Redwood National Park

Of all the times we’ve come to Northern California, and stayed in Weott and Redcrest (which are in the heart of redwood country), this is the first time we actually made the trip further north to visit the Redwood National Park. We opted to visit the portion of the park that’s in the town of Orick, about 80-miles north of where we were staying, and home to one of three Visitors Centers in the park. We picked up a map and a couple of brochures and covered as much ground as possible over about five hours.

Stepping into the forest is like stepping back in time with old-growth trees that are centuries old, some even over 1000 years old. 133,000 acres of state and national parks comprised of temperate rain forests along the coast of Northern California all reside within Del Norte and Humboldt Counties. These parks protect 45% of all the remaining coast redwood old-growth forests, home to the tallest and one of the most massive tree species on Earth.

It is hard to fathom that nearly 90% of the original old-growth forest was destroyed after many decades of unrestricted clear-cut logging (in 1850 redwood forest covered more than 2,000,000 acres of the California coast). I can’t understand how anyone could be in the presence of such majesty and have any desire other than to preserve and protect. Thanks to the serious efforts towards conservation began in the 1920’s by the Save-The-Redwoods League, and the eventual establishment of the National Park in 1968, we are able to bear witness to these gentle giants in what’s left of their natural environment. Here are some pictures from our much too short visit.