In a state that includes vast mountains, vast deserts, and vast coastlines, it's striking how California's most famous natural feature may very well be its titanic redwood trees. Reaching heights of over 300 feet in some cases, these trees are the largest on Earth. And if a single giant redwood is a sight to behold, an entire forest of them is a whole new level of amazing.
Going by name alone, the self-explanatory Redwood National Park would be most people's first stop on a California redwood tour. And, indeed, Redwood National Park has some of the most beautiful hikes in the entire state. Even better, the park's scenic coastline provides abundant ocean views on top of its breathtaking forest of giants.
But while Redwood National Park may be the most famous, it's far from the only destination in California with awe-inspiring redwood forests. Many California state parks, national park sites, and national forests have their own amazing giant redwood groves worth a visit. These seven California parks are underrated destinations for witnessing the state's mighty redwood trees in person.
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7 Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Santa Cruz County
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California's Redwood forest is a national treasure, so it should come as no surprise that the state's first state park protects a magnificent cluster of towering redwood trees. Big Basin Redwoods State Park was established in 1902, as part of a drive to protect the iconic redwood forests near the city of Santa Cruz.
Big Basin Redwoods is much more than just a large thicket of giant trees. The park actually contains the largest collection of coastal redwoods south of San Francisco.
Not only are these trees impressively large - they're also ancient. Some trees in the park may be as old as 1,800 years! Not only does this make them older than the United States and European contact with the Americas, but they may even be older than the Roman Empire!
In addition to its redwoods, the park's old-growth forests also contain stunning collections of conifer trees, oaks, riparian forests, and large coastal shrublands. And as if massive trees weren't enough, Big Basin Redwoods also contains many scenic waterfalls, often accessible via the park's intricate network of more than 100 miles of hiking trails.
Tragically, in 2020, wildfires swept through the area and destroyed much of the park's forest, as well as many of its historic buildings. While restoration efforts are still ongoing, visitors can access many areas of the park to experience the remnants of this titanic forest in person.
Entry Fee
$10
Opening Hours
8 AM - Sunset
Nearest Cities
Santa Cruz, CA
Best Hiking Trails
Skyline to the Sea and Meteor Loop Trail Redwood Trail
Best Time To Visit
Spring, Summer
As of 2024, many trails and scenic areas in Big Basin Redwoods State Park remain closed following damage from the 2020 fire. Before arriving, visitors should check the park's website for information on which areas are currently open. Due to limited parking access, visitors are encouraged to reserve a parking space beforehand.
6 Portola Redwoods State Park
San Mateo County
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Portola Redwoods State Park is such a deep and primordial forest ecosystem that visitors can easily forget that they haven't even left the San Francisco Bay Area. But as hard as it may be to believe, this gorgeous expanse of rivers, waterfalls, and redwood forests sits within the thriving San Mateo County, right next to the world-famous tech hub of Silicon Valley!
Thanks to efforts by conservation organizations like the Save the Redwoods League, Portola Redwoods was saved from the urban development that built up the rest of the Bay Area. Today, the park is a beautiful preserve of coastal redwood forests that offers a much-needed excursion from the hustle and bustle of the major metropolitan area just next door.
Portola Redwoods features forest systems growing around several large creeks and their various tributaries. With so many waterways, the park also contains scenic waterfalls that make for some of the best photos you can find anywhere in the Bay Area.
The park's historic lodges and more than 50 accessible campgrounds make Portola Redwoods an ideal spot to escape from the city and spend a day or two in one of the best examples of successful redwood preservation in California.
Entry Fee
$10
Opening Hours
6 AM - Sunset
Nearest Cities
La Honda, CA
Best Hiking Trails
Slate Creek Loop Iverson Trail to Tiptoe Falls
Best Time To Visit
Late Spring through Mid-Autumn
Despite being so close to San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Portola Redwoods State Park has little to no reliable cellular reception. Visitors should prepare to rely on alternative means of communication during their trip.
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5 Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
Santa Cruz County
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Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park preserves an exceptional stretch of both old-growth and second-growth redwood forests around the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz County. The park's main 40-acre preserve of old-growth redwoods is accessible via a well-maintained loop trail circling through some of the best examples of coastal redwood trees in the entire California state park system.
For many travelers, the park's Redwood Grove Loop provides immersive redwood experiences that easily rival those found at the better-known Redwood National Park!
Like other redwood-centric state parks, Henry Cowell Redwoods is much more than even its amazing redwood groves. The park's main unit also protects a complex ecosystem of shrublands, grasslands, and even sandhills. This includes the unique Santa Cruz Sandhills, a one-of-a-kind preserve of ancient sand deposits and endangered species of plants and animals.
In addition to its main area, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park also has a detached secondary unit around Fall Creek. The Fall Creek Unit protects an additional second-growth redwood forest and a gorgeous, fern-laden canyon system. Plus, the park also provides hiking access to the nearby "Garden of Eden," a popular swimming hole in the San Lorenzo River.
Entry Fee
$10
Opening Hours
Sunrise - Sunset
Nearest Cities
Felton, CA
Best Hiking Trails
Fall Creek to Lime Kiln Trail Redwood Grove Loop Henry Cowell Observation Deck Loop
Best Time To Visit
Spring, Summer
4 Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park
Humboldt County
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Nowhere is the adage "big things come in little packages" truer than in California's Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park. Of all the coastal redwoods sites in the California state park system, Grizzly Creek is one of the smallest. Compared to the hundreds or even thousands of acres of other parks, Grizzly Creek only occupies less than a single square mile.
But that square mile packs a big punch. Here, visitors can find a dramatic grove of old-growth redwood trees growing near Northern California's Van Duzen River. The park's 0.8-mile Cheatham Grove Trail provides such an immersive tour of California's redwoods that visitors might be forgiven for thinking they've accidentally wandered into a vast, untamed wilderness!
But for all its natural beauty, Grizzly Creek State Park boasts pop culture fame as well. If Star Wars fans thought that the park's towering trees and green ferns looked a bit familiar, that's because it is!
Grizzly Creek was one of the filming locations for scenes set on the Forest Moon of Endor in Return of the Jedi. So, not only will Grizzly Creek visitors get to experience the glory of California's mighty redwoods, they'll get to tell their friends they've set foot on one of the world's most iconic Star Wars filming locations as well!
Entry Fee
$8
Opening Hours
8 AM - Sunset
Nearest Cities
Carlotta, CA
Best Hiking Trails
Cheatham Grove Trail
Best Time To Visit
Spring, Summer
3 Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve
Sonoma County
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The temperate climate of the Pacific Northwest, combined with the region's higher-than-average precipitation, creates many great examples of the unique natural phenomenon of a "temperature rainforest." The most famous temperate rainforests in the United States are found farther north in the state of Washington, particularly in spots like the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park.
But California's coastline has a few memorable temperature rainforests as well. And when these rainforest ecosystems form around towering redwood trees, the result is something truly special.
This just so happens to be the case at the magnificent Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve. For most visitors, Armstrong Redwoods is notable for the strange, dream-like atmosphere that often encompasses the park. The forest's high precipitation and coastal climate often create thick fog cover that gives the park a mysterious element, almost as if it was something out of a fantasy novel instead of a California state park.
But atmosphere aside, Armstrong Redwoods also contains many individual trees of particular notability. The park's tallest tree is the staggering, 310-foot-tall Parson Jones Tree, which dwarfs many more famous examples of redwood trees elsewhere in the state. Likewise, the park's Colonel Armstrong Tree is the oldest in the forest, with an estimated age of around 1,400 years!
Entry Fee
$10
Opening Hours
8 AM - One Hour After Sunset
Nearest Cities
Guerneville, CA
Best Hiking Trails
Armstrong Redwoods Grove Loop Trail Pioneer Nature Trail
Best Time To Visit
Spring, Summer
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2 Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Humboldt County
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The 10,000-acre Rockefeller Forest is the largest remaining continuous forest of old-growth redwood trees on Earth, and a true testament to the importance of environmental conservation efforts.
In the 19th and early 20th Centuries, much of California's old-growth redwood forests fell victim to the lumber industry. But thanks to efforts from the Save the Redwoods League and other conservation organizations, the mighty and ancient trees of the Rockefeller Forest were preserved to stand as a living museum of the state's complex natural history.
Today, much of the larger Rockefeller Forest is part of Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The park occupies a whopping 53,000 acres, 17,000 of which protect authentic old-growth redwood forests. With this immense area (almost twice the size of San Francisco), Humboldt Redwoods is the largest contiguous old-growth redwood forest left on Earth.
Thanks to its prominent size and key location, Humboldt Redwoods State Park is a prominent stop on most scenic coastal redwood tours. The park is the epicenter of the larger Avenue of the Giants, a 31-mile scenic route along Highway 101 that provides excellent views of many of the area's best redwood forests.
Humboldt Redwoods' section of the drive is certainly worth the trip. Among other attractions, the park's portion of the route contains the famed Shrine Drive-Thru Tree, a giant redwood tree you can drive your car through!
Entry Fee
$8
Opening Hours
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (May-September) 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM (October-April)
Nearest Cities
Rio Dell, CA
Best Hiking Trails
Founders Grove Nature Trail Drury-Chaney Trail Bull Creek Flats Trail
Best Time To Visit
May through September
1 Giant Sequoia National Monument
Tulare County, Fresno County, Kern County
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The titanic redwood trees found in Redwood National Park and the numerous redwood state parks are all examples of Sequoia sempervirens, or the "coast redwood" tree. But as impressive as they are, these mighty trees are not the only type of giant redwood found in California. Much further inland, the forests surrounding California's towering Sierra Nevada mountains contain their own unique species of giant redwood.
Sequoiadendron giganteum, also known as the "giant sequoia" or "Sierra redwood," is a close relative of the coast redwood tree that grows along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada.
Like its coast redwood forests, California's Sierra redwood forests are home to amazing national and state parks. The most famous of these is the incredible Sequoia National Park and its gigantic General Sherman Tree.
Sequoia and the neighboring Kings Canyon National Park are home to some of the largest living trees on earth, while further north, the equally amazing Calaveras Big Trees State Park features the felled remains of even larger trees. And even the famed Yosemite National Park contains wonderful groves of towering redwood trees open for visitors to explore.
But one underrated spot for seeing impressive Sierra redwood trees is the aptly named Giant Sequoia National Monument. Located within the larger Sequoia National Forest, the Giant Sequoia National Monument protects 33 different groves of massive Sierra redwood trees.
Much of this forest sits within the larger Converse Basin Grove, a once-vast old-growth redwood forest that was sadly depleted by logging in the early 20th Century. The remains of the Converse Basin Grove have since undergone various attempts at restoration, a process that has provided significant scientific insight into the growth and lifecycles of these one-of-a-kind trees.
Among the notable trees in Giant Sequoia National Monument is the towering Boole Tree, the sixth-largest giant sequoia tree in the world and the largest tree protected by the US Forest Service. Believe it or not, the large-scale deforestation of the Converse Basin Grove may not have even been the worst thing that the Bool Tree has survived in its extensive lifespan, as the tree is thought to be around 2,000 years old!
Entry Fee
$10
Opening Hours
8 AM - 4:30 PM (Monday-Friday)
Nearest Cities
Porterville, CA
Best Hiking Trails
Hume Lake Loop Weaver Lake Trail Trail of 100 Giants
Best Time To Visit
May through September