The place where towering giants from dreams sway high up in the sky and ferns lifted from a prehistoric jungle fan out lushly at your feet… it’s the Redwoods National Park.Â
Although we had already seen the Giants of the Woods in such a wonderful environment (no, not here, but here), we were excited to see what the “true” redwoods would offer. This park was, after all, the real reason for this particular family trip.
New to our Trip? Be sure to check out our kick-off article and FAQs on our trip up California’s Route 1 with the family. The full itinerary, including stops and lodging, can be found here.
We rolled into the cabin after a very long day of travel. We felt as if we had driven through a lot of struggling towns we had never heard of and into nowhere. It was a wearying drive. But we were rejuvenated to see the Roosevelt elk lounging near the Stone Lagoon cabin. ‘See,’ we reminded ourselves, ‘drive to nature and she always, always rewards.’
We loved the cabin – complete with its wood-burning fireplaces and funky kitchen. It was cozy, gave us room to run outside, and felt completely, ruggedly, and fiercely independently like Northern California should feel. (For a full tour, see our Instagram story on the Redwoods.)
Our cabin was a fantastic starting point for all of our outdoors adventures, with lagoons and the parks within easy access.
But word of caution: there is very little industry or businesses around the area at all. Trinidad is a cute town on the coast, but very small. Dining options are limited and the grocery is a locally-owned, well-stocked, smaller shop that was slightly more expensive.
Where to Go to see BIG TREES in Redwood National Park
It was with great anticipation that we entered the park the following morning. The weather was, as we found typical for the California coast, foggy and misty when we woke. But that didn’t deter us as we layered up and headed out.
What we didn’t realize prior to coming out to the coast was that this area of the redwoods is not just national park but a system of national and California state parks combined. It is actually the only “co-managed” area in the U.S.
The entire area covers a whopping 140,000 acres, with 45% of the remaining old growth redwoods on those lands. The area is so precious that it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980.
And this unique and lush vegetation and ecosystem has captured imaginations for years. It is the background for movies like Star Wars and Jurassic Park. It invites us to consider other worlds, to imagine something that we hitherto felt was impossible.
We began our exploration with the very famous Lady Bird Johnson grove. This is an incredibly easy and accessible 1.5 mile loop. The grove is mysterious, with soldiers guarding the visitors below in ethereal shadows.
However, it is also very popular. Parking fills up. We got there early and had no problems finding a spot, but by the time we left 45 minutes later, cars were circling around.
Next, we popped over to the Big Tree Wayside and walked the (incredibly short) distance to Big Tree. (This is not a bad joke. It is called Big Tree.)
Big Tree itself is not actually the biggest tree or even one of the giants. But it is still impressive. At over 1,500 years old, it towers. Additionally, it is immediately off the roadside and, therefore, easy to get to for families. It was worth a quick stop, but definitely crowded.
The largest recorded and known redwood tree in the park (Hyperion) is in an undisclosed location. Rangers discourage the public from visiting because, as we’ve talked about on this website before, the public can be destructive and deadly when left unchecked in nature.
We really, after doing some more research, wanted to visit Tall Tree Groves. Yet this particular trail requires a permit that you must get in advance and is limited to 50 groups a day. But inside that 3-mile loop, some of the greatest exist. Additionally, like I said, it’s limited to 50 groups a day! A trail through some of the oldest and tallest redwoods that has limited entrance? YES, PLEASE!
But, even though we did eventually snag an entry, we couldn’t use it after all due to timing and general kid-exhaustion.
To be completely blunt, too, we were feeling a bit “tree”d out. We had seen so many big trees while on our California adventures and, at some point, we ceased to be overwhelmed by their size because our senses were dulled from all of the overwhelming we’d experienced! It was as though we got to a point where we just couldn’t take in any more.
We went to the Visitors Center off of the Prairie Creek State Park and talked to the rangers there. We learned that we could go anywhere in any of the parks (state or national) for free as we had our annual national parks pass.
So we decided to see some other vistas – as big trees were starting to make our eyes glaze over.
Visiting Fern Canyon in Redwood National Park
We went down to the water.
We decided to drive down to Gold Bluffs Beach. The road was long, meandering, rutted, and definitely exciting. At times we were crossing running water, others avoiding craters.
Note that there is also a fee to get into the park and area – officially the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park – but our national parks pass got us in.
The beach was stunning. So different than Point Reyes or Mendocino or our “home beach” in Wilmington. Here things felt treacherous and exposed. We saw seals bobbing in and out of huge waves, and the wind whipped around us. Yet, as kids do, they ran with wild abandon along the open beach sand. No doubt the challenge issued by the raging sea fueled something deep in their souls that allowed them to open up and be as wild as they wanted.
After getting that out of their system, we made our way to the official Fern Canyon trailhead.
This is an incredibly popular hike – and for good reason. There is nothing else like it. (Plus, it’s a break from all the big trees.)
The trail is a 1 mile lollipop that took us through some of the most exquisite canyon walls. While the slot canyon we explored in Zion was red and snarled at us, this one steamed us open and then blanketed us.
Our kids absolutely loved this and claimed it was their favorite hike of the vacation. Crawling around on the floor of a wet canyon, they likened the situation to the game “The Floor is Lava.” The trail crisscrossed the water using fallen logs, rocks, and stumps.Â
There isn’t a way to do this trail without getting your feet wet, so be prepared. But that doesn’t mean it was hard. It was challenging in a way that was lovely: paying attention, finding fun footing. But nothing felt dangerous.
In fact, it felt like a fairytale world lifted out of an artist’s imagination.
Which is probably the best wait to sum up our entire tour of the California coast and Route 1: it felt like an area carved out of unfettered imagination. We saw and experienced the untamed, the expansive urban, the swirling ocean, and the stoic giants. Shadows became creatures and bridges became crowns. Everything in California –Â manmade or Mother Earth’s – sang of its own uniqueness and commanded an audience. In us: they got an appreciative one.
During a time when COVID restricted our ability to seek out new cultures in foreign cities, this visit to California allowed us to experience new ecologies and new vistas. This family trip wasn’t really about seeing how different people live in different countries, but about seeing the different ways the earth lives. And that, friends, was worth the trip.
For more on Redwood National Park, visit these links:
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