Video of Redwood National Park’s trees

Day hikers can walk beneath some of the planet's largest organisms at Redwood National Park in California.

Though the sequoias of the Sierra Nevada range are larger than coastal redwoods in volume, the latter usually grows taller. Coastal Redwoods can reach up to 30 stories high. Comparatively, the world’s largest animal – a blue whale – usually is only about 1/16th the size of a redwood.

Just how big do redwoods get in human terms? Compare the hikers on the walking path to the redwood on the trail's right side in this video:

You can see some of the largest redwoods (They also are among the planet’s oldest living organisms.) on the Travel Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, a 10-mile scenic drive, and then hike the 0.25-mile round trip Big Tree Wayside Trail to the Big Tree, which soars 28 stories high.

Also see:
• Best trails for experiencing Redwood National Park’s wonders

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

Best trails to see Redwood NP’s wonders

Redwood trees at  Redwood National and State Parks.
Photo courtesy of Redwoods NPS.

Among the best ways to see Redwood National and State Parks’ top sights is via a day hike. Just four short trails will allow you to enjoy each of the park’s highlights – the tallest trees on Earth, tide pools and seastacks, coastal wildlife, and North America’s largest elk.

Tallest trees on Earth
Coastal Redwoods can reach up to 30 stories high and are among the oldest living organisms on Earth. Sadly, only 5 percent of old-growth redwoods remain. You can see some of the oldest ones on the Travel Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, a 10-mile scenic drive, and then hike the 0.25-mile round trip Big Tree Wayside Trail to the Big Tree, which soars 28 stories tall.

Tide pools and seastacks
With more than 40 miles of pristine Pacific Ocean coastline, the park is the perfect place to see tide pools and seastacks. The latter are visible from many highway vistas but to get close up to a tide pool – a small body of saltwater that sustains many colorful sea creatures on the beach at low tide – explore the 1-mile segment (2-miles round trip) of the Coastal Trail at Enderts Beach south of Crescent City.

Coastal wildlife
Multiple ecosystems – prairies, oak woodlands, riverways that pour into the Pacific Ocean – can be found across the national park. The Klamath River Overlook and half-mile round trip walk on a segment of the Coastal Trail to the ocean provides an opportunity to spot sea lions, seals, sea birds, whales and salmon.

North America’s largest elk
A few herds of the continent’s largest elk – some bulls weigh as much as five full-grown men – make the national park their home. The Trillium Falls Trail in Elk Meadow offers a chance to see the Roosevelt elk; the trail passes a clearing, often frequented by a herd, on the way to a small waterfalls in a 2.8 miles loop.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

Day hike 600-year-old redwoods grove

Fog from the Pacific Ocean marine layer provides up to a
quarter of the precipitation that coastal redwoods need. 

Topo map, Damnation Creek Trail.

Hiking families can enjoy a trip into what feels like the forest primeval on a segment of the Damnation Creek Trail in Redwood National Park.

The entire trail runs four miles with an elevation change of 1170 feet, a hearty workout for any fit teen or adult. For those with younger children, a 1.2-mile round trip through just the redwoods section of the trail makes for more than a fantastic walk.

Summer marks the best time to hike the trail as winters are rainy, with this area of California receiving around 80 inches a year. Any time of the day works well to hike the trail – in the morning the fog from the marine layer shrouds the tree tops while late afternoon on clear days allows the setting sun’s golden rays to break through the boughs.

To reach the trail, take U.S. Hwy. 101 to mile marker 16, about eight miles south of Crescent City, Calif. The parking lot is a pullout on the highway’s west side. Look for the trailhead sign on the pullout’s north side.

Land of the Lost?
The trail starts at about 1100 feet elevation and climbs through a dense grove of redwoods. The range of trunk sizes and bark colors can falsely lead those who’ve never seen these giants to believe that a variety of trees grow here, but it’s strictly coastal redwoods with only the occasional Douglas fir.

An understory of rhododendron, which sports beautiful pink and purple blossoms in mid-May to early June, and incredibly tall huckleberry bushes – some reaching 15 feet high – makes you feel like you’re in a scene from “Land of the Lost.”

After a quarter mile, the trail crests a ridge then descends to the Pacific Ocean. During tourism season, traffic noise can be an issue, as the path roughly parallels Hwy. 101. At about 0.4 miles, it pulls away from the road.

The trail then reaches stately old-growth redwoods, and you’ll think you’ve entered a hidden world.

Up to 96% gone
Coastal redwoods can reach up to 379 feet high (not including the roots), 26 feet around, and 1800 years for a lifespan. Most trees in this segment of the national forest are about 500-700 years old and so are not quite as high or wide.

Even on a sunny day, you may feel a drip from a redwood branch. Redwoods depend upon the daily coastal fog, which provides up to a quarter of the precipitation necessary for their survival.

At one time, coastal redwoods covered 2.1 million acres of countryside, stretching from south of San Francisco into southern Oregon. Unlike its relative the sequoia, found in Yosemite and Sequoia national parks, the redwood makes for great lumber, so about 96 percent of the original old growth redwood forest has been logged off.

Upon reaching the Coastal Trail (a paved route) junction, you’ve gone 0.6 miles and descended 300 feet. This marks a good spot to turn around, for the rest of the way is steep and full of switchbacks to the trail’s namesake, Damnation Creek, and a rocky ocean beach.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.