Redwood Activities

Ranger-led programs are offered during the summer season (mid-June to Labor Day). Check at a park visitor center for details. Weekly schedules for the programs are posted in the state park campgrounds and at visitor centers (where most programs occur). Topics for various activities may include bears, tidepools, American Indian cultures, and redwood ecology.
Campfire programs are held at the following campgrounds:

    * Jedediah Smith
    * Mill Creek
    * Gold Bluffs Beach
    * Elk Prairie

California State Parks Junior Ranger programs for children ages 7-12 are held at:

    * Jedediah Smith campground
    * Mill Creek campground
    * Gold Bluffs Beach campground
    * Prairie Creek Visitor Center

Nature walks:

    * Redwood walks - Join a ranger to learn more about natural communities in the redwood ecosystem. Check posted schedules for times, topics, and locations.
    * Tidepool walks - All tidepool walks meet at the Enderts Beach parking area. The walk takes about 2-½ hours. Check at a visitor center for times and dates.

Bicycling in Redwood National and State Parks can be a challenging and an awe-inspiring experience as you pass through the redwood forest or along the coastline. Although most national parks prohibit biking in the backcountry, we offer a few--often on rehabilitated logging roads where tires cause less erosion damage and where routes are wide enough to safely accommodate multiple uses. Help limit impacts on other trails by respecting areas where bicycles are not permitted. Pick up a park brochure with map at any visitor center. Mileage is one way.

    * Little Bald Hills Trail on Howland Hill Road: 5 miles open during the summer only. Steep.
    * Coastal Trail, Last Chance section, located at the end of Enderts Beach Road or at milepost 15.6 on Highway 101: 6 miles. Some steep areas.
    * Ossagon Trail Loop starts at milepost 132.9 on Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway: 19-mile loop when combined with Coastal Trail, Gold Beach section, and Davison Road. Steep, easy, easy, steep, respectively.
    * Coastal Trail, Gold Bluffs Beach section, accessed via Ossagon Trail or Davison Road: 3 miles. Easy.
    * Davison Trail, start at Elk Meadow Day Use Area or at the south end of Elk Prairie campground: 2¼ miles. Easy. Combine with Streelow Creek Trail and Davison Road for a 7½ loop. Easy to moderate. Carry on to Lost Man Creek trailhead for another 2½ miles. Moderate.
    * Lost Man Creek Trail located 3 miles north of Orick or 6½ miles up Bald Hills Road off Hwy 101: 11 miles. Combine with Bald Hills Road and Highway 101 for a 20½-mile loop. Add on four miles by going to Elk Meadow Day Use Area. Moderate with some steep grades.


Horses

    * Redwood Creek Horse Trail comprises four possible loops and two stock-ready camps. Several days of riding are possible. The Redwood Creek Horse Trail begins in Orick next to the Orick Rodeo Grounds off Highway 101, about 1 mile (1½ km) north of the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center.
    * Little Bald Hills Trail off Howland Hill Road (within RNSP's Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park) is horse-accessible with a stock-ready camp.
    * Mill Creek Horse Trail is available for day use. Access Mill Creek Horse Trailhead from Bertsch Avenue off Howland Hill Road.
    * For guided horseback rides, contact RNSP concessions, Redwood Trails, 265 Idlewood Lane Trinidad, CA 95570 (707) 498.4837 or a local chamber of commerce.

Please be aware of the following regulations:

    * Permits are required for overnight use and can be obtained at visitor centers
    * Camp only in designated sites
    * Carry only pellets or certified weed-free feed to camps and on trails
    *  Animals may not graze park vegetation
    *  Animals must be hobbled or tied to a hitching post when unattended

Tall Trees Grove:

    * Permits to visit the Tall Trees Grove are available for no charge at the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center, located on Highway 101, one mile (1½ km) south of Orick, at the Crescent City Information Center at 1111 Second Street, and at Prairie Creek Visitor Center on the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. Visitors should plan to spend three to four hours for this hike. Limited to 50 cars per day.

Special events are offered throughout the year, call for dates and times, (707) 464-6101. These events may include:

    * National Park Service Founder's Day
    * Eco fun festival
    * Candlelight celebration of the redwoods
    * An organized bike ride in the park

American Indian dance demonstrations presented by members of the Tolowa and the Yurok tribes are performed in RNSP every summer season.

    * The Tolowa conduct a renewal dance demonstration at the Jedediah Smith picnic area, off Highway 199 just west of the community of Hiouchi.
    * Yurok demonstrate the traditional brush dance at the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center, one mile south of Orick on Highway 101.
    * Each demonstration begins with an introduction explaining the dance's significance to each American Indian culture. Both dance demonstrations are open to the public and free of charge.
    * Call for dates and times, (707) 465-7304 or (707) 465-7765.

Wilife Viewing:

    * Whale watching! Peak migration months for viewing gray whales are November - December and March - April. A resident population may be seen any month of the year at the Klamath River Overlook. Pick a clear, calm day. Bring your binoculars and watch for their spouting. Other good viewing spots include: Crescent Beach Overlook, Wilson Creek, High Bluff Overlook, Gold Bluffs Beach, Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center.
    * Roosevelt elk, one of the largest members of the deer family, are the most easily observed wildlife in the parks. They are seen throughout the parks, but primarily south of the Klamath River in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Gold Bluffs Beach, along the Bald Hills Road, and in the Orick area. Males sport large antlers in late summer through winter. Females are smaller in stature and have no antlers. The rut, or mating season, occurs in fall. Calves are born in grassy, open areas in May and June. Be careful: elk are wild and unpredictable animals. They are particularly dangerous during calving and the fall rut. Always observe them at a safe distance.
    * Tidepool marine life and seabird viewing!  Enderts Beach, ½-mile (1 km) walk down the Coastal Trail from the Crescent Beach Overlook; Lagoon Creek/Yurok Loop, 1-mile (1½ km) hike to Hidden Beach; pick up a tides schedule at a visitor center.