Imagine wandering through a cool, quiet, sun-and-shadow-dappled forest of tall, tall trees (some over 300 ft/91 m), standing toothpick-straight amidst a carpet of lush green ferns. You’ll smell the scents of the forest and perhaps, even a little salt air from the Pacific Ocean beyond.

There is just such as place as described above - actually, several places, all combined into Redwood National and State Parks in northern California. This national park is a testament to the partnership of federal (National Park Service) and state (California Department of Parks and Recreation) agencies cooperatively managing lands on which thrive swaths of coastal redwood trees, some of which are between 800-2,000 years old.

According to park staff:

In 1994, three state parks—Jedediah Smith, Del Norte Coast, and Prairie Creek—joined with Redwood National Park to co-manage adjacent lands, staffing, and visitor services. Together, Redwood National and State Parks oversee 120,000 acres of forested land, including 45 percent of the world’s remaining old-growth redwoods.

There’s plenty to do here while learning about the coastal redwood trees. You can picnic, hike, walk, kayak, bicycle, horseback ride, and drive several scenic roads through this mosaic of parks. Within these parks, you can also roam approximately 37 miles (60 km) of California coastline for a little tidepooling.

If you enjoy wildlife viewing, you’ll have a choice of land and sea in which to spot some 66 species of terrestrial mammals alone, in addition to marine mammals such as seals, whales, dolphins, and porpoises, and even otters (river otters) playing in coastal estuaries and along shorelines.

Speaking of the coastline, there are several easily-accessible tidepool locations to explore, where you might discover beneath the clear salt water, mussels, snails, starfish, anemones, crabs, and sea cucumbers.

Are you a birder and/or delight in bird photography? Bring your binoculars and telephoto lenses, because you’ll have plenty to spot from over 280 bird species documented within the parks’ boundaries. This includes the California condor, thanks to a rule intended to make it easier to release an endangered species into the landscape, including RNSP’s lands.

Regardless whether this is your first trip or a return trip to Redwood National and State Parks, you should find the pages below helpful in planning your park visit, while learning more about this environment so conducive to the growth of these tall, tall trees and its denizens within.

Traveler’s Choice For: forests, hiking, photography