Southern Humboldt · State Route 254
Thirty-one miles of old road threading through Humboldt Redwoods State Park — called the finest forest drive in the world, and free. Here’s every stop, the hikes worth doing, and where to swim.
What it is
The Avenue is a stretch of the original highway, built as a wagon and stagecoach route in the 1880s. When US-101 was rebuilt alongside it, the old road stayed exactly where it was — going through the trees instead of around them.
It’s mostly flat with gentle curves, and it passes secluded forest hamlets, campgrounds, picnic areas and access points to the Eel River — a federally designated Wild and Scenic waterway with swimming, fishing and paddling. Trailheads appear the whole length of it.
The park holds roughly 17,000 acres of old growth, including Rockefeller Forest: the largest continuous stretch of old-growth coast redwood left anywhere on earth.
On foot
The drive is the famous part, but you don’t understand the scale until you’re standing under it.
Pepperwood, northern end · Trail 27
Easy
A level stem heading west from the Avenue at Pepperwood, opening into a loop at the far end. Flat, well-graded tread through a forest floor carpeted in redwood sorrel.
The first thing you reach driving down from Arcata, and you can walk five minutes of the stem and still get the point.
Dyerville Loop Road · Trail 19
Easy
The self-guided loop past the Founders Tree and the fallen Dyerville Giant. Mahan Loop connects directly off the south side, so you can double the walk without moving the car.
Walking beside a fallen giant conveys the scale better than standing under a living one.
Mattole Road, Bull Creek · Trail 20
Easy
A flat loop through Lower Bull Creek Flat, inside the ten-thousand-acre Rockefeller Forest. Reached by turning west onto Mattole Road.
Arguably better trees than Founders with a tenth of the people.
Mattole Road · Trail 21
Easy
A flat loop through big trees with picnic tables and direct access onto the longer Bull Creek trails.
The best picnic stop in Rockefeller Forest.
Rockefeller Forest · Mattole Road
Moderate
Two long trails run either side of Bull Creek and join at each end by seasonal footbridges for a big loop through the heart of Rockefeller Forest.
Check seasonal bridge status with the visitor center before you commit.
Avenue of the Giants at Miranda · Trail 17
Easy
An elongated loop through old growth between the road and river, with a cutoff across the middle if you want it shorter.
The one to do if you’re staying in Miranda or Myers Flat.
The whole road
Coming from Arcata? Start at the north entrance and work south. These are the stops that make the drive a day rather than a shortcut.
A 2.4-mile flat loop through sorrel-carpeted forest. The best nature trail on the Avenue and the first thing you reach from the north.
A roadside veteran that survived fire, flood, logging and a lightning strike.
Turn west on Mattole Road into the world’s largest continuous old-growth redwood forest.
The half-mile loop past the Founders Tree and the fallen Dyerville Giant.
At Burlington: current trail conditions, road closures, maps, and the Redwood Log of History.
A four-sided stone hearth beside the South Fork of the Eel, with a swimming hole nearby.
A small-fee, classic roadside stop at Myers Flat — the photo is the point.
A hollow redwood burned through top to bottom, still alive and open to the sky.
The other half
The Avenue follows a federally designated Wild and Scenic river, and on a hot summer day the water is as much the point as the trees.
The swimming hole beside the hearth at Women’s Federation Grove is the best-known, and Williams Grove has easy river access with picnic tables. Summer levels drop enough for calm wading in many stretches.
Planning
1 hr
Still worth doing
Half day
What most people should do
Full day
Best with a base in the south
Practical
Where to stay
Baywood Redwood Retreat gives groups seven bedrooms, a full kitchen, hot tub, outdoor kitchen and fire pit — with the northern parks in one direction and the Avenue of the Giants in the other.