Redwood National Park Redwood National and State Parks Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Visitor Guide The offcial 2021 visitor guide of Redwood National and State Parks PHOTO / STEVE OLSON Park Map Big Trees Scenic Drives Change Discover the best way to navigate Redwood’s Learn about the three kinds of redwood trees The type of vehicle you drive will determine mosaic of habitats…pages 6-7 and the best places to see them…page 5 which roads are suitable for you…page 7 The Superintendents of Redwood National D a v i l s rai Cree oad o T st Man k R n o n Lo and State Parks welcome you to relax and R a s o d avi D k 101 To Bald Hills Road ee L r il o C a st enjoy one of the most peaceful places Elk Meadow Day Use Area r M ie T ir n a l a o n Creek Trai r is P v a Berry Glen Trail D on earth. These forests provide sanctuary Other trails 3 l l i m a i from the stresses of fast-paced modern l r e Picnic area T s f s r ll o a m Parking area F E l k k life, steadfast and appearing unchanged m u M illi Tr e Restrooms a d ow to over eons. But no place is untouched by LB J G Lady Bird Johnson B r e ov Grove Trail r e j ry ct. 101 G change and Redwood National and State le ½ n m i l Lady Bird T e r Coastal Trail: a t i o Johnson Grove Skunk Cabbage Section l B erry Parks is no exception. G Trailhead l e n T r d Hill a al s il B Roa d jc t. Recent times witnessed the parks adapt to a global pandemic. Park staff and our partners worked hard to ensure the a Trip Ideas i Camping Pets Redwoods were available as a respite for a No matter how short or long your visit is, Find out which of the parks’ four developed Several designated, pet-friendly adventures weary America during these tough times. check out our recommendations…page 6 campgrounds is best for you…page 10 should suit the whole family…page 3 Limited in what could be accomplished in-person, our rangers reached out to classrooms through virtual education programs and moved our permit system on-line. While safety is always frst and foremost, we modifed our visitor center, campground, and offce building operations to stay open during the pandemic whenever possible. Despite these challenges, Redwood National and State Parks will see positive change in 2021. The Grove of Titans will be accessible through a new trail and boardwalk, protecting it for generations Condors Will Soar Overhead to come. Thousands of acres of previously harvested timberlands will be put on CALIFORNIA CONDORS ONCE ROAMED THE SKIES ALONG THE a path of recovery through the public/ entire California coast and into the Pacifc Northwest. With a nine private efforts of the Redwoods Rising and a half foot wingspan—the largest of any North American land collaborative. Working with our Yurok bird—condors can travel over a hundred miles each day in search tribal partners, condors may soon soar of food. These prehistoric-looking scavengers can easily tear into over the towering redwoods once again. carcasses too large for others, but will gladly consume any carrion they come across. Despite their impressive size, condors are not We are reaffrming and strengthening hunters, and cannot kill prey themselves. our partnership between the three state parks and the national park that make up Redwood National and State Parks. Condors began disappearing as Westward Expansion—beginning Our visitor services will be even more in the 1800s—altered their habitat, replacing wide-open spaces integrated to better provide information with increased disturbance. As new settlers killed bears and and interpretive services. Our trail mountain lions, it reduced the number of large predators that crews are developing combined trail provided condors with prey to scavenge. The carcasses that maintenance standards to ensure the homesteaders left behind were often flled with toxic lead hiking experience is the same across these fragments from bullets, and poisoning campaigns killed condors NPS / GAVIN EMMONS four parks. We are excited to see how who came to clean up the dead “nuisance” wildlife. Within a these efforts will beneft you while also Indigenous peoples along the Pacifc Coast had lived with condors century, condors had declined to a tiny population in Southern maximizing the effciency of the work we since time immemorial. For many, like the Yurok, the condor is California, and by 1987 they were extinct in the wild. do throughout the partnership. a fundamental part of their culture and traditions. Yurok wildlife biologists have spent years doing feldwork to demonstrate the While we are not sure what the future feasibility of reintroducing condors to their homeland. They Condors are poised to come back to holds, we commit ourselves to providing believe that the return of the condor will also restore spiritual you the best experience in these their home in the redwoods. balance to their world. majestic forests while protecting them in perpetuity. Redwood National and State Parks is proud to be part of the Only 27 condors remained in the world— all living in zoos —when partnership that will return this critically endangered species to Brett Silver a captive breeding program began. In the span of three decades, another part of its ancestral territory. RNSP Superintendent (California State Parks) it has dramatically increased condor numbers, and they have now been successfully reintroduced to the wild in California’s Central Many people think of national and state parks as places that Coast, as well as to the Arizona/Utah border and Baja California, Steve Mietz protect ”pristine” nature, but Redwood National and State Parks Mexico —which are all part of the condors’ original range. RNSP Superintendent (National Park Service) demonstrates that parks can also repair and restore damaged ecosystems—ranging from thousands of acres of clearcut forest Now after years of work by dedicated conservationists, in the and sediment-laden streams resulting from over a century of next year Redwood National and State Parks will be the release logging (see Redwoods Rising, pg 8), to tramped vegetation and www.nps.gov/redw site for another condor reintroduction. This efort has been led by exposed roots caused by increased of-trail use by hikers. the Yurok Tribe working with numerous partners—including the @RedwoodNPS National Park Service, California State Parks, Oregon Zoo, US Fish Condor reintroduction is another piece of this restoration puzzle and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, Ventana Wildlife Society, whose benefts extend far beyond the parks’ boundaries. and Pacifc Gas and Electric—to prepare for this historic step in condor recovery. Sarah Brimeyer, Park Ranger NPS Mobile App Printed on paper with post-consumer recycled content Visitor Centers: A Great Start Five visitor and information centers provide orientation, information, and trip-planning advice. Park staff and park partners are on duty. Park Passes If you’re an America the Beautiful pass holder (“Annual,” ”Military,” National or State Park? Crescent City Information Center Information, live video feed from Castle Rock National Wildlife Refuge, “Senior,” “Access,” or “Volunteer”), you enjoy free entry to more passport stamps, nearby restrooms, Junior Ranger workbook. than 2,000 federal recreation sites, including national parks. Now, It’s both! In May 1994, the National Park Location: 1111 Second Street, Crescent City, Calif. those same benefts are extended to state parklands within Redwood Service and California State Parks agreed Operating Hours: Summer: Open daily, 9 am to 5 pm; National and State Parks: With your America the Beautiful Pass, you to cooperatively manage their contiguous Off-season: As staffng permits—please call ahead: 707-464-6101. won’t pay day-use fees (where applicable) at Jedediah Smith Redwood, redwood parklands. Both park systems Del Norte Coast Redwood, and Prairie Creek Redwood State Park. have a long history of working together Hiouchi Visitor Center “Senior” and “Access” passholders receive a 50% discount on camp- that dates back to Yosemite, which be- Information, exhibits, park flm, passport stamps, restrooms, picnic area, ing fees, too! Of course, visitors with a California State Parks Annual came California’s frst state park in 1864. ranger-led activities and programs, Junior Ranger workbook. or Special Pass will continue to receive the same benefts and discounts Though designated a national park in Location: 9 miles northeast of Crescent City, Calif. on US 199. they’ve enjoyed at sites throughout the state. 1890, Yosemite was briefy managed by Operating Hours: Summer: Open daily, 9 am to 5 pm; both state and federal governments. Off-season: Open daily, 9 am to 4 pm. Find out which pass is right for you and where passes can be pur- chased by visiting any park visitor center (see left) or online at: Redwood National and State Parks man- Jedediah Smith Visitor Center ages 133,000 acres. Our mission is to California State Parks Annual or Special Passes Information, exhibits, passport stamps, restrooms, picnic area, ranger-led preserve, protect—and make available to www.parks.ca.gov activities and programs (summer only), Junior Ranger workbook. all people, for their inspiration, enjoyment, Location: Jedediah Smith Campground (see page 10), 9 miles northeast of and education—the forests, scenic coast- America the Beautiful Pass Series Crescent City, Calif. on US 199. lines, prairies, and streams and their as- www.nps.gov/fndapark/passes Operating Hours: Summer: Open daily, 9 am to 5 pm; sociated natural and cultural values, which Off-season: As staffng permits—please call ahead: 707-464-6101.