Being
off season, we had no problem getting a site at Jedediah Smith
Redwoods State
Park where we camped below towering trees.
Three
state parks in northwest California
(Jedediah Smith, Prairie Creek & Del Norte) were created to protect the
Redwoods in the 1920s. In 1968 Redwoods
National Park was
created, encircling the state parks further protecting the forest.
We
left the trailer at the campsite and drove the windy, narrow, dirt Howland Hill Road
through the redwood forest – a little challenge when a car was coming in the
opposite direction. It was cool driving through the forest, squeaking between
trees.
We
followed the road to Stout Grove where we took the short Stout Grove Loop Trail
– Jedediah Smith’s most famous redwood stand. Periodic flooding prevents
underbrush from growing, forming a fern carpet forest floor.
The
Coast Redwood can grow to almost 380 feet and can live 2,000 years. These are
some big old trees!
Can
you spot Bill?
The
next day we drove further down Howland
Hill Road to the Boy Scout Tree Trail. On the way
we found a pretty big stump where Barbara found her first California letterbox. We decided not to
count the rings.
The
Boy Scout trail is a pristine 5.6-mile round trip hike into the heart of the
park.
We
had the trail practically to ourselves until we got to the Boy Scout Tree where
we met couples from South Carolina and Florida. We took
pictures of each other by the tree. On the way back we met a couple from
Virginia – lots of east coasters on the trail!
Later
on we drove another redwood-lined road - Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway in Prairie Creek Redwoods
State Park. Barbara
checked out the visitor center while Bill hiked Prairie Creek and Cathedral
trails.
Prairie
Creek trail hugged the creek and had both big trees and good views of them. The
loop back went by Big Tree which used to be one of the tallest until the top
blew off in a storm.
