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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
The three state parks adjacent to Redwood National Park are:
US101 runs north-south close to the coast and is the main highway through the parks. The following description is based on a journey from north to south.
North of Crescent City, US199 heads east from US101 through Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and then into the Smith River National Recreation Area and Six Rivers National Forest.
South of Crescent City, US101 runs through Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park.
Further south, beyond Klamath, US101 runs through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. However, the parallel Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway is a preferred alternative to the main highway. The Parkway is a paved road.
There is also a Coastal Drive near Klamath. This road has several extensive unpaved sections which were in an extremely poor state of repair when we visited in summer 1999 and this road is not recommended. We didn't feel it had very much to offer in the way of views either.
From approximately where the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway rejoins US101 the highway enters Redwood National Park.
Just north of Orick the Bald Hills Road heads east into the main part of Redwood National Park. Shortly after leaving US101 there is a fork in the road which when we visited suffered from a lack of signposting except for a sign saying that a permit was required. Since we didn't explore further, the following information is taken from the official Redwood National Park leaflet. The righthand fork leads a short distance along a paved road to a trailhead and a permit is required for overnight travel on the trail. The lefthand fork is the main road, which is initially paved but becomes unpaved later and this section has a steep gradient. There is an unpaved spur road leading off this road to the Tall Trees Grove, for which a free permit is required (presumably due to restricted car parking space). Permits can be obtained from the Redwood Information Centre just south of Orick, about three miles south of the Bald Hills Road junction on US101. It would appear that permits are not required for the Bald Hills Road itself, which is probably well worth exploring. It is a great shame the local signposting doesn't do more to make visitors welcome.
Just beyond Orick the Redwood Information Centre is worth a stop although the centre is small and only very few exhibits were on show when we visited (in June 1998) due to refurbishment work being in progress. Be sure to go out the "back door" of the Information Centre onto the beach.
There are various minor other roads off US101, some unpaved.
It has been seven years (1999) since you wrote your piece on the Avenue of the Giants and I just wanted to add that the Eureka / Arcata area has been undergoing a facelift and has greatly improved its depressed industrial town vibe. The historic Eureka Inn will be re-opening soon and the waterfront in Eureka has been completely revamped. Although I must agree Eureka being the capital of Humboldt County and the 101 Highway running right through it does make the city depressing, the surrounding areas off the main drag are quite beautiful. The historic Victorian structures in the neighbourhoods surrounding the downtown area are quite fantastic, and if you were to go into South Eureka you would find there are redwood forests throughout the town. Arcata has become a mecca for nightlife and posh stores - thriving from Humboldt State Univerisity in Arcata, and the campus is by far the most beautiful in California.
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Most recently modified 8-May-07