I’m staying on the Oregon coast just a few miles from the California border so I drove an hour south. Right now the highway south of Crescent City is closed for 4 hours at a time for construction so what would normally be a 2 hour drive to the national park can be up to 6. That said, did you know there are two other places to hike the Redwoods? One is the Oregon redwood trail, the northernmost limit of the redwoods; and Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park in Ca. This is the one I chose, specifically the fern trail to the Boy Scout tree. Both of these are state parks.

Crossing into California you stop at the border crossing station, this involves barely saying hello to a guard before being waved on. I imagine it’s a bigger deal in a camper as they ask about fruits and animals. Making a turn from the 101 to the 199 and then onto a very small, windy dirt road for a few hours you will wonder if you’re lost. Especially if you’re an early bird. I was the only car on the graded dirt road at 9am. However, the trailhead has bathrooms and designated parking spaces and all but one of the parking spots were full. There is ample parking dotted along the roads as well. This was evidenced by the number of cars parked in every nook and crevice by the time I finished a few hours later.

Using the aforementioned bathrooms, grabbing my hydration pack and heading out into the trail; I was instantly awed. Right off the bat, you’re walking in giants. The soft dirt path is easy to navigate.

You can raise your eyes and look around while walking. This lasts for about a mile or two before the trail narrows a bit and becomes entangled with roots.

There are massive fallen trees whose stumps dwarf a person. At six feet tall, I’m not a small, but should give an idea of scale.

There are trees just crying out for a fun insta worthy shot.

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There are bridges, and stairs to traverse.

Until eventually you come to a poorly marked intersection. There are a few offshoots along the entire path. I assume most are dead ends. I checked a handful and they were, but I’ve also got a terrible sense of direction and don’t tend to stray too far from the main road. At this point, however, I saw a path leading straight up and something made me curious. Looking a bit harder I did notice a hand carved sign near the ground that had a barely discernible “Tree” carved into it. So I made the decision to go up. Easily a 60 degree angle, but only for about 15 feet.

This tree is a wonder! It’s massive. Photos just don’t do it justice.

Crawling back to the main road it wasn’t long before I came to the end. The waterfall. As it was August and I’d read reviews I wasn’t surprised that it was not more than a trickle. I’d imagine in spring it’s a great sight. Better than most of what I’ve found on the trails in Florida any time of year.

I hope you enjoyed this sunrise hike in the redwood park with me. Let’s go explore another trail again soon.