Redwood National and State Parks
This was part of our journey along the west coast. Here's what we thought about it all.
I’ve always heard amazing things about the giant redwood trees of the north, and I’ve seen pictures people have shared of these amazing trees as well, so I knew we had to have this park on our must-see list. Honestly, this park was one of the main reasons I wanted to go on this epic road trip.
You see, this was just one part of a larger road trip through California and the PNW. We also visited Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, and Yosemite National Park before heading to the western side of the state.
But if I’m being honest, it was a little bit of a disappointment.
I don’t know if it would have been different if we’d started here and worked our way south instead of this being the last one of those amazing parks we visited, but it just didn’t wow us much after what we’d already experienced.
Another reason it was a little disappointing was that we discovered an area called the “Avenue of the Giants” farther south of this park, supposedly featuring incredible sights. Unfortunately, I didn’t know about that area when I planned our trip, and we were already north of it (and heading farther north) when we learned about it.
But despite all that, it IS a beautiful part of the country, a place worth visiting. We definitely enjoyed it!
Because we arrived late in the day, before we hit the park and start touring, we found a campground for the night. We have a rooftop tent on our Chevy Silverado Trail Boss, and it’s a great way to travel and see the country.
We stayed in Klamath at Chinook RV Resort and we absolutely loved it. It was a great campground right next to the Klamath River and right around the bend from the ocean. We set up our campsite, then sat in our chairs, watching the water for a while. We enjoyed beautiful views, watched the sunset, saw the fog rolling off the water in the morning, and even saw seals swimming around! This is definitely a campground we would recommend. They have incredible amenities, and it’s a quiet, serene place.
The next morning, we were up early, packing up, and headed to the park area near the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway to visit the southern part of the park.
Compared to many other National Parks we’ve been to, this one is pretty small, so it didn’t take us long to get there or to go through it. Not to mention, we didn’t really plan to spend a ton of time here as we were starting our journey up the Pacific Coast Highway to Washington from here.
There are several must-see areas that we’d recommend, though, so without further ado, here are our recommendations.
Big Tree Wayside
We left Klamath and went south to enter the Prairie Creek area from the north via the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. This wayside area has a trail you can hike along to see some of the big trees. It’s truly amazing to see how large these trees really are. It’s just not the same unless you’re there in person.
Prairie Creek Visitor Center
This was an awesome area for many reasons. They have a fabulous display inside — including a couple of funny stories about incidents involving elk. We also saw a massive herd of elk off to the side of the building, in a big open field. They don’t call it Elk Valley for nothin’.
Kuchel Visitor Center
This was a beautiful visitor center with lots of information about the area. There is also a boardwalk out back that leads to the beach. It’s a lovely beach area with lush wildflowers and driftwood scattered everywhere.
The Official Park Sign
Getting a pic at the sign is a must for us. We’ve done this at every park we’ve been to, unless we couldn’t find one. The one we found was on the south end near Freshwater Lagoon. There’s a great big parking area that makes it easy to pull off the road and snap a pic. (Ours is above!)
Lady Bird Johnson Grove
Lady Bird Johnson helped dedicate Redwood National Park in 1968, and this grove is named in her honor for that reason. There is a trail through the area that showcases many giant trees, and it’s an amazing and beautiful path.
Bald Hills Road/Redwood Creek Overlook
If you want a fantastic view of the area and of the ocean from above, this is the place to go. It’s gorgeous from this overlook! There are also bathrooms at this stop, and it’s a nice place to park and have a little picnic. This is where we had our lunch that day.
This one isn’t a specific spot to stop, but I MUST share this. I’ve shared before that, as we’ve been traveling full-time for the last four years, one of the things we’ve always looked for in the many places we’ve been is a bear. We had never seen one until this trip. We saw one in Yosemite NP for the first time and it was EPIC!!!
I may or may not have given James a heart attack when I spotted it as we drove back north, heading out of the park. 😂 I definitely startled him when I squealed and semi-shouted, “There’s a bear!” He whipped a U-turn so fast your head would spin, and we went back to the area and watched it for a while. It was incredible!
Redwood is managed by both the National Park System and the State Park System, and multiple areas are included within the parks. After we left the southern section, we made our way north to Crescent City to explore there and also see the Jedidiah Smith part of the park that’s near there.
Howland Hill Road
This scenic drive winds through this section of the park. You’ll have to be mindful of what type of vehicle you take through here, as it’s very narrow with limited room to pass other cars, plus there are turns that might not work well with a long or wide vehicle. Part of the road is paved, and the rest is a little more rustic. It’s a beautiful drive through the area and one we thoroughly enjoyed.
There are also some trails along the way, but the parking areas were small, and we couldn't find an empty spot, so we kept moving and couldn’t get out to explore any. Since we had some more plans for the day, it wasn’t too big of a deal for us, but it’s definitely a nice area to hike!
Hiouchi Information Center
This is another great visitor center, with even more information about the area and the park. Even the drive from the end of the park to the center was beautiful! We crossed a covered bridge and followed the Smith River, which was gorgeous!
One of the things I loved about this whole Redwood NP area was how close it was to the ocean. It’s an area where you can get the best of both worlds — beautiful mountains and hiking trails, but beaches and open ocean air as well. For that reason, I love the area and would definitely visit again. The next time we go, though, we’re including the Avenue of Giants area that’s further south!
Have you been to Redwood NP? What did you enjoy there?