I hit the road just before 1:00 a.m. for the 5h:15m drive to the Rockefeller Loop trail head in Humboldt redwoods State Park. Heading northwest out of the Central valley at this time of night, it's easy to forget I share this beautiful state with almost 40 million people.
I made good time and arrived at Humboldt at 6:03 a.m. Based on various descriptions online and in multiple print sources*, here were my target spots:
- Rockefeller Loop [pictured above]
- Decker Creek [mini-Fern Canyon]
- Founders Grove
- Avenue of the Giants
- Patricks Point & Trinidad State Beach
- Lady Bird Johnson Grove
- Trillium Falls Trail
- Prairie Creek Foothills Trail
- Stout Grove
This was a busy day. By the time I reached my hotel, it was a nineteen-hour day. But worth every single minute. Of all my planned visits, I skipped only Stout Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, saving it for tomorrow, as it would have required further northward driving from my hotel, and I was going to run out of light. That was a good move; not only was I tired tonight, but the drive in to Stout Grove turned out to be spectacular and a better way to start the day than end it.
FWIW, I found the Klamath Holiday Inn Express a reasonably convenient place to stay. It's a bit far north of Humboldt, but it's centrally located for all the parks in the Redwood National & State Parks ecosystem. Folks are nice, food is decent, beers on tap are not bad, and there's a casino if that's your thing.
* Here are the print sources I found most useful for planning [these are not referral links]:
