Fairy Road”

We started out with a drive up narrow, winding, gravel Cal Barrel Road and were exceedingly thankful that we never encountered another car coming the opposite direction.

Early morning destination

We did see two other cars, but when we were pulled off at one of the few stopping areas. The 3.5-mile-long road climbs about 700 feet and has a few “tight corners.” Yep! I read that Cal Barrel is not frequently used and can be covered by redwood needles, making it look like a path rather than a road. That was not the case for us.

It is a narrow road

Even though I know the name of the road, I prefer to call it “Fairy Road” because of the magical nature of the scenery and the “fairy house” tree that we stopped to explore (and get inside of).

I would have loved this as a child! Heck, I love it now!

What a beautiful place.

Fern Canyon

Unlike a lot of Parks, you don’t need reservations for Redwood National and State Parks; probably because highways run through it. But, there are several sections that do, including the popular Fern Canyon and Gold Bluff Beach.

Photo: Uprooted Traveler

You reach both via the winding dirt Davidson Road, which does not permit large recreational vehicles or trailers and has two shallow stream crossing.

There are lots of warnings about possibly getting stuck, but the road was fine when we went. And, as much as I hate driving through streams, these were fairly easy to see in order to navigate the shallowest parts (it also helped that we could watch a car in front of us).

Fern Canyon, which is actually in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, is a 30-to-50-foot-deep ravine formed by the shallow, meandering Home Creek.

Canyon wall

The walls of the canyon are completely covered in ferns, bisected by multiple miniature waterfalls. Even though Home Creek is usually just a few inches deep, the Park Service makes the going a bit easier by putting down planks during the summer months to help cross the streams without getting your feet too wet.

Home Creek flowing through Fern Canyon

The brilliant green sides feature five different types of ferns, some of which are ancient species with ancestry tracing back 325 million years. Species include: five-fingered, lady, deer, sword and chain ferns.

So lush

Right by the ocean, Fern Canyon has no coast redwoods.

We walked in and back out, opting not to do the entire loop trail because that required climbing over a massive jam of logs left over from heavier winter stream flows.

Trees and logs

We figured that the views couldn’t get prettier than what we were seeing.

What a backdrop!

Even if you haven’t heard of Fern Canyon, you may have seen it. It was a filming location for The Lost World: Jurassic Park, BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs and IMAX's Dinosaurs Alive! It really looks like dinosaurs could show up at any minute.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park: Reuters

The Canyon is allegedly full of all kinds of amphibians. We didn't see much, but there were critters.

CW: Northern Red-legged Frog, Little White Lichen Moth, Song Sparrow

We didn’t really continue on to gold Bluffs Beach because the weather was iffy.

Moss-covered alien shapes

A First Lady’s Garden

A lot of our tree viewing was driving and stopping at almost every pull-out. We also hiked the 1.4-mile-loop at the Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail.

Sights along the trail

It’s a pleasant and easy walk through a gorgeous grove with lots of ferns, interesting plants and, of course, big trees. But, the trail is in an upland environment at 1,200 feet above sea level, which “stunts” the trees’ growth, making them relatively small compared to those at lower elevations. At least, that is what I have read. I could not find any actual data on the size of the trees in the Grove!

Looking up

The trail was built in 1969 for Redwood National Park's dedication ceremony. President Richard Nixon dedicated the grove to former First Lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson in recognition of her conservation and environmental work.

Lady Bird at the 1969 dedication ceremony

I have blogged about her when I wrote about the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Texas.

This trail is one of the few areas where you walk through a second growth forest planted in the 1960s to reforest areas that had been clearcut and then into an old-growth redwood forest. Most of the second-growth trees are Douglas-firs.

We were lucky we were able to do the hike. When we first arrived, the very small parking lot was full, so we explored Bald Hills Road and returned just as someone was pulling out.

Such a pretty trail

Big Tree

We ended our full day of adventuring at Big Tree, also in Prairie Creek State Park. It is a two-minute walk off of the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway to ...