Redwood National Park

Welcome to the audio-described version of Redwood National and State Parks' official print brochure and map. Through text and audio descriptions of photos, illustrations, and maps, this version interprets the classic two-sided color brochure that park visitors receive. The brochure touches on the history of the park, some of its highlights, and information for planning your visit. This audio version lasts about one hour and twenty minutes which we have divided into fifteen sections, as a way to improve the listening experience. The first section is a general overview of the Redwoods,  sections two through seven are titled:

 A Summary of the Front of the Brochure

 Redwoods National Park

 From Exploration to Preservation

 Treasures to Nature and Culture

 Indians of the Redwoods Coast

 and 

Life Along the Seacoast.  Sections eight through fifteen cover the back of the brochure and are titled:

Back of the Brochure Overview and Map

 Exploring the Redwoods Coast

 Hiouchi Area

 Crescent City Area

 Klamath Area

 Prairie Creek Area

 Orick Area

 General Information and Map Details.

Redwood National and State Parks, is located in northern California along the Pacific Northwest coastline. We invite you to visit the rich community of life at Redwood National and State Parks. Together, these parks are recognized as both a World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve. The designations reflect worldwide awareness of the parks' resources as irreplaceable.

In 1968, Congress protected lands adjacent to three California state parks with the creation of Redwood National Park.  Land designations are 60,268 acres of state park lands as well as 71,715 acres of federally protected land.  In 1994, the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the National Park Service agreed to jointly manage the four park area for maximum resource protection.

American Indian tribes have made their home within the North Coast region for thousands of years and still maintain their cultural presence today in areas surrounding park lands. The parks' managers work in consultation with the tribes to ensure that their cultural practices can continue.

Visitors today may experience the mist and fog of 37 miles of pristine coastline, seasonal wildflower blooms, historic sites, open prairie lands, two major rivers full of both life and recreational opportunities, or simply the deep stillness found within old growth groves and the tallest trees on earth.  Adventure is waiting.

The brochure is organized into five sections oriented horizontally across the page as four separate rows.   Each row is composed of text, photographs, and illustrations.  Each of these five sections is equal to an entire row in length with the exception of the third.  The third row is composed of two section and is fragmented by an illustration of a large redwood tree.  The fourth section fits snugly on the far right side of this row.  

The first row is a general introduction to Redwoods in text beneath four photographs of scenery and wildlife.  The second row is a mix of eight illustrations, two photographs, and text summary of the history of area explorations, mining and logging, and facts about redwoods.  The third row of seven illustrations, three photographs, a small map, and text presents wildlife, waterways, and Indians of the Redwood Coast.  The fourth and final row is a large illustration demonstrating the life and ecosystems along the seacoast.  The illustration is overlaid with text, a photograph, and smaller illustrations offering finer detail.

World’s tallest living tree—monarch of the North Coast—living link to the Age of Dinosaurs. Redwoods grow from seeds the size of a tomato seed yet can weigh 500 tons and stand taller than the Statue of Liberty. Its foot-thick bark makes the tree all but impervious to fire and insects. Archibald Menzies first noted the coast redwood for western science in 1794. Its scientific name, Sequoia sempervirens (ever living), probably honors Cherokee leader Sequoyah. In 1918 paleontologists wanting to save this living link to our evolutionary past campaigned nationally to protect the trees. Three California redwoods state parks resulted: Prairie Creek (1923), Del Norte (1925), and Jedediah Smith (1929). To preserve the trees’ natural Coast Range setting and associated plants and animals, Redwood National Park was created in 1968 and expanded in 1978. The national park boundary encircled the three state parks to better protect superlative ancient redwood forests. In 1994 the National Park Service and California Department of Parks and Recreation began managing the parklands cooperatively, aiming to manage the parks the same. That’s why you see rangers in state and national park uniforms anywhere in the parks, working for the same mission. The parks’ designation as a World Heritage Site and part of the California Coast Ranges Biosphere Reserve reflects their worldwide recognition as irreplaceable treasures. Here, the diversity of life is protected for you and for future generations. Help us safeguard this special place by treating it with care and respect.

CAPTION:

Redwood forest

Credit:

National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A dense forest of redwood trees, the tallest trees on earth, fills the image. The forest is growing on a gentle slope rising to the right. In the foreground five of the trees are evenly spaced but only their trunks to mid sections are visible. Their bark is rough and vertically striated, but no limbs grow in this section. Ferns grow around the base of the trees and along a trail which meanders in from the center background and then around the tree on the right before disappearing back into the thick forested background on the right. On the upper left side of the image, only a few small specks of daylight are visible. The remainder of the background is of thick forest consisting of indiscernible branches, leaves, and trees.

CAPTION:

Split Rock along the Coastal Trail

Credit:

National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

From the lower left corner of the photograph, a sandy beach extends toward the horizon and into the center where the beach transitions to a steep rocky shore. The beach in the foreground is mostly bare, with the exception of periodic sections of large rock outcroppings and a line of driftwood which has been pushed up onto the beach by previous waves. 

The driftwood rests against a steep hillside which rises sharply to left high above the beach before extending off into the distance toward a cloud filled hazy sky. 

 The hillsides are covered in grasses and short shrubs, although along the top of the ridgeline a faint outline can be seen of the pointed tops of conifer trees. As the horizon extends into the distance it is interrupted in the upper center of the photograph by a prominent peak jutting out of the hillside. The peak abruptly ends as a sheer vertical cliff which towers above a rocky slope and the ocean below. 

 The right side of the photograph reveals an open ocean in the distance while closer to the coast, rocky outcroppings in the surf are exposed to foamy waves which crash relentlessly against them before finally making their way to shore.

CAPTION:

Rough skinned newt

Credit:

National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A rough skinned newt faces the camera centered in a close-up photograph. This amphibian lays on its stomach upon a thick green leaf which sits just above a flat wooden surface of sharply contrasted colors ranging from weathered gray on the left to deep black on the right. 

The front of the newt overhangs the leaf just enough to require the newt to reach its front left leg down to wooden surface for support. Its right front leg rests flat on the front edge of the gently concave leaf where four thick and pointed fingers sprawl out for balance. 

Dark brown skin extends from the tops of the fingers and backs of the hands, up the legs to its back, and finally up over its wide-set eyelids where it begins to transition to a rough textured orange color near its small round nostrils. The rough orange skin is visible from the newt’s lips, down its loose skinned neck and to its chest, but only small patches are visible underneath its arms. The tail and left rear leg are not visible. 

The background of the photograph is out of focus and dominated by a broad pink flower in the near distance which seemingly dwarfs the small newt. Behind the newt on the right, stems of the plant branch off in different directions. A narrow leaf sticks straight up, while a single green stem protrudes into the foreground producing the thick broad leaf where the rough skinned newt waits.

CAPTION:

Bald Hills prairie and oak woodlands

Credit:

National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A color photograph of a rolling prairie with large swatches of blooming lupine. The flowers grow across the foreground, but also near a lone boulder in the grass they veer up along the gently rising slope to the left and finally into the distance toward a forested horizon. 

 Coniferous trees grow along the left side of the horizon, but transition to deciduous trees near the center of the photo where the prairie climbs to a small rise. 

 From the hill toward the right side, sparsely leafed oak trees grow down the slope and follow alongside the lupine. 

 Clear sky extends the width of the photograph, but left of center, above treeline where a sliver of rolling prairie remains visible, sits an unidentifiable structure overlooking the scenery below.

In 1800 redwood forests probably covered two million acres.  As mid 1800s gold fever subsided here, redwood fever replaced it.  Seeming endless at first, the trees soon fell to determined logging. The State of California preserved some key groves in the 1920s. Congress created Redwood National Park in 1968 to protect the world’s tallest trees and Redwood Creek’s salmon fishery.

The 1978 park expansion provided a buffer zone between the park and logging upstream on private lands and a watershed restoration program to remove logging roads and rehabilitate thousands of acres of cut-over land. Redwood National and State Parks protect nearly 40,000 acres of ancient forest, almost half of all that remain.

CAPTION:

Lacking good deep harbors, the redwood coast drew little attention until fur trapper Jed Smith arrived overland in 1828. Smith sought a better route between the Rock­ies and Pacific. Gold miners opened this area to settlement in the 1850s.

Credit:

Kansas Historical Society

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A black and white portrait drawing of Jedediah Strong Smith. Only his head and chest are visible and he is front facing with his right shoulder a touch forward and his head tilted down to the left. His dark hair is parted over to the right and it grows down in loose curls which cover his ears. The corners of his closed mouth are subtly turned up, but not quite to the point of a smile. He is wearing a short dark ascot tie around his neck and a thick white overcoat with black interior and a plain white shirt.

California’s northern coast was largely ignored by non Indians until gold was discovered on Gold Bluffs Beach in 1850. Mining profits were marginal. Revived during the Civil War, the mines closed at the war’s end. Various methods were tried later, but operations ceased by 1920. A few remains of mining operations still exist on Gold Bluffs Beach.

Logging began in redwood country in 1851. At first small logs were floated to small mills or dragged by oxen on skid roads. Railroads were used in the 1870s, then the steam donkey in 1882 and bull donkey (above left) 10 years later. Bulldozers were used by the 1920s, trucks by the 1940s. Redwood lumber built some of San Francisco’s great Victorian homes.

CAPTION:

Moving logs with steam power ushered in the industrial logging era.

Credit:

National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A black and white photograph from the late 1800’s. A cylindrical metal boiler with smokestack stands between a man and a tree. The boiler is part of a steam engine known as a steam donkey and has various pieces of equipment attached to its left side. A man wearing a dark rounded hat with a wide brim stands back and to the left of the equipment behind a large gear near the ground. A blurry figure of another person is visible working in the background behind the man. The boiler is anchored by a taught wire which extends from below the smokestack in front down toward the lower right corner of the photograph. The boiler stands approximately twice the height of the man, but on its right side stands a tree of unknown proportion. The tree extends the entire height along the right side of the photograph, but no limbs or leaves are shown, only bark is visible. The edges of the photograph are slightly faded resulting in soft white edges.

CAPTION:

Gold mining began after 1848 strikes on the Trinity River.

Credit:

Illustration National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A black and white illustration of a cluster of three buildings with trees in the background. The buildings are white with black pointed roofs and square black windows. The main building is two stories with five windows in the center. It is angled back, to where its right side is visible revealing a first floor roof which slopes down to cover extending wings down to the right. In the foreground behind a small hill along the right side is a single story stand alone building with four windows. A black fence follows down the hill to the left where it stops at the smallest building which doesn’t show any visible windows. The fence continues again on the left side of the building disappearing off the left side of the illustration and then reappears again as it circles back to the main building in the center. Along the left side to the center of the rolling horizon, five conifer trees grow single file high above the structures closeby. On the right side of the horizon, a steep hill rises sharply where a single redwood tree stands towering above all else.

Coast redwoods tower over all other trees in the world. Trees over 370 feet tall have been recorded across the region. Redwood forests develop the world’s greatest reported volume of living matter per unit of land surface. Giant sequoias grow to larger diameters and bulk but do not grow as tall.

Coast redwoods can live to about 2,000 years old.   They average 500 to 700 years old. They have no known killing diseases and do not suffer significant insect damage.

Merely to stand in a redwood grove inspires many visitors to champion these trees’ preservation.

CAPTION:

 A backdrop of redwoods dwarfs hikers.

Credit:

National Park Service.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A color photograph of three hikers standing at an information sign in a small dirt clearing within a dense forest. In the center of the photograph the three hikers stand front facing with the hiker on the left reading the sign, while the other two stretch their necks far back to look straight up into the high canopy of redwood forest.  Two large bushes dominate the foreground but are split by a dirt path which leads into the near distance and to a weathered looking wooden bench located in the clearing and to the right of the hikers.  Five large trees are in focus just behind the hikers, the closest and most prominent has two trunks. The background does not have a horizon. The forest simply fills all gaps with low lying ferns, bushes, and saplings while fragments of trunks, leaves and branches leave little room for the few specks of daylight visible in the far distance.

CAPTION:

Coast redwoods grow in a narrow strip along the Pacific Coast of California and southwestern Oregon. Giant sequoias grow only on the Sierra Nevada’s western slope.

Credit:

National Park Service

MAP DESCRIPTION: 

A basic map of California shows the range of Coast redwoods versus giant sequioas. The redwood range is indicated by a green shading labeled, “Coast Redwood range” which follows closely along the left  edge beginning at the top of the state and ending near the middle.  Along the left side of the map is a drawing of a coastal redwood tree.  The sequoia range is indicated by a series of small green dots labeled, “Giant Sequoia range” located further inland near the center of California.  A drawing of a giant sequoia cuts off the bottom right corner of the state and rises to approximately the of the middle right edge.   The label “California” is featured with letters running perpendicular to standard text along the inner left  edge of the state line.

CAPTION:

Height: To nearly 380 ft.

Age: To 2,000 years

Bark: To 12 in. thick

Base: To 22 feet diameter

Reproduce: By seed or sprout

Seed size:  Like a tomato seed

Cone size:  Like a large olive

Credit:

National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: 

Drawing of a single coast redwood tree without a background using shades of green only. The trunk extends almost halfway up the tree before encountering any branches. The thin branches grow offset on opposite sides of the trunk from another. The branches appear to hang as they grow outward and downward. The branches near the bottom are short in comparison to the tree’s height, but are longer near the middle of the growth before soon tapering down again near the point of the top of the tree. The limbs are not visible due to leaf growth along their entire lengths.

CAPTION:

Height: To 311 ft.

Age: To 3,200 years

Bark: To 31 in. thick

Base: To 40 feet diameter

Reproduce: By seed only

Seed size: Like an oat flake

Cone size: Like a chicken egg

Credit:

National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

Drawing of a single sequoia tree without a background using shades of green only.   The broad trunk of the tree is rough with thick lines of bark running vertically up its surface.  Nearly half way up, branches begin to grow.  At first, they appear to be only short growths of leaves, but become more defined higher up the tree.  The branches reach outward and upward always ending in clumps of leaves which obscure the ends of each branch. Some of the thicker branches are visible within the gaps of leaf growth. The top of the tree narrows to become a cone shaped point common in conifers.

Redwood like trees grew over much of the Northern Hemisphere in the Age of Dinosaurs. Later climate change reduced redwood habitat to this narrow, fog-bound coastal corridor. (See “The Role of Fog” at lower right.)

Coast redwoods reproduce by seed and by stump and basal sprouting. Seeds slightly bigger than a pinhead are released from mature cones that ripen in August and September. If a redwood is felled or is badly burned, a ring of new trees often sprouts from burls around the trunk’s base. These so-called ”family groups” are common. Saplings use the parent tree’s root system.

Redwoods have no taproot, their roots penetrate only 10 to 13 feet deep but spread out 60 to 80 feet.

CAPTION:

Sprig with pinecones.

Credit:

 National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

Color drawing of redwood sprig and cones without a background. An assortment of small branches known as a sprig appear to be intertwined at the top right of the photograph, but as they extend to the lower left, they separate out into four distinct branches. The branches are covered in flat, green, needle-like leaves. One of the branches turns upward toward the top left of the drawing. Three of the branches hang down toward the left and end in sequoia cones which are oval shaped, brown, and appear to be fragmented due to the cracks and spaces within them.

CAPTION:

Redwood and sapling.

Credit:

TREE ILLUSTRATIONS National Park Service JOHN DAWSON

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: 

Color drawing of a coast redwood tree and sapling without a background. The bottom of the drawing shows a shallow root system beneath the trunk which extends out in both directions from beneath the soil. The root system is a lighter shade of brown than the dark soil and tree trunk. The roots are intertwined and become progressively thinner the farther away from the trunk that they grow. Within the roots close to the the left side of the trunk a small tree known as a sapling is growing. The thin sapling is only one fifth the height of the main tree but has all the characteristics of a redwood including full leafed branches which hang out and down which become shorter and shorter near the top giving it the classic conifer shape. The main tree has a thick detailed bark showing vertical striations, burls, and a few barren branches but is mostly bare along its lower third. The upper two thirds of the tree have full leafed branches which grow outward and downward in various lengths, short near the bottom, longer in the middle, and short again before coming to a point at the top of the tree. Spacing between the branches allows for the bark to be visible in sections up its entire length. Sunlight illuminates the bark on its right side.

CAPTION:

Bark

Cambium layer

Sapwood

Heartwood

Burl with sprout

Annual ring

Credit:

National Park Service

INFOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION: 

Color drawing of a cross-section of a redwood trunk without background. A short section of redwood tree is shown positioned vertically with a cut across the top exposing tree rings. There is also a wedge shaped cut in the front of the trunk exposing the various layer of rings from the core outward toward the bark. A burl with a seedling growing out of it are shown along the left side of the trunk. The tree rings vary in thickness throughout the core, but the pattern is consistent with exception to the area near the burl where the ring pattern has gravitated in its direction causing a warped look. The seedling is growing out of the top of the burl and resembles a miniature tree with leaves and a pointed top. The top right section of the drawing shows the thick bark and first ring layer peeled back to demonstrate the thickness of the bark compared to that of the rings with are one quarter the size.

CAPTION:

Mature seed

Germinating

Sheds seed coat

By one week

Credit:

National Park Service

INFOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION:

Color illustration of four stages of redwood seedling growth without background. The four stages are represented in four drawings progressing from left to right, all on the same section of thick dark redwood bark atop a lighter color inner layer. Labels of each stage are positioned below each drawing. The first stage labeled, “Mature seed”, shows an oblong shaped redwood seed sitting atop a section of bark. 

 The second stage labeled, “Germination”, shows the same seed but with a green shoot which grows just out of the left side of the seed before boring down halfway through the bark. 

 The third stage labeled, “Sheds seed coat”, now shows that the growth has penetrated down beneath the bark and bored beyond the inner layer. The seed itself now appears to be standing on this new stem which goosenecks beneath the seed to the left before shooting down into the tree. 

 The fourth stage labeled, “By one week”, shows the section of stem within the tree has developed four thin lateral roots. Above the surface, the stem is now twice the height and has four branches splayed out seemingly reaching. A seed casing lies discarded down on the bark to the right of the stem.

From sea level to 3,200 feet in elevation in the Coast Range, a mild, moist climate assures the parks an abundant diversity of wildlife. Elusive to visitors, many mammals, birds, amphibians, and insects live in the mature redwood forest. They depend on it for food and for shelter. Prairies form natural islands of grasslands, where wildlife abounds.

CAPTION:

Roosevelt elk favor prairie and other open lands but seek forests for cover and shade. The parks’ largest land mammals, elk may exceed 1,000 pounds.

Much bigger antlers distinguish them from black-tailed deer. Good places to see Roosevelt elk are Elk Prairie campground and Gold Bluffs Beach. Look for them along the Bald Hills and Davison roads too. Be alert for elk crossing highways.

Credit:

National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

Color photograph of a Roosevelt elk. A male roosevelt elk stands facing to the right in a grassy meadow. Its smooth short fur along the rear side of its body is light tan color, but its four long thin legs are dark. Its neck is dark brown in contrast and is covered in a thick shaggy fur which extends down to its chest and up to its head. The elk is looking to the right and focused on something off camera. Its ears are pointed and mouth closed. Two large antlers with twelve points in total sit atop its large head. The background is out of focus but shows the grassy meadow rolling back into the horizon and a clear pale blue sky.

CAPTION:

Park streams offer swimming and floating

Credit:

National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

Color photograph of kayakers in river rapids. The river is clear blue in color except the white foam of the rapids which flows from the center left to the bottom right of the photograph.  A man and woman in one inflatable kayak float through rapids.  The woman in the front is holding the outside edges on each side of the kayak.  She is facing the camera and has her mouth wide open as if she is screaming with excitement.  She is wearing a white visor, an orange life jacket, and a purple t-shirt.  Her knees are slightly bent.  The man sitting in back is holding a double sided oar in mid stroke where neither side is submerged in water. The man is wearing a red visor and blue life jacket. His short white hair is blowing in the wind. In the distance there are four more kayaks making their way toward the rapids.  Along both sides of the river are exposed banks covered in round boulders. The background shows the river leading up into a dark and narrow forested gorge surrounded by lush green vegetation.

CAPTION:

Steelhead, cutthroat trout, (the speckled fish pictured center below),

Credit:

National Park Service DAN FEASER

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

Color illustration without background of a fish, (cutthroat trout). The fish is facing to the right with its mouth agape. It has one small fin behind its jaw and two fins underneath. Along the top of the fish is a larger fin in the center and a small one just before the tail. The fish is dark in color along the top edge along its back and then fanning out slightly from it tail. The side of the fish is a light orange to pink shade which transitions to white underneath. A black speckled pattern is distributed widely across the side of the fish, but the pattern is more heavily concentrated up along the back and near the tail.

CAPTION:

Chinook salmon, (center below), inhabit these streams.

Credit:

USFWS DUANE RAVER 

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

Color illustration without background of a Chinook salmon fish. The fish is positioned pointing to the right with its mouth slightly ajar. The color is silver along its body which transitions to black along its fins, tail, and the top of its back. It has three fins on its bottom and two along its top.

Prairies and rivers reflect the changing of seasons far better than redwood groves do.

In springtime, prairie wildflowers burst with color that gives way in the dry summer to the grasslands’ amber glow. Prairies are the realm of raptors, the predatory red tailed hawk, kestrel, and great horned owl, and their prey of gophers and meadow mice.

Mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, elk, and black-tailed deer frequent prairies kept free of trees by prescribed fire and grazing elk.

Acorn-bearing Oregon white oaks edge prairies at the higher elevations. Oaks provided protein-rich food for Indians, who cleared the understory with fire. Prairies make good birding spots. There you may see the goldfinch, junco, quail, or raven.

The parks’ rivers are world-renowned for fishing and loved for recreation and their sheer beauty. The Smith River, named for Jedediah Smith, arises in the Siskiyou Mountains and then flows through the parks’ northern section. It is now California’s last major free-flowing river and is famous for salmon and steelhead.

The Klamath River, also a salmon and steelhead stream, crosses the midsection of the parks.

Redwood Creek flows through the parks’ southern part. Salmon and steelhead populations were severely diminished by past logging in the Redwood Creek watershed.

CAPTION:

Seldom seen, black bears roam these parks. Most haven’t lost their fear of humans. Fond of acorns, bears travel far to harvest them. To prevent wild bears from becoming problem bears, we must keep human food away from them. Use sound food storage practices. Counter-balance all food, scented items—soap, toothpaste, lotion and garbage in a tree 200 feet from camp; 12 feet up and 10 feet out from the trunk; and five feet down from the branch. Ask a park ranger about how to store your food.

Remember: A bear seeking food from human camps can be aggres­sive and may have to be destroyed. Please keep wildlife wild.

Credit:

National Park Service GEORGE FOUNDS

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A black and white illustration of a black bear without background. The bear is standing facing forward on all four legs. The bear is standing in short grass which covers its feet. Thick black fur covers the entire bear, but its snout is light in color. Its large head sits down below its wide shoulders. 

Congress expanded the national park in 1978 and directed the National Park Service to rehabilitate logged-over lands. Bulldozers recontoured hillsides and stream channels to restore conditions that favor return of natural vegetation. Congress also created a 30,000-acre protection zone upstream from the park in Redwood Creek’s watershed. This limits effects of the timber harvesting there on the park downstream.

CAPTION:

Listen to the excavator’s rumble and the bulldozer’s roar. The same equipment that was used to build the logging roads (above) now takes the roads out!  Be sure to visit one of the rehabilitated sites during your stay in these parks.


Credit:

National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: 

Color image comparison. Two color photos are positioned vertically to compare a close up view of heavy equipment excavation versus an aerial view showing the widespread impact. 

 The top image shows three pieces of equipment working along a dirt road. The background is a cliffside extending upward with exposed rock on the left and then completely covered with vegetation on the right.  Centered is an excavator facing left using its long arm to reach far down the slope into brushy vegetation.   An operator stands in the doorless cab controlling the operation.  Behind and to the right is a bulldozer, but its operator is standing outside next to its treaded tracks facing the cab.  A third piece of equipment is along the left side of the photograph working further up slope along the dirt road. Its operator only visible as a silhouette. 

The second image is an aerial view showing a largely deforested scene. A patchwork of dirt roads crisscrosses a hillside with only brush and grass remaining.  The main road crosses left to right across the landscape where a trail of fresh dust rises gradually into the air indicating a vehicle passed by recently.  Along the horizon beneath a thin stripe of pale blue sky, a dense forest of tall dark trees remains overlooking this newly formed landscape. 

American Indians have lived along the redwood coast for thousands of years. Belonging to several different groups, they speak different languages, despite living in a relatively small area. Before non-Indian people arrived in the 1850s, Indian villages, with their split-plank structures, (pictured above top), dotted the coast and lined major rivers.

Travel was by redwood dugout canoes, (pictured above), on waterways and by foot on an elaborate trail system. Foods varied with the seasons. They fished ocean and rivers, hunted land and marine mammals, and gathered nuts, seeds, and berries.

American Indians today live on and off reservation lands and represent five to 10 percent of the local population. Groups are represented by sovereign governments and many traditions continue. Some members still speak the languages. Traditional ceremonies are held, hunting and fishing are still important, and the traditional arts and crafts are kept alive.

Redwood National and State Parks lie in traditional territories of three Indian groups. Yurok and Tolowa groups still exist. The Chilula have assimilated into the inland Hupa culture.

CAPTION:

Dwelling

Before non-Indian people arrived in the 1850s, Indian villages, with their split-plank structures, (pictured above top), dotted the coast and lined major rivers.

Credit:

National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A black and white illustration without background of an Indian structure built of wooden split planks.  The long structure is shown at a corner view where the long side extends back to the right with its pointed roof overhanging almost one quarter of the way to the ground.  The short side of the building has a small hole for entry down in the lower right corner.

CAPTION:

Travel was by redwood dugout canoes, (pictured above), on waterways and by foot on an elaborate trail system.

Credit:

National Park Service MICHAEL HAMPSHIRE

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A black and white illustration without background of a wooden dugout canoe.  The canoe is positioned at an angle with its back positioned close-up while its front is angled back and to the right.  The smooth sides and curved bottom give the canoe a polished look.  The front and rear are flat faced,  but come up to peaks in their centers.  Inside the canoe in the back end includes a is a flat seat which is fashioned out of the same continuous piece of wood.  In front of the seat along the bottom of the inside are two flat faced stops with curved tops positioned perfectly for foot support.  Inside carved along the canoe bottom near the front is a round knob.   Carved from the inside of the front point is an overhanging tie off point.

CAPTION:

Basket

Credit:

National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A black and white illustration without background of American Indian basket.  The basket sits upright with a flat bottom and open flat top.  It is circular and shows details of a fine crisscrossed texture typical of hand woven materials.  A pattern composed of three angled rows of shapes starting with one row of five black triangles pointed down, one row of five black squares, and one row of  five black triangles pointed up.  The rows are touching and the shapes are uniform.  The pattern appears to repeat again but the curve of the basket only reveals a sliver of black tips of potentially more triangles.

CAPTION:

Redwood National and State Parks lie in traditional territories of three Indian groups. Yurok and Tolowa groups still exist.  The Chilula have assimilated into the inland Hupa culture.

Credit:

National Park Service

MAP DESCRIPTION:

A full color general overview map indicating traditional tribal territories, park lands, as well as minimal geographical features.  The map is rectangle in shape and shows the Pacific Ocean along the entire western side and about one quarter of the width of the entire map.  Park lands are indicated by green shading and labeled, "Redwood National and State Parks".  Tribal territories are indicated by light tan borders with labels while rivers are indicated by blue lines with blue labels.  The two largest territories are Tolowa and Yurok lands.   Tolowa lands cover the upper third of the map along the Smith River which meanders east to west.  The Yurok lands cover the center third of the map along the Klamath River which primarily flows northwest.  The lower map section contains both Chilula lands along the northwest flowing Redwood Creek.  Hupa lands which are east of Chilula follow the Trinity River which flows north where it eventually enters Yurok lands and connect to the Klamath River.

Even apart from the Coast Range and its lofty forests, the coastline here would justify national or state park status. Rugged and largely unaltered by humans, the coastline features stretches of steep and rocky cliffs broken by rolling slopes. Generally rocky, its tidal zone can be tough to traverse. Gold Bluffs Beach is an exception, with its seven-mile stretch of dunes and sandy beach. On the coastline you may discover a rich mix of forms of life that live in the distinct habitats illustrated below.

Many of the parks’ animal species thrive along the coast. Brown pelicans are summer visitors. Cormorants take to lagoon or river and shore waters. Willets and sanderlings work the beach. Offshore may be Pacific gray whales in migration, seals, sea lions, dolphins, porpoises, and orca whales. In the intertidal areas the cycle of rising and falling tides have produced tightly zoned layers of life. To help protect these animals, the national park boundary extends one quarter mile offshore.

Credit: 

SEACOAST ILLUSTRATION

National Park Service Rob WOOD

INFOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION:

A full color illustration which extends across the entire width of the bottom of the page demonstrates an overview of the coastline.  The illustration reveals a complex arrangement of ecosystems and environmental factors which change gradually moving inland from left to right beginning with offshore, intertidal zone, beaches, from ocean to forest, sea cliffs, the role of fog, and woodlands.  

The offshore ocean section is deep blue and calm.  A whale breaches the surface creating foamy waves.  It has one fin spread out while leaning its long body to the right as it prepares to splash down.  Deep beneath the water three sea lions swim toward the rocky shore.  Waves lap against rock outcroppings in the intertidal zone near the sandy beach.   Up above, three brown pelicans fly seaward while in the background a large sea stack is shrouded in a light fog.  The narrow beach sits trapped between the rocky surf to the left and the abrupt cliffs to the right.  The cliffs only grow steeper in the distance forcing the beach to disappear into the rocky surf and fog.  From the cliffs extending inland are steep deeply forested hills where redwood trees cradle the incoming fog.  

Along the lower right corner of the main illustration a view of the geologic makeup is revealed.  The drawing is cut like a cake exposing a side view which demonstrates a thick layer of sand extending from beneath the redwood forest  soils down through the cliffs, and out as the beach itself before disappearing into the ocean.  The sand layer indicates that uplift has occurred along the coast.

Between shore and the deep ocean here an average surface acre is as productive as an acre of fertilized agricultural land. The basic wealth lies in phytoplankton, single-celled plants.

Sea lions feed beyond the surf and haul out on shore or on sea stacks. Harbor seals swim in the surf and haul out in sheltered coves. Sea birds nest offshore on rocks.

The California Current flows south. It works with offshore winds to draw nutrients up from deep wa­ters, providing food for many coastal creatures. Moisture laden air off the California Current condenses as low clouds over cold water near shore.

CAPTION:

Periwinkle snail 

Image Description: 

Two snail shells, one shell is upside down revealing the opening, while the other slightly positioned above and behind shows the smooth rounded back.  

ILLUSTRATION Credit: National Park Service Rob WOOD 

Tides rise and fall twice daily on a 25-hour lunar cycle. In the zone between high and low tide, life forms arrange themselves vertically based on tolerance for exposure to air and, or water and to heat and wave shock. Other biological limits are predators and competition for food and space.

A splash zone above high tide is home for periwinkle snails and beach hoppers that can withstand episodic wetting and wave shock. Splash zone species are transitional but more attuned to life on land than in the sea. Mussels cling to rocks in the high-tide zone, covered by water only at high tide. Shells let them tolerate temporary exposure to air and direct sunlight.

Seaweeds provide oxygen, food, and shelter for intertidal zone residents. Some kelp, anchored in deep water, with built-in floats, are tall as redwood trees.

Tidepools shelter life in rocky beach outcroppings. Tidepool dwellers cope with great changes in water temperature, salinity, and oxygen content. Here are barnacles, limpets, nudibranchs, ochre sea stars, sea urchins, and erect sea palms anchored by root like hold fasts.

CAPTION:

Ochre sea star 

Image Description:

An ochre sea star. It has its back facing and has five arms in a classic star pattern. The fine detailed pattern along its back indicates a rough surface.  

ILLUSTRATION Credit: National Park Service Rob WOOD 

Caption:

Giant Green anemone

Image Description:

To the right of the sea star is a giant green anemone. It is facing up toward the right. In appearance it almost resembles a flower with dozens of layers of small petals around a wide center, but the anemone is a marine animal, and what looks like petals are actually tentacles that it uses to capture prey.

ILLUSTRATION Credit: National Park Service Rob WOOD 

Life on sandy beaches observes wet and dry zones, too, because of tides and waves. The lower beach is often wetted while upper beaches are like deserts between sea and lush coastal forest. Clams and mole crabs burrow in wet lower beaches. Sanderlings follow retreating wave lines to forage on washed up organisms.

Caption:

Brown Pelican

Image Description:

A brown pelican facing right while it flies with its wings spread wide. Its right wing is slightly lower than its left revealing a large wing span across its wide back.  It is light in color with the exception of the tips of its wings and bottom of its neck.

ILLUSTRATION Credit: National Park Service Rob WOOD

A marbled murrelet is a robin-sized seabird that flies deep into the old-growth forest to lay its egg high in tree tops on a large moss covered limb. Unfortunately, its ancient habitat has been greatly reduced by forest fragmentation.

Most murrelets left in California nest in Redwood National and State Parks, but predators like ravens, jays, and crows are eating murrelet eggs and chicks. While circling the forest looking for food scraps at campgrounds, they find the murrelet’s nest instead. Please help protect this rare bird.  Keep a clean campsite and avoid feeding any wildlife.

Caption:

Marbled murrelet. 

A bird facing left files toward the ocean with its wings spread.  The far right wing is slightly higher than the left revealing the dark color patterns on its back.  It is dark in color besides the underside as well as one thin white stripe where each wing meets the body.  It has a thin black line resembling a chin strap and a dark beak.   Its beak is closed, and its left leg is visibly extended beneath its short tail.

Credit: US FISH and WILDLIFE SERVICE 

Northern park beaches tend to be rocky and backed by sea cliffs. Southern beaches tend to be backed by bluffs. Over half of the parks’ birds are marine species. Some nest, often as crowds in sea cliffs. murres, cormorants, puffins, auklets, gulls, and pigeon guillemots.

As air warmed by inland heat passes over the cold, near-shore waters, fog form, in summer almost daily. Fog helps to approximate the mild, moist climate that prevailed during the Age of Dinosaurs, when redwood-like species grew over much of North America.

The Coast Range’s west slope forests benefit from being close to the ocean—for fog, rainfall, and moderated climate. Redwoods favor the moist, north-facing slopes where sunlight’s effects are less drying. Rivers near sea level also provide hospitable flats for these big trees.

CAPTION:

A park interpreter shares natural lore of the rocky tidepools with visitors to the parks’ Pacific shore.

Credit:

National Park Service

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A full color photo of a park ranger standing ankle deep in a tide pool facing right toward visitors while gesturing with outstretched hands.  The ranger is dressed in the typical uniform with a flat brimmed straw hat, grey shirt, and green pants, but is wearing a black backpack and tall rubber boots.  To the right, at least seven visitors stand on, or in between the large rocks surrounding the tide pool.  This intertidal zone environment of large rocks stretches away into the background where a misty surf can be seen in the distance.  Along the horizon a forested slope rises against a pale blue sky before falling away to the ocean on its left.

A full color overview map titled: Exploring the Redwood Coast.

The brochure background is an area map with seven major sections of text.  The map shows towns, roads, bodies of water, visitor services, boundary lines and more along approximately seventy miles of Northern California coastline from Trinidad in the south to Tolowa Dunes State Park which is located 10 miles south of the Oregon state line.  Land surface covers less than half of the map and only peeks into approximately thirty five miles east inland. The remainder of the map's central to western side is dominated by the Pacific Ocean and overlaid with the text sections which describe general information, safety notices, accessibility, specific information about popular park areas including Hiouchi, Crescent City, Klamath, Prairie Creek, and Orick. 

The map shows that Redwood National and State Parks have a boundary that is generally long and skinny. It stretches north to south 50 miles, but in some places the park is less than a mile wide east to west.  Wider portions of the parks are found in the north, and also in the south where Redwood National Park extends in a south easterly direction along Redwood Creek.

The dark green color on the map shows where old-growth redwood forests are found. Light green shows other kinds of forests and vegetation. The location of dark green of old-growth redwood forest is not uniform, is sporadic and only makes up a third of the map.

No old-growth redwood forests are shown outside the park boundary.

The Klamath River cuts across the middle of the park. It flows south of the town of Klamath and reaches the Pacific Ocean just south of the Klamath River Overlook and west of Requa. 

North of the Klamath River are two state parks: Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park,  Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, as well as park headquarters in Crescent City.

South of the Klamath River is Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park and the majority of Redwood National Park.

Along the bottom of the map is a scale, map key, and an arrow pointing upward indicating North.

Map Details:

Details of the map are described in order from north to south beginning with the Hiouchi California area.

Hiouchi California is located along California Highway 199, also known as Redwood Highway, which runs from the intersection of California Highway 101 near Crescent City and then east through Hiouchi and eventually Oregon.

Hiouchi sits on the eastern edge of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. The Hiouchi Visitor Center is ADA accessible and offers a picnic area.

East of Hiouchi, highway 199 enters the Smith River National Recreation Area where a USFS visitor center can be found in Gasquet California. The highway continues to meander east alongside the Smith River passing Panther Flat, Grassy Flat, and Patrick Creek Campgrounds which all lie in the shadow of the Siskiyou Mountain Range. Oregon Caves National Monument and Grants Pass Oregon are indicated further to the east.

South of Hiouchi are South Fork Road and Howland Hill Road. Howland Hill is an alternative road to Crescent City but is unpaved. The highlight of the route is its course through the heart of Jedediah Smith State Park and old growth forest where various trails can be found along the way including Stout Grove. Howland Hill Road is not recommended for motorhomes or trailers. South Fork Road leads deep into the Smith River National Recreation Area where hiking is available at Little Bald Hills Trail which leads northwest into Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park and eventually Jedediah Smith. Little Bald Hills backcountry campground is indicated along the route. Further south on South Fork Road is Big Flat Campground.

West of Hiouchi, highway 199 passes through Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and a large section of old growth redwoods. Recreational opportunities include fishing, camping, interpretive trails, and ADA accessible picnic areas. North Bank Road / 197 runs northwest out of Jedediah Smith toward Ruby Van Deventer County Park which also offers camping. North Bank Road connects 199 to California Highway 101 north of Crescent City.

West of North Bank Road along 199 is Walker Road where an interpretive trail offers hiking access into old growth redwood forest and the Simpson Reed Grove Walker Road is unpaved.

Highway 199 terminates west of Walker Road at California Highway 101 which runs north and south the length of the park. Venturing north will lead out of Redwoods National and State Parks toward Oregon. Tolowa Dunes State Park and Lake Earl State Wildlife Area are highlights located in that direction just west of 101 near the coast. Camping is available at Tolowa Dunes State Park and Florence Kelley County Park.

Traveling south on 101 leads into Crescent City. Highlights include the park information center, Battery Point Lighthouse, and fishing at the pier. A small island labeled Castle Rock is indicated just offshore.

South of Crescent City, 101 continues into Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park and to Enderts Beach Road. Enderts Beach Road parallels slightly closer to the shore and offers highlights such as Crescent Beach and Crescent Beach Overlook, which both offer include ADA accessible picnic areas. Trailers are not advised beyond the Crescent Beach picnic area. Enderts Beach Road ends at the overlook, however the Coastal Trail continues south leading down to Enderts Beach, Nickel Creek Backcountry Campground, and beyond.

Highway 101 continues south toward a vista point facing west, while to the east is the Mill Creek area. The Coastal Trail continues south parallel to the highway. Mill Creek highlights include an interpretive trail, ADA accessible camping, and a system of horse trails which lead north back toward Howland Hill Road. The Mill Creek area is forested, but has only a few irregular smatterings of old growth areas remaining. This is a large watershed as numerous tributaries feed both East Fork Mill Creek and West Branch Mill Creek.

Both California Highway 101 and the Coastal Trail continue south as the park boundary begins the thin. Highlights include the Damnation Creek Trail and DeMartin Backcountry Camp, both accessible via the Coastal Trail. Along the highway an overlook, Wilson Creek Picnic Area, and Lagoon Creek all line False Klamath Cove. Lagoon Creek offers access to the Yurok Loop Trail, an ADA accessible picnic area, and the Coastal Trail which continues north and south.

Further south along California Highway 101 are the towns of Requa and Klamath which sit along the Klamath River approximately in the middle of the parks. The highlight in Requa is the Klamath River Overlook which offers access to the Coastal Trail which continues north and south, as well as an ADA accessible picnic area. The Requa Road is not advised for motorhomes or trailers.

Redwood National and State Parks represent a cooperative management effort of the National Park Service and the California Department of Parks and Recreation. This includes Redwood National Park, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Together these parks are a World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve that protect resources cherished by citizens of many nations. Information in this brochure can help you decide what to see and do during the time you have to visit the parks. Services and facilities are also listed or described.

We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. Please call 707-465-7335 or visit www.nps.gov/redw, for more information.

Emergencies call 911

Address:

Redwood National and State Parks

1111 Second Street

Crescent City, California 9553-4198

Phone number:

24 hour. recorded information             707-464-6101

24 hour. dispatch                                     916-358-1300

Call area code 707 and these numbers for:

Crescent City Information Center 465-7335

Kuchel Visitor Center                        465-7765

Prairie Creek Visitor Center                 488-2171

Hiouchi Information Center, (seasonal)     458-3294

Jedediah Smith Visitor Center, (seasonal)    458-3496

Website:

www.nps.gov/redw

Additional links:

National Park Service: www.nps.gov

California State Parks: www.parks.ca.gov

The information center is open in the summer season. It offers a good place to begin your visit to the national and state parks if you are approaching the north end of the parks on US 199. Exhibits and interpretive publications tell about the parks, their trees and coastline, and other related topics. Trail maps are available.

Here you can camp, picnic, hike, fish, swim, and float the Smith River. There are no lifeguards. Interpretive exhibits and publications are available at the visitor center. Interpretive walks and talks are offered in summer.

The headquarters for Redwood National and State Parks is at 1111 Second Street in Crescent City. Information and interpretive publications are available here year-round. For 24-hour information about the parks, call 707-464-6101. Nearby attractions are the Battery Point Lighthouse, Del Norte County Historical Museum, and the harbor at Citizens Dock. You can get information about commercial attractions and private campgrounds at the Chamber of Commerce on Front Street, across the street from park headquarters.

Picnicking and walking on the beach are popular activities at Crescent Beach, just two miles south of Crescent City off Enderts Beach Road

The road leads to Crescent Beach Overlook, a good place to watch whales, have a picnic, or just take in the scenery. A section of the Coastal Trail (1.2 miles round-trip) follows tall bluffs, then drops to the sandy Enderts Beach. The hike-in Nickel Creek backcountry camp (half a mile) just above the beach offers five sites with beach access. Free permits required, available year-round from Crescent City Information Center and Kuchel Visitor Center. Picnic tables, grills, and a pit toilet are provided. There is no water. In summer 2- to 2 and one half hour tidepool or seashore walks are conducted, tides permitting. They begin at the parking area, descend to the beach, and explore rocky tidepools at its southern end.

Multiple sections of the Coastal Trail, (see map), explore beaches, bluffs, grasslands, former farm land, and redwood and other forests. With substantial road links and other trails, the Coastal Trail enables you to backpack nearly the length of the parks, from Enderts Beach Road in the north to the Tall Trees Grove in the south. Backcountry camps are provided at (north to south) Nickel Creek, DeMartin, and Flint Ridge. There is a campground at Gold Bluffs Beach. Free backcountry permits are required for all backcountry campsites. They are available from Kuchel Visitor Center and Crescent City Information Center. For more information on the Coastal Trail, ask at park information centers for maps and publications.

Here you can camp, hike, and backpack. Interpretive walks and talks are offered in summer. Mill Creek campground is open in summer

False Klamath Cove lies five miles north of the Klamath River. A protected beach and picnic area are located at the mouth of Wilson Creek.

Picnic and enjoy the beach. The Yurok Loop Trail, (one mile, one hour), gradually climbs to the top of the sea bluffs for panoramic ocean views. Look for wildflowers in season, and, perhaps views of sea mammals.

Requa Road leads from US 101 up to the Klamath River Overlook, some 600 feet above the estuary at the Klamath River’s mouth. There the Coastal Trail leads down to a spur trail leading to another overlook some 200 feet above the ocean. Whale watching can be good in this area.

This narrow, scenic, partially paved drive, (connect with Alder Camp Road for an eight-mile 30-minute loop drive), winds through stands of redwood, offering close looks at the Klamath River and breathtaking views of crashing surf and the expansive Pacific Ocean. Don’t miss the World War II radar station. It looks like a farmhouse and barn, that was its disguise in the 1940s. The smaller structure housed the power supply. The operations building housed an oscilloscope and radar technicians. Near the junction with Alder Camp Road the High Bluff picnic area provides panoramic views of the coast from its location atop the bluff. Another point of interest is the old Douglas Memorial Bridge that was destroyed by flooding in 1964. Access sections of the Coastal Trail from Coastal Drive or Alder Camp Road.  Find camping at Flint Ridge backcountry camp. The Coastal Drive is a narrow and mostly unpaved road with steep grades and sharp curves.  Vehicles with trailers and motor homes are prohibited.

From US 101 you can reach the park via the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, an eight-mile stretch of the original Redwood Highway that provides one of the parks’ most scenic drives through old-growth redwood forest. You will find park information, exhibits, and interpretive publications at the Prairie Creek Visitor Center. Camping is available at Elk Prairie campground. Cal Barrel Road is an unpaved scenic drive through the redwood forest, (trailers prohibited).

Davison Road provides entry to the Elk Meadow Day Use Area and Gold Bluffs Beach. Elk Meadow Day Use Area has picnicking, mountain biking, and hiking, including the 2.5-mile loop, (1.5 hours), Trillium Falls Trail. Beyond Elk Meadow, Davison Road is narrow and unpaved. Trailers and trailer-vehicle combinations longer than 24 feet or wider than 8 feet are prohibited. Gold Bluffs Beach offers wildlife viewing, hiking, picnicking, camping, and entry to the beach and Fern Canyon. Watch out for elk herds. Danger. Elk are wild and unpredict­able. Do not approach them on foot.

Take the short, unpaved, scenic drive through the redwood forest. Trailers are not advised. This area offers hiking and mountain biking trails and picnicking facilities. Lost Man Creek Trail leads past the World Heritage Site dedication area and on to a cascade on Lost Man Creek. Continue past old-growth forest and into second-growth habitat, 11 miles one way.

Do not take trailers or motor homes on the steep—15 percent—grade here. Parking for trailers is available at the Redwood Creek trailhead and Kuchel Visitor Center.

Walk the Lady Bird Johnson Grove self-guiding loop trail, (1.5 miles one hour), reached from Bald Hills Road. It threads through mature forest to the grove and site at which Lady Bird Johnson dedicated the national park in 1968.

A limited number of permits for private vehicles are issued on a first-come, first-served basis to reach the trailhead for the Tall Trees Grove. The free permits are available at Kuchel Visitor Center and Crescent City Information Center. Allow four hours round-trip from US 101 for driving to the trailhead and then hiking down to the grove, (3.4 miles total, 1.3 miles down, 0.8 mile loop at the bottom and 1.3 miles back up). The trail is steep, descending 726 feet into the grove where some of the world’s tallest trees grow.

The first 1.5 miles are accessible. Here you can combine hiking and backcountry camping. Take an eight-mile hike to Tall Trees Grove, where some of the world’s tallest trees grow on the flats of Redwood Creek. This involves two creek crossings. Caution: Bridges are provided in summer only. During the rainy season high waters make stream crossings dangerous. For current information on getting to Tall Trees Grove via this route, ask a park ranger at an information station. Camping is allowed only on gravel bars along Redwood Creek, and only upstream from the confluence of McArthur Creek, 1.5 miles from the Redwood Creek trailhead. Camping is not permitted within 0.25 mile of the Tall Trees Grove. Free permits are required for camping along Redwood Creek. They are available from Kuchel Visitor Center and Crescent City Information Center.

If you are approaching the parks from the south, make this your first stop. View the exhibits and browse publications that tell about the area, its trees, coastline, and related topics. Trail maps are available.

Developed campgrounds in Jedediah Smith Redwoods and Del Norte Coast Redwoods state parks have hot showers, restrooms, and disposal stations. Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park campgrounds provide heated showers and restrooms, but no disposal stations. Trailers up to 24 feet long and motor homes up to 27 feet are allowed, except at Gold Bluffs Beach where trailers are prohibited and motor homes up to 24 feet long are allowed. There are no trailer hook­ups in the parks. There are several primitive backcountry campgrounds for backpackers, some can also accommodate bicyclists, horses, and or pack animals.

Reservations are usually necessary in summer. The nearest group campgrounds are at Jedediah Smith Redwoods and Patrick’s Point state parks. Other public campgrounds are located in Six Rivers National Forest.  Grassy Flat, Big Flat, and Patrick Creek are closed in winter. Reservations can be made at some national forest campgrounds by calling 1-877 - 444 - 6777.

Outdoor education is available at two sites in the parks. Howland Hill Outdoor School and Wolf Creek Education Center are available for educational programming and conferences on a reservation system only. Please see their phone numbers at the top of this page next to the map

Several trails are designated for bicycle use. Check at any information center. Pick up the bicycle handout. Look closely at trailhead signage.

On the beach be aware of tidal fluctuations. Swimming is hazardous because of cold water and strong rip currents.

• Be cautious while climbing or walking near edges of high rocky bluffs.

• Watch for poison oak and deer ticks (which carry Lyme disease), particularly in coastal areas.

• Roosevelt elk are wild and unpredictable do not approach them on foot.

• Do not feed bears or wild animals. Follow park regulations regarding bears and food storage.  All food and scented personal care items should be secured and hidden from view in vehicles, placed in bear-proof lockers, or hung from trees. Garbage should be properly disposed of in bear-proof garbage cans.

• Mountain lions may also be found in the parks. Check at park information centers for brochures and updates on mountain lion behavior.

• Water from natural sources must be treated before drinking. If you are not familiar with proper water treatment techniques, ask a ranger for help.

Watch for trucks and other heavy vehicles. Use turnouts to let faster traffic pass. Drive cautiously in fog. Do not take trailers or motor homes on roads other than main highways without first finding out whether those roads can handle them

Redwood National and State Parks are managed under special regulations to protect park resources and you.

• All plants and animals are protected, mushroom gathering is prohibited. You may gather fruits and berries for your personal consumption.

• California fishing licenses are required for freshwater and ocean fishing. California Department of Fish and Game fishing regulations apply to all waters within the parks.

• Tidepools are fragile environments, and collecting is not permitted.

• Do not hunt, trap, or carry loaded firearms on park lands; for firearms regulations check the park website.

• Keep pets restrained at all times, pets are prohibited on all park trails.

• Camp and build fires only in areas designated for such uses.

• Damaging or removing any government structure, sign, or marker is prohibited.

• Help keep the park clean and litter-free; take out what you bring in.

• Horseback riding and mountain biking are allowed only on certain designated trails. Information centers can provide you with more detailed information on trails. If you have questions, check at an information center or ask a patrolling park ranger

Always lock your unattended car and place all valuables out of sight in the trunk or, preferably, carry them with you. If you are the victim of a theft, or if you witness vandalism, call the nearest law enforcement officer or information center.