REDWOOD The Redwood State Parks

Take your time when you visit the 30 California redwood state parks. There are few freeways in redwood country, and many lovely parks are far off the beaten path. Also, most parks can best be experienced from their trails . . . plan to get out of your car and do some hiking to fully appreciate the majesty of these huge trees.

Rockefeller Forest at Humboldt Redwoods State Park. (Philip Hyde)

Some of the parks, those marked ♦, offer camping; all campgrounds are classified as "developed," with restrooms, piped drinking water, surfaced roads, and campsite tables. Most of the camping parks offer excellent summer interpretive programs, including such features as guided nature walks and evening campfires. All the parks provide delightful picnic spots, either with tables or informal places to spread a blanket.

The parks are listed in geographical order, north to south; folders describing some of them individually are available from the Department of Parks and Recreation, P. O. Box 2390, Sacramento, California 95811.

♦ JEDEDIAH SMITH REDWOODS STATE PARK — approximately twelve miles north of Crescent City on State Highway 199. Named for the famed explorer, this park contains 18 magnificent memorial groves, including the 5000-acre National Tribute Grove of virgin redwoods dedicated to U. S. men and women who served in World War II. This park, as well as Del Norte and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks, is within the proposed boundaries of the Redwood National Park.

♦ DEL NORTE COAST REDWOODS STATE PARK — on U. S. Highway 101 about three miles south of Crescent City. Here you can see a beautiful springtime display of rhododendrons and azaleas, and in the fall the white trunks of the park's many alder trees offer startling contrast with their golden leaves. The park's several hiking and interpretive trails lead to panoramic views of the ocean or go through dense redwood forest to a small ocean beach.

♦ PRAIRIE CREEK REDWOODS STATE PARK — about five miles north of Orick on U. S. Highway 101. These redwoods are among the tallest in the world, and the park is home to two herds of Roosevelt elk. Among the 21 trails are the Revelation Trail, designed for use by both blind and sighted persons — "touchable" features are described both on signs and in a Braille handbook available at park headquarters — and a trail through famed Fern Canyon.

♦ GRIZZLY CREEK REDWOODS STATE PARK — 25 miles east of U. S. Highway 101 on State Highway 36; about thirty-six miles southeast of Fortuna. Once a rest stop for stagecoaches and cattle drives, the park site has changed very little since the Wiyot Indians hunted and fished here. Visitors to the 234-acre park enjoy its historical displays and nature trail as well as hiking and picnicking, and fishing in the Van Dusen River.

HUMBOLDT REDWOODS STATE PARK — about thirty-five miles south of Eureka on U. S. Highway 101, (at Weott). This is the largest of California's redwood state parks. Of particular interest and beauty are the Founder's Grove, which has a gentle, scenic self-guided nature trail, and the Rockefeller Forest. There is a horse camp in addition to the three family campgrounds. Visitors can spend many pleasant hours on the park's hiking and interpretive trails, and in seeing the park's exhibit on the history of the redwood and the area.

AVENUE OF GIANTS a 33-mile section of old U. S. Highway 101 from Miranda north to Pepperwood, now bypassed by a freeway, takes you through magnificent stands of coast redwood, broken by an occasional open, sun-filled meadow, past many spots where you can pull off to enjoy a hike or picnic amid the huge trees.

♦ RICHARDSON GROVE STATE PARK — nine miles south of Garberville on U. S. Highway 101. Named in honor of the state's 25th governor, Friend Richardson, this park is popular with young and old alike for its excellent campfire programs and guided nature hikes held during the summers, and there is an exhibit on the redwood tree and its associated plants and animals. The 831-acre park also offers picnicking, fishing, and swimming.

REYNOLDS WAYSIDE CAMPGROUND — about seventeen miles south of Garberville on U. S. Highway 101. This small (375-acre) park's campground has been removed due to freeway construction; a new campground will be built after the freeway is completed. The park offers swimming and fishing.

SMITHE REDWOODS STATE PARK — about five miles north of Leggett on U. S. Highway 101. Here, a flat of the South Fork Eel River contains an almost pure stand of magnificent redwoods, interspersed with sunny, grassy meadows. There is no camping, but it's a fine spot for informal picnicking, swimming, and fishing.

♦ STANDISH-HICKEY STATE RECREATION AREA — about a mile north of Leggett on U. S. Highway 101. Much of the park is second-growth redwood and Douglasfir, but one trail goes by a large redwood tree, the Captain Miles Standish Tree, named for the distinguished ancestor of one of the families that donated the land for the park to the state. The trail goes on to a thirty-five-foot waterfall on the South Fork of the Eel River.

ADMIRAL WILLIAM STANDLEY STTE RECREATION AREA approximately thirteen miles west of U. S. Highway 101; turn off on the Branscomb Road (only partially paved) at Laytonville. The park is named after a famous naval officer who was a native of this region. There are pleasant spots for informal picnicking next to a picturesque stream that winds through the park's fine stand of redwoods.

♦ RUSSIAN GULCH STATE PARK on State Highway 1 about eight miles south of Fort Bragg. Contrasting with second-growth redwoods in the canyon is the park's pygmy forest, where adverse soil conditions stunt the trees' growth — a mature Mendocino cypress, which could reach 50 feet in normal soils, might be only two or three feet in height. The park also offers a group campground and a cycle trail.

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. (Dick Thompson)

Avenue of the Giants, Humboldt Redwoods State Park. (John Kaestner)

Van Damme State Park. (Department of Parks and Recreation)

♦ VAN DAMME STATE PARK about three miles south of Mendocino on State Highway 1. One of the most beautiful spots in the park is Fern Canyon, where the walls are covered with millions of plants. The area is rich with second-growth redwoods mixed with red alders, and visitors also enjoy observing the marine life of the park's tidepools.

MONTGOMERY WOODS STATE PARK — about eleven miles northwest of Ukiah on the unpaved Competche-Ukiah Road. Located on the headwaters of Big River, the park contains one of California's finest virgin redwood groves. A special attraction is a spectacular display of woodwardia ferns. The 647-acre park also offers riding and hiking trails.

♦ PAUL M. DIMMICK WAYSIDE CAMPGROUND — on State Route 128 about eight miles east of its junction with State Highway 1. Named for a manager of the Albion Lumber Company who set this area aside for camping in 1915, this park's main attraction is its beautiful campground among the huge trees, a fine stand of large second-growth redwoods mixed with California laurel along the Navarro River.

♦ HENDY WOODS STATE PARK three miles north of Philo on road to Elk, one mile off State Highway 128. The Big Hendy and Little Hendy groves of virgin redwoods include trees over three hundred feet tall and sixteen feet in diameter. In the Big Hendy Grove the ground is hidden in some places by a thick growth of ferns; a loop trail takes the hiker past fallen trees that show the redwood's shallow root system.

INDIAN CREEK STATE RESERVE — a quarter-mile east of Philo on State Route 128; access from 128 is at east end of Indian Creek Bridge. Though only 15 acres, this park has a fine grove of coast redwoods in a typical setting, with only faint trails. There are several good spots along the creek and in a meadow for informal picnicking.

MAILLIARD REDWOODS STATE RESERVE — approximately three and a half miles from State Highway 128 on the road to Ohrnbaun Springs, about twenty miles northwest of Cloverdale. This peaceful, sequestered park was named for John Ward Mailliard, Jr., a conservationist and member of the Save-the-Redwoods League.

Samuel P. Taylor State Park. (Tom Myers)

Portola State Park. (Tom Myers)

♦ ARMSTRONG REDWOODS STATE PARK — two miles north of Guerneville on Armstrong Woods Road. The park's self-guiding nature trail passes the 310-foot Parson Jones Tree, nearly 14 feet in diameter and an estimated 1200 to 1500 years old. In summer, there are guided nature walks, and stage and musical productions — even weddings — take place in the 1200-seat Redwood Forest Theater, a natural amphitheater.

♦ SAMUEL P. TAYLOR STATE PARK — eight miles southeast of Olema (on State Highway 1) via Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. The groves of redwoods in the park's canyon bottoms and on north-facing slopes contrast sharply with the grassland and chaparral areas on the south-facing slopes. Only an hour's drive from San Francisco, the park offers group camping and a camp for horsemen.

MOUNT TAMALPAI STATE PARK — about twenty miles north of San Francisco via U. S. Highway 101 and State Highway 1. This five-thousand-acre park completely surrounds Muir Woods National Monument, and trails linking the two are popular with visitors. Many more come to the park to enjoy the spectacular view of the Bay Area, and even farther, from the mountain's peak.

♦ PORTOLA STATE PARK take Portola State Park Road, three miles west of State Highway 35 on Alpine Road or five miles east of State Highway 84. Just a few miles from the millions of people in the Bay Area, this virgin redwood forest intermixed with Douglasfir and coast live oak offers peaceful refuge. Children will enjoy wading in the creek, and the park's self-guiding nature trail illustrates the area's plant life.

♦ BUTANO STATE PARK seven miles south Pescadero on Cloverdale Road (mostly unpaved) in San Mateo County. Visit the park between February and July for spectacular wildflower displays. There are about thirty-five miles of hiking trails along Little Butano Creek, through the forest and dry chalk rock areas, and to overlooks — from one such overlook you will be able to see Ano Nuevo Island on a clear day. Only 21 of the park's 40 campsites can be reached by auto; the rest are accessible by hiking trail.

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. (Philip Hyde)

♦ BIG BASIN REDWOODS STATE PARK — about twenty miles north of Santa Cruz via State Highways 9 and 236. Big Basin has a Nature Lodge and an extensive interpretive program during the summer. Children enjoy getting a close look at the park's deer; at Big Basin these normally shy animals seem as curious about the children as the other way around. There is a group campground, and miles of riding and hiking trails.

♦ HENRY COWELL REDWOODS STATE PARK — approximately three miles north of Santa Cruz on State Highway 9. A self-guided nature trail displays a cross-section of the park's plant life; other trails lead to vantage points for panoramic views of the park and the Santa Cruz area. There are also riding trails and family and group picnic sites.

THE FOREST OF NISENE MARKS STATE PARK — approximately four miles north of Aptos on (unpaved) Aptos Creek Road (intersects Soquel Drive in Aptos about a hundred yards west of Aptos Creek Bridge, across the railroad tracks); the upper section of the park, located about six miles northwest of Corallitos, can be reached via the Eureka Canyon and Buzzard Lagoon Roads (also partly unpaved). Despite the fact that this area was heavily logged about sixty years ago, the lower section of the park — named for a member of the donors' family — is almost a primeval rain forest, with thick ferns and undergrowth. At the upper levels, reached along winding roads that offer occasional spectacular views of the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Monterey Bay area, redwoods give away somewhat to other species, and the forest is so quiet that the whisper of falling leaves seems loud. This primitive park is best seen from its hiking trails.

ANDREW MOLERA STATE PARK — between State Highway 1 and the ocean, about thirty miles south of Monterey and four miles south of the Big Sur Lighthouse. Here, granite cliffs open suddenly onto a sun-filled meadow, and oaks and redwoods share the stream banks. The undeveloped park is a fine place for hiking, fishing, beachcombing, and informal picnicking.

♦ PFEIFFER BIG SUR STATE PARK — about thirty-seven miles south of Monterey on State Highway 1. The terrain of this park ranges from the level valley through which the Big Sur River flows to a 3300-foot mountain peak. Western sycamores, black cottonwoods, big-leaf maples, alders, and willows grow with the redwoods along the river, but on the park's south-facing slopes, chaparral and coast live oak predominate.

♦ JULIA PFEIFFER BURNS STATE PARK — about fifty miles south of Monterey on State Highway 1. This park includes an offshore underwater reserve designed to protect the area's unique marine plants and animals. The redwoods here are near their southernmost limit. Visitors to the park can also enjoy a panoramic view of the ocean and miles of the rugged Big Sur coastline.

CALAVERAS BIG TREES STATE PARK — on State Route 4 about three miles east of Arnold. Though there are several national parks preserving the Sierra redwood, this is the only state park that contains it. The park's largest tree — named from Louis Agassiz, famous Swiss scientist who made important contributions to the theory of evolution — is located in the South Grove. Though there is usually winter snow, the park is open year round for hardy campers and snow bunnies.

The Wapama (left) and the C. A. Thayer played their part in redwood lumber shipping before they were put on display at San Francisco Maritime State Historic Park. (Department of Parks and Recreation)

OTHER ATTRACTIONS

While you're "in the neighborhood," you may enjoy visiting a few of the other state parks in the redwood country. For instance, at Fort Ross State Historic Park you can see the remains of the Commander's house, built of redwood and believed to be the oldest wood structure remaining west of the Rockies. Its famous chapel burned in 1970. At Fort Humboldt State Historic Park in Eureka are specimens of early-day logging equipment as well as displays on military history. At San Francisco Maritime State Historic Park you can board ships like those used to carry redwood lumber at the turn of the century.

Hunting is not permitted in either national or state parks but is allowed in the national forests and on some lands owned by lumber companies. Information on California's national parks and forests can be obtained from the San Francisco regional offices of the National Park Service and the U. S. Forest Service.

In addition to fishing in the streams of redwood country, party boats for deep-sea fishing are for hire at many ports along the coast. Many visitors to the coast redwood region enjoy riding the famous Skunk, an old-style, steam-powered train that carries passengers daily during the summer and on weekends during the spring and fall along a scenic route between Fort Bragg and Willits.

To learn about modern commercial forest management, the public is welcome at demonstration forests operated by various redwood lumber companies, and if you'd like to see the operations necessary to turn a huge redwood log into lumber, several lumber mills are open for public tours.

For the first eighty-five years of its life, this redwood was in fierce competition with its neighbors for moisture and sunlight. Then they were logged off, and this tree's diameter spurted from only a foot to four and a half feet in the next thirty years.