Crescent City · RedAwning

Redwood National Park139,000 acres of coast redwoods on California's far north coast — Hyperion stands 380 feet, the tallest tree on Earth

139,000 acres of old-growth coast redwood forest, ferny river canyons, and 40 miles of Pacific shoreline along California's far north coast. Co-managed since 1994 by the National Park Service and California State Parks (Jedediah Smith, Del Norte Coast, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks). Home to Hyperion — at 380.3 feet, the tallest known living tree on Earth — and to roughly 45% of all remaining old-growth coast redwoods. Designated a national park on October 2, 1968 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

Hours todayOpen 24 hrs – undefinedTuesday hours
TicketsFrom $8State park day-use parking
LocationCrescent City, California1111 Second Street
Official sitenps.govPlan your visit

138,999Park acreage
380 ftTallest tree
40 milesCoastline
~45% of allOld-growth share

Coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) once covered 2 million acres of California's coastal fog belt; by the 1960s logging had removed 90% of that primeval forest. Conservation began with the Save-the-Redwoods League's 1918 founding, the creation of Prairie Creek (1923), Del Norte Coast (1925), and Jedediah Smith (1929) state parks, and finally Lyndon Johnson signing Redwood National Park into law on October 2, 1968. Congress and California consolidated the federal and state lands into a single Redwood National and State Parks management unit in 1994. UNESCO inscribed the parks as a World Heritage Site in 1980 and an International Biosphere Reserve in 1983.

The combined parks protect 138,999 acres — about 45% of all remaining old-growth coast redwoods on Earth. Hyperion, discovered in 2006 in a remote tributary of Redwood Creek, stands 380.3 feet tall: the tallest known living thing on the planet. Helios, Icarus, Stratosphere Giant, and the Lost Monarch all also live in the parks, each over 370 feet. Coast redwoods can live 2,000+ years and are the tallest tree species on Earth — the giant sequoias of the Sierra Nevada are larger by volume but never grow as tall.

Plan two to three days. The South District (Prairie Creek, Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Tall Trees Grove) clusters around Orick, the North District (Jedediah Smith, Stout Grove, Howland Hill Road) around Crescent City. The two are 40 miles apart on Highway 101, with the Klamath River and Coastal Drive in between. Wear layers — the redwood ecosystem depends on coastal fog, and even mid-summer afternoons in the groves rarely top 65°F. Allow extra driving time on Howland Hill and Bald Hills Roads (one-lane gravel through old-growth, no RVs).

Stout Memorial Grove
A 44-acre old-growth grove on the Smith River in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park — the most accessible cathedral grove in the parks, reached by a paved 0.6-mile loop trail off Howland Hill Road. Mature trees here average 300 feet tall and 16 feet in diameter; the 1929 dedication stone marks the original land donation by Mrs. Frank D. Stout in memory of her husband.
Lady Bird Johnson Grove
A 1.4-mile loop trail at 1,200 feet of elevation through old-growth redwoods — the highest grove in the park, often above the coastal fog with shafts of sunlight angling through. Named for First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, who dedicated the park here on August 27, 1969 alongside her husband and President Richard Nixon. The trailhead is on Bald Hills Road, three miles east of Highway 101.
Tall Trees Grove
The most-protected old-growth grove in the park — home to the once-tallest tree in the world (Tall Tree, 367.8 feet, dethroned by Hyperion in 2006). Access requires a free permit (50/day) and a 17-mile drive on the unpaved Bald Hills Road plus a steep 4-mile round-trip hike, 800 feet down to the grove and back up.
Fern Canyon
An 80-foot-deep canyon walled in five species of ferns — used as a Lost World location in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). Reached from Davison Road through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, with a 0.7-mile loop trail wading through Home Creek (waterproof footwear May–October; multiple footbridges placed in summer). Day-use reservations required May 15–September 15.
Roosevelt elk at Elk Prairie
Prairie Creek's namesake meadow is the most reliable place in California to see the 700-pound Roosevelt elk — the largest subspecies of elk in North America. A herd of 200+ animals grazes the prairie year-round; rutting bulls bugle at dawn and dusk in September and October. Viewable from the Elk Prairie Campground turnout, with the 0.6-mile Foothill Trail looping the meadow's edge.
Howland Hill Road
A 10-mile unpaved one-lane drive through old-growth Jedediah Smith — many consider it the most cinematic redwood drive in the world. Trailheads for Stout Grove, the Boy Scout Tree Trail, and Mill Creek Trail open off the route. RVs and trailers prohibited; allow 90 minutes one-way for the drive itself plus stops.
Coastal Drive Loop
A 9-mile partial-paved scenic loop (some sections gravel and one-way) along bluffs above the Pacific north of Orick — Pacific Ocean views, the World War II Radar Station B-71, the High Bluff Overlook for whale-watching, and the trailhead for the Carruthers Cove Trail down to the beach. Plan two hours with stops; closed seasonally if storm-damaged.
Klamath River overlook & whales
A 600-foot bluff above the mouth of the Klamath River with picnic tables and a half-mile down-and-back trail to a lower platform — the best vantage point in the parks for watching the Pacific gray whale migration (December–April southbound, March–May northbound). Pacific harbor seals haul out on the river bar below year-round.

Open hours

Park is open year-round. Visitor centers operate 9:00 AM–5:00 PM in summer, 9:00 AM–4:00 PM in winter — Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center (Orick), Hiouchi Visitor Center, Crescent City Information Center, and Prairie Creek Visitor Center. Howland Hill Road and Cal-Barrel Road are unpaved one-lane roads through the old-growth — closed in winter when conditions warrant. The Tall Trees Grove permit system runs May through October.

MondayOpen 24 hrs
TuesdayTodayOpen 24 hrs
WednesdayOpen 24 hrs
ThursdayOpen 24 hrs
FridayOpen 24 hrs
SaturdayOpen 24 hrs
SundayOpen 24 hrs

Note · Tall Trees Grove access requires a free vehicle permit issued daily at the Kuchel Visitor Center on a first-come, first-served basis (50 permits/day) — arrive by 9 AM in summer.

Ticket pricing

Per-person admission. Buy in advance to skip the gate line.

Park entranceFreeNo entrance fee — the park is free year-round
Tall Trees Grove permitFreeFree, 50/day, picked up at Kuchel Visitor Center
State park day-use parking$8Per vehicle at Jedediah Smith, Del Norte, or Prairie Creek
Developed campsite (per night)$35Jedediah Smith, Mill Creek, Elk Prairie, or Gold Bluffs Beach
Backcountry permit (per night)$5Required for the Redwood Creek and Coastal Trail backcountry sites

The federal portion of the park is free, but the three California state parks (Jedediah Smith, Del Norte Coast, Prairie Creek) charge an $8 day-use parking fee at developed lots. Gold Bluffs Beach and Fern Canyon access from the south uses a separate $12 day-use fee plus required reservation May–September. Hyperion's exact location is undisclosed and visiting it is now prohibited following 2022 trail damage.

Plan your visit

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