Trip Report: Redwood National and Sate Parks, Northern California
When: 04/20/2018
Location: Redwood National and Sate Parks
Conditions: Sunny with a high of 80 degrees and didn't get below 40 at night.
Duration: 3 days 3 nights
Difficulty: Can be at as easy or difficult as you make it!
Kid Friendly: Yes
Pet Friendly: Yes
Usefull links:
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
The Smith River
The Full Report:
My fiancé and I recently drove down to northern California to see some redwoods! We left on a Thursday evening and drove straight through to Mill Creek Campground (supposedly one of the best places to stay in the redwoods). When we arrived at 1:30 in the morning we found Mill Creek Campground to be closed! We then proceeded to Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. This one is only about 25 minutes away and we found a campground quite easily.
When we woke in the morning we were surrounded by giant redwoods covered with beautiful green moss! While exploring the park that day we discovered that the Smith River flows right through the park. This river is absolutely gorgeous, filled with water so clear you can see straight to the bottom of the river.
We decided to start the day with a hike on the Boy Scout Tree Trail. This claims to be a 2.8-mile hike each way. Our Nike apps calculated it and turned out to be more like 3.5 each way so be prepared for a good 7-mile hike! The trail is gorgeous with giant redwoods and often crossing a beautiful trickling creek. At the end of the trail was a small cascading waterfall with plenty of logs to sit down on while having a lunch break. I would recommend this trail just to see some of the redwoods and the beautiful forest.
Another option is to kayak or raft down the South Fork of the Smith River. (Plan a trip before you get there because cell service is quite limited in the area). There is also the north fork of the Smith River and the main Smith River to explore.
On Sunday we decided to drive out to the scenic highway 101 and drive all the way along the coast back to Portland. There are endless beaches with the classic Oregon rocky cliffs to explore. We brought our wetsuits and some boogie boards to have fun in the water! I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant, but we stopped for an amazing Mexican buffet about an hour outside of Crescent city that really hit the spot!
You could do this trip 10 different times and do it 10 different ways. If you have a four-wheel-drive I would suggest coming inland at Gold Beach and following the Rogue River all the way through the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Park. There are endless places to camp with beautiful views of the Rogue River.
I would highly suggest this as a spring or fall trip, because once summer comes along some of these parks will be packed with tourists! Enjoy!
The Full Report:
My fiancé and I recently drove down to northern California to see some redwoods! We left on a Thursday evening and drove straight through to Mill Creek Campground (supposedly one of the best places to stay in the redwoods). When we arrived at 1:30 in the morning we found Mill Creek Campground to be closed! We then proceeded to Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. This one is only about 25 minutes away and we found a campground quite easily.
When we woke in the morning we were surrounded by giant redwoods covered with beautiful green moss! While exploring the park that day we discovered that the Smith River flows right through the park. This river is absolutely gorgeous, filled with water so clear you can see straight to the bottom of the river.
We decided to start the day with a hike on the Boy Scout Tree Trail. This claims to be a 2.8-mile hike each way. Our Nike apps calculated it and turned out to be more like 3.5 each way so be prepared for a good 7-mile hike! The trail is gorgeous with giant redwoods and often crossing a beautiful trickling creek. At the end of the trail was a small cascading waterfall with plenty of logs to sit down on while having a lunch break. I would recommend this trail just to see some of the redwoods and the beautiful forest.
Another option is to kayak or raft down the South Fork of the Smith River. (Plan a trip before you get there because cell service is quite limited in the area). There is also the north fork of the Smith River and the main Smith River to explore.
On Sunday we decided to drive out to the scenic highway 101 and drive all the way along the coast back to Portland. There are endless beaches with the classic Oregon rocky cliffs to explore. We brought our wetsuits and some boogie boards to have fun in the water! I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant, but we stopped for an amazing Mexican buffet about an hour outside of Crescent city that really hit the spot!
You could do this trip 10 different times and do it 10 different ways. If you have a four-wheel-drive I would suggest coming inland at Gold Beach and following the Rogue River all the way through the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Park. There are endless places to camp with beautiful views of the Rogue River.
I would highly suggest this as a spring or fall trip, because once summer comes along some of these parks will be packed with tourists! Enjoy!