Hiking in Jedediah Smith Redwood Forest | California

 

I had no idea there were so many Redwood parks on the west coast. For some reason, growing up in the midwest, I just imagined that the Redwoods were just in one big park somewhere in California. In reality, there are dozens -if not hundreds- of smaller state and national parks. I am so happy to see that the United States has done such a great job protecting these beautiful trees!

While camping a few nights along the California coast in Crescent City,  I decided to do some hiking in the local park, Jedediah Smith Redwoods Park. We had already been biking around here, but wanted to head into the trails to have a look deeper into the forest. We heard good things about the Boy Scout Tree Trail through the Outbound App, so decided to give that a try.

According to the app and the sign posted in the park, this was supposed to be a quick hike. Just 2.8 miles until the end of the trail at the falls and then the walk back. However,  I wore my Garmin watch which ended up showing a total hiking distance of 8 miles for this out and back! I’m still a little baffled at how this happened. Its very unlikely that BOTH our watches are that off, so how could the sign be so inaccurate? It was a beautiful hike, so it doesn’t really matter. Just know before you go that you need to allow some extra time if you plan to do this hike. :)

As I hiked along the trail, there were just so many “wow” moments. We’d come around a bend to a new grove of trees and the beauty is literally breathtaking. During our hike back, a fog rolled in. The fog, paired with the afternoon sun created the most heavenly glow amongst the trees. Sadly, it rolled out as quickly as it rolled in, but Josh and I clicked away with our cameras all the while.

Thanks so much for reading! Many more epic pics of this trip to come :) Shelley Hartman, North Carolina + California Wedding Photographers

More Redwoods adventures: Biking Jedediah Smith, Camping along Avenue of Giants, Biking Humbolt Redwoods