Redwood NPS website: https://www.nps.gov/redw/index.htm
About Redwood National Park
Redwood National Park is actual Redwood National and State Park. Many national and state park lands make up the total area and are actively intermixed.
During my time in the parks, I found I most enjoyed Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. This was two fold. In the first couple days of my time in the Redwoods, a tree fell across Newton B. Drury Parkway that run right through this part of the park. With the tree blocking through traffic, the road was closed to cars and open to walkers.
Dogs are only allowed on roads and parking lots in the parks, so this was such a unique experience. Tonto and I were able to hike the road several days. It was an interesting way to view the park given that most people only ever get the opportunity to drive the scenic parkway.
While Tonto was not allowed on trails, we were still able to see many magnificent trees close to the road. We also hiked the Cal Barrel Road, which is a rarely used service road through the park.
(Redwood) Trees of Mystery
This was a fun stop! The Trees of Mystery is an interactive hike through a privately owned section of the Redwoods. There are several famous trees on the property and the experience is completely dog-friendly!
Tonto was able to walk the entire trail with me and even had the opportunity to ride the Sky Trail, which is a gondola experience.
Pets are free to enter and the price per person was very reasonable. Most people could spend all day here, and really take your time walking through and learning about these amazing trees.
There are several points of interest from a tree that was struck by lightning and burned from the inside out to the Cathedral Trees. It is truly an awe inspiring experience to be surrounding by such visually stunning beauty in nature.
Drive Thru a (Redwood) Tree
While working my way through the Avenue of Giants, I made the Shrine Drive Thru Tree a destination I had to get to. As part of my Redwoods experience, I knew I wanted to drive through one of the giant trees. Myers Flat is one of the notable and cute towns along the route and hosts this incredible experience.
The base of the Shrine Drive Thru Tree has a 7.0 ft wide by 7.0 ft tall opening that cars and even some SUVs can drive through. This tree is just under 100 ft tall and is about 2300 years old.
When I arrived at the check in station, the older gentleman in the booth looked at my Toyota 4Runner and said, “It’ll probably fit”. He had be pay, about $10, and sent me on my way with little instruction. Funny, but scary.
You will see and hear in the video that I had to stop and pull in my side mirrors in order to fit through the tree. If you listen closely, you can actually hear the running boards on the car slightly scraping the interior of the tree.
There are other older and better known drive through trees along the coastal redwoods. This one seemed like a fun and different route to take. It was right along the Avenue of the Giants, easy to find, and there was a fun little curio shop to explore.
Surprising Beaches
For some reason, I never expected the Redwoods to include beaches. Obviously, California is on the coast, but I just never put that together. Being here in late October, offered some eerie fog across the landscape ,and, at times, the beaches were impacted. It was beautiful.
Dogs with recall can be off-leash most of these beaches, so Tonto has a grand time running off leash. There were several signs warning of sneaker waves, which was a new thing for me to learn about. It was much too cold to swim, but damn if that would not have changed my mind if it had been warmer.
Recommended Drives:
Where to Stay:
Emerald Forest Cabins and RV Park
Emerald Forest was centrally located in the Redwoods, allowing for quick access to the park and near by towns for basic amenities. They offer several cabin styles, tent camping, and RV camping. Their property is set up in such a peace way with a walking path that snakes through the various areas.
Full hookups were included with my site and they had recycling onsite as well. Propane was reasonably priced and could be filled during normal business hours. The town of Trinidad offered several nice restaurants within a 5 minute drive.
Bonus tip: Check out Headies Pizza & Pour – I got the 1/2 and 1/2 Old Growth and Trinity, which was *chef’s kiss* wonderful!
