Sheltering the biggest and best collection of giant coastal redwoods anywhere in the world, Humboldt Redwoods State Park is an exceptionally breathtaking corner of an exceptionally beautiful region. Covering 50,000 acres along the Eel River, this is the true heart of redwood country, containing the largest and most pristine expanses of virgin forest as well as some of the largest, tallest, and most remarkable trees.
Even if you’re just passing through, be sure to turn onto the amazing Avenue of the Giants, 32 miles of old highway frontage between Jordan Creek and Phillipsville. This sinuous old road snakes alongside, and sometimes under, the faster and busier US-101 freeway, which is carried on concrete stilts through the park. At the north end of the park you’ll find an impressive collection of trees in the well-marked Founders Grove, where a half-mile nature trail leads past the 362-foot-tall, 1,600-year-old Dyerville Giant, lauded as the world’s tallest tree before it fell during the winter of 1991. West of Founder’s Grove, across US-101, the 13,000-acre Rockefeller Forest is one of the largest old-growth forests in the world, and includes two of the park’s champion trees, each over 360 feet tall and some 17 feet in diameter. In and amongst the natural wonders along the Avenue of the Giants are a handful of man-made ones: The Eternal Treehouse in Redcrest and the Shrine Drive-Thru Tree in Myers Flat are just two of the many good-natured “tourist traps” in this neck of the woods.
The best source of information on the park is the visitors center (707/946-2263), midway along the Avenue of the Giants in Weott. There’s a pleasant campground (800/444-7275) with showers right next door. You may have to drive a ways north (to Ferndale, Eureka, or Arcata) or south (to Garberville) from the park to find a good meal, though there are a few nice places to stay, like the Redcrest Resort ($55–75; 707/722-4208), across from the Eternal Treehouse. Midway along the Avenue of the Giants, the historic Myers Inn (707/943-3259) in Myers Flat has B&B rooms from around $125, while farther south the hamlet of Miranda holds the pleasant Miranda Gardens Resort ($50–140; 707/943-3011), with motel rooms and rustic cabins.
