A Week Surrounded by Beautiful Giants

Visiting the Redwoods in Northern California has been on our wish list since we started RVing. I had visited when I was a little girl, so it was such a joy to not only see them again 40 years later, but to spend a week immersed in them.

We loved finding an RV park in the middle of Redwood State & National Parks, so we never really had to break the magic of the experience.

Mystic Forest RV Park On our first day, we arrived and got set up at the park and explored the park and trail on property. details on Mystic Forest RV Park in this blog here

Elk Prairie & Visitor’s Center The next day, we headed over to the visitor’s center. While we had researched online in advance, the valuable knowledge of the rangers and a paper map are always a great resource, especially in an area with no cell service.

The ranger was great to chat with and gave us several spots for us to explore, even showing us where dog friendly spots were so Luna could get out and enjoy, too! With a plan in hand (and a new poster I couldn’t resist), we explored some of the trails around the visitors center, watched the elk in the nearby field as they rubbed on trees attempting to shed their velvet, and drove to the shorter trail of Big Tree.

South Fork Trail to Rhododendron Trail to Brown Creek Trail On day 3, we prepped our hiking pack, downloaded offline maps, and grabbed our hiking sticks for an exciting day. The trail the ranger had marked for us was just over 4 miles, and we were directed to start on South Fork Trail so we would get the uphill and more challenging terrain done first. We climbed over fallen trees, past creeks and runoffs, and still stayed low in the trees. By the time we made the turn to Rhododendron Trail, we were deep enough in the forest we heard very little wildlife, although I am sure they saw us!

We stopped at a fallen tree to enjoy our lunch before heading on to the final leg of the hike, Brown Creek Trail. By the time we finished, my Garmin was saying we’d done over 5 miles, even though BJ’s said about 4.5 miles. Either way, our exhaustion was well worth it for the beautiful day. We only saw 2 other groups the entire day, except when we were near the trailheads.

Yurok Tribe Salmon Festival We had stopped in to grab some smoked salmon jerky at a local shop and the proprietor told us about the festival in town this coming weekend. The Yurok Tribe were the local people and they were also celebrating that the 4th dam along the Klamath river had finally removed and salmon were now coming back upriver to their spawning grounds. They’d even commemorated the removal with a canoe trip from the ocean up to the town.

We spent our Saturday morning watching the parade, checking out the booths with all sorts of jewelry, clothing and pottery, as well as learning about the tribe’s history and way of life in the area at displays and demonstrations, and chatting with elders there to tell their stories. We were so caught up in the festivities and stories, we didn’t realize until after that we didn’t get any photos or videos of it!

Myrtle Creek Trail The next day was Luna’s turn for a hike, and our little Bark Ranger was ready to hit the trail! We packed a lunch into our hiking pack, grabbed her hiking leash and vest and set out, since it was about a 30 minute drive to the trailhead up Highway 101 and out east on Highway 199 from Crescent City. This was a 2-mile out and back hike along an old mining trail, so there were closed off mine shafts and story markers along the way. The end point was at the creek, where we found a rocky beach to eat lunch and explore the pools for crawfish, frogs and other life. The scenic drive on Hwy 101 was beautiful, with its high cliffs, rocky coast line, and sea fog rolling in as we headed back.

Klamath and Coastal Trail We decided to take a break from hiking and visit a driving trail. The coastal trail took us to scenic overlooks of the Pacific where we looked for whales, heard the calls of sea lions, and learned about the history of the area from its indigenous tribes to modern day. We stopped for several short walks to various overlooks and the historic bridge that had washed away, taking the original town location with it. We were enjoying the drive, so not a lot of photos from this day, either. But BJ got some video, so it should be in the YouTube video when he gets it posted. I’ll update the blog with a link when it goes live. (If I forget, message me and I will!)

Hidden Beach Trail About a mile north of our campground, this trail starts across from the Trees of Mystery and connects to the beach, and the Coastal Trail. We walked the mile down the highway to do this one, luckily it had a good shoulder for us to avoid traffic, like many of the hikers and bicyclists we’d seen throughout our stay. The trail was a mile and a half out-and-back trail with bridges and roots to climb. The turnaround point is at the beach, where you navigate over driftwood and rocks to the water’s edge. Since it doesn’t have a parking lot at the trailhead, there weren’t many people, so it was like having the beach all to ourselves on this beautiful day. The tide was out, so we saw barnacles and starfish clinging to rocks, waiting for the waters to return. We walked a good stretch of beach before making our way back.

We hadn’t planned to be gone long, so hadn’t brought a pack or lunch. So when we emerged from the woods, the smell of grease lured us into the Blue Ox Cafe, across from the Trees of Mystery. We opted to skip the Trees of Mystery hikes and rides, but we did venture into the gift shop since it had an incredible display of indigenous tribes and artifacts from all over the area. It was quite a collection and neat to see so many artifacts on display to compare between the tribes in different regions.

As always happens, our time ran out before we saw everything on our list. There were several more hikes we want to explore, so we look forward to returning someday. You can find the information for the trails we did by checking out the park’s website or hiking apps like AllTrails.

Until we can return again, I’ll make due with memories, pictures, and the poster on my wall.

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Thanks for being here, we’ll see you out there!

Here is the video about the couple hikes we did in Redwood National Park https://youtu.be/D0zkWfzwiZE