Unlike every park I’ve visited previously, the area now known as “Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP)*”- a collection of 1 National Park and 3 State Parks – is very different now than when it was first established 50 years ago.
Starting in the early 19th Century, when Native Americans tribes in Northern California were displaced by the usual Euro/American means of misleading treaties, famine, and war, there has been a fascination with the Coast Redwood- a massive tree that can grow to over 250 feet tall. Initially admired for their beauty, loggers eventually arrived in droves and by 1918 had reduced roughly 2 million acres of Redwood Forrest to a few Hundred Thousand acres.
It would take the herculean lobbying efforts of a group called the “Save the Redwoods League” to slow this aggressive logging, with 3 state parks (Prairie Creek, Del Norte Coast, and Jedediah Smith) being established in the 1920s and one National Park in 1968 to protect this once abundant tree. The park estimates that by the time the National Park was established, nearly 90% of the original Redwood Trees had been cut down by logging.
Today, nearly 50 years later, the Coast Redwood is in full recovery. While the park estimates that it may take another 60 to 100 years for the area to resume its former pre-logging glory, I can say with absolute confidence that there is no shortage of trees in the park- in fact, for those visiting this park, prepare to see nothing but trees for the entire time you stay.
The most surprising thing about RNSP is how remote it is- arriving from San Francisco (following the ever so helpful Google Map of instruction of “Turn right in 300 miles”) I passed only a handful of places that would even qualify as a town- in fact the only infrastructure within 30 minutes of the park is a “census-designated place” called Orick, which allegedly has 350 people living in it (a number that no doubt varies depending on whether dead people, dogs, and trees are counted).
Despite the best efforts of the California tourism board to paint the state as an affluent place full of “Women in Bikinis, Tanned Surfer Bros, and Vibrant Night Life” Northwest California remains a stronghold of rural culture, oddly reminiscent of Central Florida or parts of Alabama and Georgia. Camping is far and away the best way to stay overnight in the park and as a gradual transition into camping life, I chose to “Glamp” in one of RNSP’s new cabins.
Located within Prairie Creek, the cabins are noteworthy not just because they each provide their own water tap and electrical hookups, but also because they are completely surrounded by giant Elk. Having spent the vast majority of my life in cities, seeing herds of elk casually strolling around my campsite was definitely a new experience:
The hiking trails in RNSP vary in length and difficulty, but all essentially contain the same scenery: miles and miles of trees and ferns. I chose to do the famous “James Irvine and Miners Ridge” Loop- which, with the exception of an unmarked 1 mile detour across the beach- is a well-maintained and relatively easy 12 mile hike in the park. Here’s a few photos from that hike (thanks to Daniel for being the scale model):
I ended up spending just two nights in Redwood and my opinion is mixed: the park is impressive and has been admirable in its preservation efforts; however, from a scenery perspective, two days of endless trees felt like an overdose. I have newfound respect for hikers who embark on long-distance trails like the AT and the PCT- I have no idea how they stave off the boredom of days and days of copy-and-paste scenery!
I am off to Lassen Volcanic National Park on the opposite side of California- so long for now!
-MB
*Originally each park had it’s own administration, but now they all role up to the National Park under the header “Redwood National and State Parks.”
