09/29/2022
📍Redwood National Park, CA
After making the drive from Crater Lake NP, OR, we arrived at our first California National Park on the beautiful Northwest Coast, Redwoods National & State Parks. We began by hanging out on Crescent Beach, walking the dogs & taking in the ocean waves before heading to nearby Battery Point Light and then a nearby overlook to watch the sunset. After we went to our home for a few days, Mill Creek Campground, tucked deep in the Redwood Forest in the Del Norte SP region. The next morning we set off to see the Giant Redwoods at Stout Grove, our first of many giant trees along this trip but ones we will never forget. Redwood National Park is home to the tallest trees in the world, the Giant Coastal Redwood, not to be confused with the largest trees in the world, the Giant Sequoia, in Sequoia National Park. These trees can live thousands of years & growing over 350 ft tall! Along the way we found a road down to the river where we found massive brambles of blackberries all along the road. We filled our bellies, pockets, and packs as best we could before riding off to see another giant tree, the "Boy Scout Tree", a massive double Redwood along the Fern Falls Trail- a 5.6 mile out & back trail. The "falls" were a disappointing trickle of a creek, but the trail through the lush coastal forest was amazing- giant ferns, lush plants, & big ole banana slugs everywhere! The next morning we continued south on the motorcycle stopping at the coastal overlooks along the way taking in the amazing scenery. We made our way down to Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail, a 1.5 mile loop through a historic grove of old growth redwoods where we took in the magnitude of these old sentinels. Before heading home we made it to the southern entrance of the park and took a walk on the soft sandy beach to watch the huge breakers crash on the sand. We stayed until closing & made our way back to the campground before heading South out of the park the next morning to our next National Park.
