Redwood National Park

Redwood National Park in northern California protects extensive stands of coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), prairies, and rugged coastline. The park is managed in cooperation with several adjoining California state parks to preserve large tracts of old-growth forest and associated ecosystems.

Visitors come for tall-tree groves, scenic drives, and trails that lead into ancient redwood stands and river canyons; wildlife includes Roosevelt elk and a variety of coastal bird and marine species. Notable visitor sites include accessible groves with boardwalks and trails that highlight the scale and ecology of the redwoods.

The park is located along California’s northern coast in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, with access points near towns such as Crescent City, Klamath, and Orick.

• Cooperative management: The park is administered cooperatively by the National Park Service and California state parks, incorporating contiguous state park units that together protect contiguous old-growth redwood forest.
• Record heights: Home to some of the tallest trees on Earth, with individual coast redwoods commonly exceeding 300 feet (about 90 meters) in height.

What to See#

• Jedediah Smith: Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park - a unit of the combined park complex known for old-growth redwoods and deep river canyons.
• Prairie Creek: Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park - contains large stands of old-growth redwood forest, coastal prairie, and trails such as the popular Tall Trees Grove.
• Del Norte Coast: Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park - northern coastal unit that links coastal redwood stands with the national park’s protected shoreline.

• If you want the iconic groves with fewer people, visit early morning and head for designated trails such as Lady Bird Johnson Grove or the scenic parkways rather than the busiest coastal pullouts.
• Reserve the free Tall Trees Grove permit in advance if you plan to visit that trail-the grove requires a permit obtained from park headquarters and is easy to miss without planning.