This exit off Highway 101 drops you into California’s last ancient rainforest

Humboldt County’s best-kept old-growth secret

About 50 miles north of Eureka, a narrow exit off Highway 101 drops you into Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The trees here reach 300 feet, taller than a 30-story building. Moss covers every rock.

Lichens drape from the branches. Ferns carpet the ground.
The park protects 14,000 acres of old-growth coast redwood, and it’s part of a system that holds 45 percent of all the old-growth redwood left in California.

What you find inside goes well beyond the trees.

Gold flakes in the sand started it all

The Yurok people lived on this land for many generations before settlers showed up. Then, in 1850, someone found gold flakes in the beach sand, and a tent city popped up on the shore almost overnight.

That rush faded, but something worse followed. By the early 1900s, logging had leveled thousands of acres of old-growth redwoods across the region.

The Save the Redwoods League stepped in and helped protect the land, and in 1923, the park began with a 160-acre donation. Today, over 280 memorial groves stand inside the park because of that same organization.

Walk between 50-foot walls of solid green

Fern Canyon is the kind of place that stops you mid-step. Seasonal footbridges go in during summer months, but outside that window, you wade.

The walls rise 50 feet on both sides, and five species of fern cling to every surface, fed by the moisture of Home Creek running along the bottom.

The loop trail runs about a mile and takes at least 30 minutes. Plan on getting your feet wet, because the trail crosses the creek several times and there’s no dry route through.

Two trails lead to Fern Canyon for different reasons

You have two ways to reach the canyon, and they give you two very different experiences.

Davison Road is a narrow, unpaved drive with vehicle size limits that takes you straight to the parking area. From May 15 through Sept. 15, you need a day-use permit to drive in.

The other option is the James Irvine Trail, a nine-mile round trip from the visitor center that cuts through deep old-growth forest before it spills you out at the coast.

No permit needed for the hike, just time and good shoes.

A 10-mile drive through 300-foot redwoods

Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway runs 10 miles through the heart of the old-growth forest, and any size vehicle can handle it.

The drive takes about 20 minutes if you don’t stop, but you will stop. Pullouts and trailheads line both sides of the road.

The parkway carries the name of Newton B.Drury, a conservationist who spent 40 years fighting to protect redwood forests and served as director of the National Park Service.

On the first Saturday of each month from October through May, the road closes to cars for Hike and Bike Day.

Big Tree has been standing for 1,500 years

One of the park’s most popular stops sits just 75 yards from a parking area off the scenic parkway. Big Tree stands about 290 feet tall and has been alive for roughly 1,500 years.

A viewing platform circles its base so you can take in the full size of the trunk. Nearby, the Corkscrew Tree grew in a twisted, spiraling shape that nobody has fully explained.

The Cathedral Trees sprouted from a single parent tree, forming a natural ring. Audio boxes at the trailhead let you hear Yurok elders talk about what these trees mean to their people.

1,100-pound elk graze right beside the road

Roosevelt elk are the biggest elk species in North America and the largest land animal in California. Bulls can weigh up to 1,100 pounds.

Settlers nearly hunted them to extinction, but the herds have come back strong and now number in the thousands. Elk Prairie, a wide meadow at the south end of the parkway, is one of the best spots to see them.

Elk Meadow off Davison Road works too. They move early morning and late evening. Keep your distance in fall, when bulls are mating and short on patience.

Banana slugs and spotted owls share the forest floor

Black bears, deer, coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, and chipmunks all live inside the park. Near the streams and under logs, you might spot rough-skinned newts and Pacific giant salamanders.

But the creature you’ll probably notice first is the bright yellow banana slug, slowly working through decaying plant matter on the ground.

Over 260 bird species have turned up here, including the threatened northern spotted owl and the marbled murrelet.

Gold Bluffs Beach runs 10 miles with no buildings in sight

Gold Bluffs Beach stretches about 10 miles along the Pacific coast inside the park.

The sand is gray, tangled with driftwood, and backed by dunes and orange-tinted bluffs that got their name from those 1850s gold flakes.

You might see harbor seals hauled up on the shore, sea lions in the surf, or the spout of a migrating gray whale farther out.

Sand verbena, bush lupine, and wild strawberry grow across the dunes and add patches of color in season. No boardwalk, no shops, just coast.

A trail built for people who cannot see the trees

The park holds over 75 miles of trails for every ability level.

The Revelation Trail near the visitor center was built for people who are blind or visually impaired, with a guide wire and sensory signs along the way.

For something flat and easy, Prairie Creek Trail follows the creek through old-growth forest. The Cathedral Trees Loop covers 3.2 miles through some of the densest groves.

For a longer day, you can link the Brown Creek, Rhododendron, and West Ridge trails into quieter stretches most visitors never reach.

Pink rhododendrons light up the forest every May

Western azalea and rhododendron bloom in May and June, pushing bright pink and white through the deep green canopy. The Rhododendron Trail is the route most people take to see them at their peak.

Down on the forest floor, redwood sorrel, monkeyflowers, fairy lanterns, and dozens of fern and moss species fill in the gaps.

Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, western hemlock, tanoak, and California bay laurel all grow alongside the coast redwoods. The fog rolls in off the Pacific and keeps everything green through every season.

Leave the dog and check the road limits before you go

Dogs can’t go on any trail in the park, but you can bring them on leash to Gold Bluffs Beach and the campgrounds.

A section of Cathedral Trees Trail is closed as of early 2026 due to a washout, so check conditions before you plan that route.

The visitor center near the south end of the scenic parkway stays open year-round with maps, exhibits, and a nature store. The parkway gates shut from sunset to sunrise north of Elk Prairie Campground.

Davison Road to Gold Bluffs Beach and Fern Canyon limits vehicles to 8 feet wide and 24 feet long, with no trailers allowed.

Explore Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in California

You can reach the park off Highway 101, about 50 miles north of Eureka and 25 miles south of Crescent City. Take exit 753 or 765 onto Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway.

The visitor center sits at the southern end, with exhibits, a nature store, and trail maps. Day use runs $8 per vehicle. To reach Gold Bluffs Beach and Fern Canyon, take Davison Road three miles north of Orick.

Two campgrounds are available: Elk Prairie with 75 year-round sites, and Gold Bluffs Beach with 26 sites near the coast.

Seasonal permits for Fern Canyon and Gold Bluffs Beach day use can be reserved through the official website.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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