Redwood National Park

I’ve seen ‘tropical & moist’, ‘tropical & dry’, and ‘cool & dry’. The Redwood National Park was my first ‘cool & moist’ and I must say, it was spectacular. "When" you actually plan your visit is key, lest you may have to experience ‘cold & moist’, which I promise is not nearly as pleasant.

The Redwood national park is essentially a bunch of state parks one after the other along the coast. It’s a long strip and the drive along the coast is completely under the park system! The best part is that, it’s not the park alone that is breathtaking with their tall coastal redwoods towering over your heads , but the journey to it as well. The “avenue of giants” is a 31-mile scenic drive that goes through some groves – so you have dense clusters of coastal redwoos on either side of the road and a strip of light over a road guiding you through it. It’s truly like being in another world.

Our trip was 2 ½ days in the park and the avenue of giants and another day traveling. Of course one could always spend more time - but this time frame is a bare minimum to enjoy all that the place has to offer.

Accomodation:

Elk meadows. They have just 5 cabins and is one of the handful of options inside the park. ( so, book early!) One of the perks of being situated right in middle of elk meadows ( in the south side of the park) was being greeted "good morning" by a friendly herd of elk grazing just yards away while , sipping chai on the deck lookiing into green hills topped with a layer of fog . We Didn’t realize until we got there that the location was a popular tourist attraction because of the elk . Elk meadows is perfect for a group of friends or to visit with family. The cabins have 3 bedrooms, a fully equiped kitchen and a view to die for.

Map of the Park: Click

 

Itinerary: Check the Itineraries page

 

Highlights:

1. Drive-through trees

2. Whale watching in Klamath overlook

3. Fern canyon hike

4. The Avenue of giants

5. Trees of mystery cable car ride up to the canopy of redwoods

Best Places to see Roosevelt Elk:

1. Elk Praire right along 101 south of the entrance to praire creek redwoods statre park

2. Davison rd – on the way to glod bluffs beach / fern canyon

3. Gold bluffs beach

Three kinds of redwoods:

1. Coastal redwoods – They tower above all living things. They cant survive alone. Dense forests stand on butrient rich river banks and flood plains. They receive tons of rain and fog from the ocean and develop their own microenvironment.

2. Giant Sequoia – they are the largest of the redwoods ( and of living things on earth) – wide , tall and voluminous. For more, watch out for my post on sequoia national park, where these thrive.

3. Dawn Redwood – These were long thought to be extinct with the ice age until they were rediscovered in china. They are very different from their Californian cousins and I’ll hopefully get a chance to see them someday.

Now coming to specifics of our trip!

Day 1: The Drive to the Park

The route is fairly straighforward. 101N all the way. If you're going traveling in a group, you're better off in a minivan. It's just that the drive is long and is more fun that way. Most of our drive was about picking the right songs and stopping for coffee breaks until we hit the humboldt county. After that it was about getting in and out of the "trunami hazard zone". The road winds up and down and everytime it went below a 100m elevation or so, there would be a board warning us that we were in the hazard zone. One of the other highlights was pizza in this amazing mexican place. so many vegetarian options & so yummy!

Day 2: Coastal drive upto crescent beach and back

After being greeted by elk in the morning, we were off to the Prairie creek visitors center to validate the itinerary we planned. After briefly enjoying the displays and infomation board we headed north on Newton B Drury parkway ( parallel to 101) and then onto the coastal drive. The coastal drive is a narrow and unpaved road. Thankfully, we didnt have traffic coming down the other way - it may have been a challenge with the minivan. Our first stop was an ovrlook with a beautiful view of the gold bluffs beach with slopes of redwood groves on one side and the mighty pacific on the other.

View of the Gold Bluffs Beach:

The story around of the beach is interesting. When the tide receded, gold appeared on the beach and men stuffed their saddlebags with sand and with the help ofmules, hauled these up the bluffs where the sand was washed.

High Bluff Overlook:This was a great spot - panoramic views with the ocean on atleast two sides and deep down below. there are picpinc tables and wildflowers - A good place for some postcard pics and a snack!

Klamath River Overlook:

After following the coastal drive all the way till it joined 101 and went over the Klamath river, we took a left oto requa rd to read klamath river overlook. This is where we spent most time today. The reason : Grey whales!!!! We were not on a boat nor did we need scopes! there were atleast 8-10 grey whales near the mouth of the river below and the mere task of spotting them was such a joy. We spent atleast 30 mins just looking at them from atop before heading down a steep  trail that gave us more dramatic views.  This spot is a must-visit.
The Whales:

They would just pop out for a fraction of a second. There was even a calf that swam and surfaced with mother whale all through.

Crescent Beach overlook:

The next part of our drive took us to the crescent beach overlook We could see why the name was appropriate. we were at the tip of a crescent and right at the other end was crescent city. All along the coast , we could see crescent beach. It was a clear day, not so windy and perfect.

The Trail to Enderts Beach:

on the other side of the overlook was the trail down to enderts beach. We encountered a variety of interesting plants all along. There was one tree which practically grew horizontally with respect to the ground because of the slope that it it was on.

This plant here had a completely different character in different angles. Was a lot of fun to photograph!




Enderts Beach:

Once we reach the beach , i lay on a pile of rounded rocks - and let them massage my back. The others just sat and enjoyed the ocean. Enderts beach is known for spectacular tidepools. For that we needed to have planned on reaching appropriately during low tide. Unfortunately that did happen. I would definitely recommend planning around that - especially if traveling with kids!

Big Tree Wayside:

On our way back to the cabin we stopped by at the big tree wayside. It's just north of the praire creek visitors center off the NBD pkwy. The giant coast redwood here is just about 100ft from the parking lot and is one of the old-growth redwoods. The pathway leading to the tree is literally magical. It's this web of almost flourescent green leaves and creepers hanging down from pver your head. It's like a mini dome with sunlight streaking in through the gaps. Very very surreal.This spot is also where i saw my very first Banana slug.

Day 3: Fern Canyon, Trees of mystery and Ladybird Johnson grove

The drive down Davidson rd and Gold bluffs beach

Davidson rd is  right in the middle of elk habitat. So we drove past herds of elk before we hit the beach. We drove along the beach till we got to the parking lot for the fern canyon hike. The drive took us through multiple puddles of water, a wonderful campground and past one magnificant male elk grazing.

Fern Canyon:

OK, this was THE BEST hike of the trip and probably the highlight. The hike is through this canyon whos walls are alive with ferns growing all over and that has a stream flowing in between. You always hear the sound of water, it's super moist, cool, green and bursting with life.

The hike starts off with us walking across the stream over a plank and then again over the trunk of a fallen tree. We took our time to balance and achieve this crossing, only to realize it was just wasted time. There would be spots subsequently where youc annot get by without wetting your feet/ splashing into a puddle of water. So wear appropriate footwear! I am just goint to let the pictures speak for themselves.

Trees of Mystery:

After a wonderful afternoon in fern canyon, we all headed towards "Trees of Mystery" - a nice little "theme park" which took us throgh interesting redwood groves and then to a gandola ride that took us from the base of the redwood trees all the way up to the canopy. I was skeptical initially to try out something that commercial and not under the national park service, but the people of the Yurok reservation have done a great job!

The Gandola Ride:

Some of the "trees of mystery" included the lightning tree ( it had a kink in the middle), the cathedral grove ( a group of trees that had a nice little space in between like an altar) and trees that had fallen off only to have other trees grow off it. It was incredible. The resilient redwoods.

The ladybird Johnson Grove:

We finished out day with a hike through the ladybird johnson grove. There are signs for right off 101 closer to Orick. The road takes you over a bridge and then to a parking lot. The trail is pretty flat and takes you through groves of redwood trees, dense shrubbery and a lot of  moisture. Basically, you will see a lot of green and shortly thereafter a dedication site with a plaque.

Pantry Loading in Orick:
It was time for a quick stop in Orick to fuel up for the evening. This was the weirdest imagery i have seen on an 6-pack. ( Offensive in some ways, but Ganesha is awesome - he's really cool & i hope will be fine with it)

Day 4: Check out, drive-through trees, the Avenue of Giants, the worst gas station in Santa Rosa and Home

< Will update soon. Very sleepy right now>

Montana De Oro State Park

May 11 2010

We have a no-gift policy. Especially for birthdays and Annivesaries. But what we do have is a travel-together policy around our anniversary. If time doesnt permit - atleast a day trip on one of the weekends before or after and that's exactly what this trip was about. Celebrating 2 years of being together and toasting to a lifetime ahead!

The chosen location - Montana De Oro state park. Located just 7 miles away from Morro Bay, past the Paso robles wine county. We were a all set for the rugged cliffs, the pacific waves crashing in, a hike up Valencia peak and to enjoy the signature yellow gold flowers that bloom during spring time giving the park its name "Mountain of Gold"

Day 1, Saturday

Lunch at Morro Bay:

After departure on a saturday morning and a peaceful drive through Paso Robles, we were reach Morro Bay just in time for lunch in "Sunshine Foods". If you're vegetarian / vegan & live in california - you HAVE to try this place! We both had the "Famous Tempeh Tacos" - seasoned tempeh, quinoa and fresh veggies in a sprouted grain tortilla topped with cilantro dressing, avocado and housemade salsa. ( I am hungry as i type now and it's not helping that i am picking the right picture to post along with it)

Valencia Peak:

We were all fueled up and ready for the hike up valencia peak. It was just 2 miles up to the peak , but the elevation gain , quite rapid. It's not strenuous though. very comfortable & the views just keep getting better with every turn.

The First part of the hike:

So there are 2 hillocks we had to climb over before getting on top of valencia peak ( as the right above and on the left suggests). The first hillock seemed quite flat. There were multiple burrows and we did encounter some wildlife - mostly lizards and wild rabbits. The bushes that we had to navigate through wree taller than us.

The View from half way up:

Even reaching the top of the first hillock was immensely rewarding. But the way ahead seemed intimidatinrg - it did not feel like it was just a mile and a half ahead. We could see the entire bay all the way up to Morro Rock ( Thank you, weather - for playing nice).

Soon the terrain changed. The sandy path was interspersed with rugged patches of chert and there was a splash of colour all around. Bunches of lilac flowers ( i wish i knew what they were called), some red flowers and the bright orange Californian Poppies!

The Peak!

After another 30 minutes of ambling up the slopes, Voila! We were there! - with the vast ocean on one side and sprawling green hills on the other! We spent some time on top reflecting on life. I remember thinking - i was getting back to India in a bit. On one of those days when i am stuck in traffic, with the sounds of horns bellowing all around and sand being kicked up from the road - I am going to think of this moment. Not to feel worse, but to just feel glad i had that experience.  

The Way back down:

The way down was even better in some ways. Apart from being easier , we were actually walking towards the ocean instead of away from it. We could see it all the time and feel the wind in our faces. It was one of my favourite days ever already.

The Bluff Trail:

After we reached the parking lot, we went right across the road to start off on the bluff trail. This is again a 2 mile trail, but flat - all along the bluff. With every turn, we got to witness brilliant rock formations, with the yellow flowers in the foreground. I wish there was a way to reproduct the sounds and smell of the place as well. i should just tape these and use it in my car during one of those trafic jams.

We could see Valencia peak from this trail and at this point there was a little cloud on top - exactly where we were standing just a while ago!

Sunset:

Right after. it was that time of the day - to enjoy a sunset. We  did that from Embarcadero Inn and watched tha sun set behind morro rock & ate Thai Food (Yumm!)

 Day 2, Sunday

The PG & E Trail 
This pristine area is located just south of Coon Creek & the Montana-de-Oro state park and is private property. It became open to the public only in 2007 with the creation of the Point Buchon trail. This one is not a part of the park & is not to be missed. It closes pretty early (5pm in Summer) - so plan accordingly. We got spectacular views of the coast, spotted a sea-bird-poop-rock and a well into which water was crashing. We were the only ones on the trail and it did feel like wilderness.

There are some sections in the trail that take you down to the beach and in one such beach we saw a wounded seal. It was literally twisted and was taking shelter under a sea-cave like structure. It was all alone and honestly, quite depressing to watch. The only thing we could do was inform park authorities. 

 

Spooners Cove
We drove back in the direction of the park to Spooners Cove , a little beach right next to the visitors center.
Prashant was doing his usual sea-bird photography & i watched a kid chase a bird - for some reason the bird played along and always stayed within arms reach - like it was teasing the kid.

Paso Robles Wine County

It was time to drive back. The drive was very scenic - vineyards on both sides and the yellow flower on hill slopes. Picture perfect. We decided to stop by at Rotta Winery ( Website / Reviews )- Known for it's Pinot. You wont believe - Wine tasting is just $3 for 12 samples!!! Our host was also incredible. This was the most 'fun' experience i have had. She handled the whole session like she was a rock-star bartender.  I would definitely recommend this place. Also did i mention - the wines are fantastic. I suppose that's their business model. charge $3 for tasting and make sure people try as many as they can so they can go back home with at least 5 bottles.

The last part of our trip was just the drive back. It was rather uneventful. But when we reached the south bay - we saw those beautiful dark-grey moisture laden clouds with the sun streaking through a few spots to illuminate the hillsides. It was beautiful. sharing one pic:

What a great weekend it was. Happy Anniversary to us!