Redwood State Park – Santa Cruz County, California
This area offers an unbroken trail that begins in the beautiful and stately redwood-covered mountains and ends on the rugged, beautiful beaches of the Pacific Coast. You will experience the grandeur of the redwood, sparkling waterfalls singing their wonderful sounds as they fall to the pools below, hiking the Skyline to the Sea Trail through Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
While you are in the Redwood State Park you may see the statuette Roosevelt elk grazing in the prairies. Watch the tail of a female Chinook salmon heave skyward as she makes a nest for her eggs. You may also hear the endangered marbled murrelet that keer across the treetops as they fly from sea to mossy nest. The forest is home to banana slugs, black bears and other fantastic animals for you to experience.
You can take the 10 mile scenic drive on Howland Hill Road and Stout Grove and see the old-growth redwoods, along Mill creek, with a ½ mile walk through a river bottom.
Get off the beaten path and onto Coastal Drive for this 8 mile rough and tumble road which winds past expansive Pacific Ocean views and descends into redwoods at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The road is rough so motorhomes and trailers are prohibited on the gravel sections.
Just look at the view from Klamath River Overlook, it is a prime spot for watching the gray whale migration. Look for other marine mammals and a host of seabirds any time of the ear. Hike ¼ mile down a steep trail to the lower overlook and even more outstanding views.
Be sure to stop at Kuchel Visitor Center one mile south of Orick. The state-of-the-art exhibits are fabulous.
Directions: From the north or south, use US Highway 101. From the northeast, use US Highway 199. From 1010: Access additional park sites via the Bald Hills Road, Davison Road, Newton B.Drury Scenic Parkway, Coastal Drive, Requa Road, and Enderts Beach Road (south to north). From 199, take South Fork Road to Howland Hill Road.
Hiouchi Information Center: Open from Mid-June to Mid-September 9-5
Phone: 707-458-3294
Jedediah Smith Visitor Center: Open from May 20 to September 30 from 9-5
Phone: 707-458-3496
Call for other locations and more information.
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