DAYS 11 + 12 - Redwoods State Park

August 10, 2014

DAYS 11 + 12 - Redwoods State Park

We headed South along Redwood Highway to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The 14,000 acre park is a coastal sanctuary for old-growth Coast Redwood trees. We did the Miner’s Ridge and James Irvine 12 mile loop which is meant to be one of the world’s best redwood hikes. The hike was great – throughout the 12 miles it unfolds through a variety of environments, from redwood-lined ridge-top, to a wide open beach and through a lush creek valley. You start the trail by crossing a large bridge across Prairie Creek and start climbing up through a spectacular redwood forest. The sizes of the redwoods are incredible – the photos don’t really do them justice. After making it to the ridge we started to descend, and the woods become darker, more lush and dense. At the end of the descent we suddenly emerged out onto Gold Bluffs Beach, a beautiful 10 mile stretch of golden sands and not much else. Roosevelt Elk are often seen on the beach but there were none whilst we were there but we did spot some seals fishing close to the shore. After about 2.5 miles of relentless walking in the sand we made it to the bottom of the next trail and started the climb back up. The woods here had a very different look – they were darker and older and plush carpet of ferns covers the ground. Although quite tiring the climb back up was amazing as the sun had moved round and the afternoon light was filtering through the trees.

James Irvine Trail

Miner's Ridge Trail

Big Redwood

Standing under tree roots

Miner's Ridge Trail

Fern Canyon

"Big Tree" 1500 years old

Miner's Ridge Trail

We headed down the Avenue of the Giants – a scenic alternative to Highway 101. A 31 mile country road passes through the Humboldt Redwoods State Park; a string of old-growth groves interspersed with hardwood forests, open fields and the deteriorating remnants of logging towns. Three of the world’s tallest trees can be found in this forest although their actual location is kept secret. We even got to drive through a tree! (well Tim did…it was quite a tight fit and we didn’t want to damage the hire car…) The Drive-Thru tree has naturally split at its base and was hollowed out by fire later on. It was surreal to see the car creep through.

Drive-thru Tree

Made it!

In the heart of the Humboldt State Park are the Eel River and Bull Creek Flats. We hiked the Upper Bull Creek Flat which is a lovely meander through extremely tall redwood groves. With temperatures rising and the groves so dry, it is evident how vulnerable the trees are to forest fires. On our way out from the Avenue of the Giants we were passed by 4 fire trucks. Some of the “CAL FIRE” firefighters are staying at our motel and they said that the fire was in the Mendocino Forest, just 35 miles East of where we are staying and has now spread to 7100 acres. Helicopters are making water drops from the Eel River over the affected area to try and stop it spreading further.