National park
Redwood National Park
Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Tall Trees Grove, Redwood Creek, and the Bald Hills. The southern end near Orick is the closest section to Arcata.
Redwood Coast · Redwood National & State Parks
Northern Humboldt & Del Norte Counties
Redwood National & State Parks
Four parks managed as one, running forty miles up the coast. There’s no entrance gate, no fee to get in, and no single grove that’s “the park” — which is exactly why people get it wrong.
- Entrance fee
- None
- Parks
- Four, jointly run
- Need a permit
- Two places
- From Arcata
- ≈ 1 hour
Orientation
It’s four parks, not one
“Redwood National Park” is shorthand. What you’re actually visiting is a national park and three state parks, cooperatively managed since 1994 and spread along forty miles of coast.
That matters for two practical reasons. First, there’s no single entrance, so you don’t drive in — you drive between. Second, the fee rules differ: the national park areas are free, while a couple of state park day-use areas charge.
State park · the busiest
Prairie Creek Redwoods
The Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, Fern Canyon, Gold Bluffs Beach, and the elk meadows. If you only have one day, this is where you spend it.
State park
Del Norte Coast Redwoods
Steep forest meeting the sea between Klamath and Crescent City, with the Damnation Creek trail and coastal overlooks.
State park · furthest north
Jedediah Smith Redwoods
Stout Grove, the Grove of the Titans boardwalk, and Howland Hill Road. Denser and darker than anything further south — and a longer drive.
The confusing part
What’s free and what needs booking
Almost everything here is free and needs nothing. Two places are exceptions, and both catch people out on the day.
| Place | Cost | Reservation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entering the parks | Free | None | There are no entrance stations at all. |
| Most groves & trails | Free | None | Lady Bird Johnson, Stout Grove, Big Tree, Trillium Falls and the rest. |
| Fern Canyon & Gold Bluffs Beach | $12 / vehicle | May 15 – Sep 15 | Book on Recreation.gov to drive in. Hiking in on the James Irvine Trail needs no permit. |
| Tall Trees Grove | Free | All year | Free permit, online only, gives you a gate code. Strenuous hike. |
The main event
Which grove should you walk?
There are a dozen worth doing and you probably have time for two or three. Filter by what your day and your group can handle.
easyshortkidsno permit
Lady Bird Johnson Grove
1.4-mile loop · flat · free · no permit
The best first stop in the park. A flat loop through old growth on a ridge, reached by a footbridge over the road.
Go at dawn — mist in the trees and almost nobody there.
shortkidsdrive
Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway
10-mile drive · free · no permit
A paved road running parallel to Highway 101 straight through Prairie Creek’s old growth, with pullouts and trailheads the whole way.
The answer for anyone who can’t manage a hike.
easykidsno permit
Trillium Falls Trail
~2.5-mile loop · gentle · free
Old growth, a small waterfall, and a start point at Elk Meadow where the herd often grazes.
Start here if Fern Canyon is booked out.
kids
Fern Canyon
~1-mile loop · $12 to drive in · permit May–Sep
Fifty-foot walls draped in ferns with a creek running down the middle. You’ll get wet feet, and the walls are unlike anywhere else in California.
Driving in needs a summer reservation and the last miles are gravel.
easyshortquietno permit
Stout Grove
~1-mile flat loop · free · no permit
Flat, open-floored, and with the Smith River running behind it — many people rate it the single most beautiful grove in the parks.
Reached via Howland Hill Road: narrow, unpaved, and closed to RVs and trailers.
drivekidsquiet
Klamath River Overlook
Drive-up · free · no permit
High bluff where the Klamath meets the Pacific. Whale spotting in season, and a good change of scene after a morning in the trees.
One of the best coastal views on this stretch.
Wildlife
The Roosevelt elk
Prairie Creek has one of the largest free-roaming elk herds in California, and they’re easy to find if you know where and when to look.
The meadows around Elk Prairie and Elk Meadow are the reliable spots. Early morning and late afternoon are best — mid-afternoon they’re often bedded down out of sight.
- Stay in or beside your car when they’re near the road, and never get between a bull and the herd.
- Give them a wide berth on trails — they don’t move for you, and a cow with a calf will defend it.
- Autumn is the loud season. Bugling bulls in September and October are one of the great sounds of this coast.
- Bring binoculars. You’ll see far more, from further away.
Planning
One day, done properly
From Arcata or Bayside it’s about an hour to the southern end of the parks. Here’s a day that doesn’t waste any of it.
- 1
Leave by 8
Coffee in Arcata, then north on US-101 past Trinidad and the lagoons. Pack lunch — food options thin out past Orick.
- 2
Lady Bird Johnson Grove first
Early light, thin crowds, and the best introduction to the scale of the place.
- 3
Drive the Newton B. Drury Parkway
Ten slow miles with the windows down. Stop at Big Tree Wayside and any pullout that looks good.
- 4
Prairie Creek visitor center & the elk meadow
Current trail conditions, restrooms, and usually elk across the road.
- 5
Fern Canyon or Trillium Falls
Fern Canyon if you booked ahead; Trillium Falls if you didn’t. Neither is a mistake.
Where to stay
An hour from the parks, in a real town
Orick is closest to the trailheads and has almost no services. Arcata and Bayside are an hour out and have everything — which for most groups is the better trade.
Baywood Redwood Retreat
A home base for families and groups doing the parks. Seven bedrooms, a full kitchen for packing lunches, a hot tub for after a long day, and an outdoor kitchen and fire pit for the evening.
- 7 bedrooms
- Sleeps 16
- 3 baths
- Hot tub
- Outdoor kitchen
- Fire pit
Keep planning