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By Bob Difley
Like curling your toes over the rim of the Grand Canyon or taking the Maid of the Mist cruise into the raging thunder and soaking spray at the foot of Niagara Falls, you have to immerse yourself in an old-growth redwood forest to fully absorb its magnitude. Sure, you've seen pictures and read articles--but nothing can raise the "awesomeness" bar like standing on the floor of an old-growth redwood forest, dwarfed by massive giants hundreds--maybe thousands--of years old, untouched by the hand of man.
Coast or California Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), the world's tallest trees, stretch in a narrow band along 450 miles of the northern California coast from the Oregon border to below Big Sur. At maturity between 400 and 500 years old (the oldest on record has been estimated at 2200 years) they soar to heights of between 200 and 325 feet (the champion reaching 368 feet) with diameters that often exceed 15 feet.
Don't confuse the coast redwood with the other redwood, the Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), which reaches heights of 150 to 250 feet, but has a larger girth than their coastal cousins--often exceeding 20 feet in diameter. Many reach the ripe old age of 3,200 years and grow only on the western slopes of California's Sierra Nevada Range.
PRAIRIE CREEK REDWOODS STATE PARK
The Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway branches off of and parallels Highway 101 five miles north of Orick, passing through a thick belt of redwoods with many pullouts for short exploratory walks or picnics, before rejoining the highway eight miles later.
Near the south end of the Parkway, Prairie Creek is the oldest of the redwood state parks, created to protect the redwoods but also providing a sanctuary for the native Roosevelt Elk. Elk Prairie Campground, which borders a large meadow favored by a resident elk herd, provides a good central location to explore the redwood empire.
WAPITI
The old-growth redwood forests, Fern Canyon, and a wild windswept beach provide plenty of attractions for visitors to Prairie Creek, and the native Roosevelt elk, called "wapiti" by Native Americans, leave no doubt that the park is theirs. Several different herds of females and calves roam the park and hefty bulls, which can exceed 1,000 pounds, hangout in small bachelor groups until the fall rut shakes up the elk world.
When nature's urges kick into high gear, the bachelors abandon their buddies to prowl for eligible females. This is not an easy time for the older dominant bulls that already have a herd of their own. Lots of strong young bucks stand ready to challenge him for the harem, and often hang out on the periphery of the herd attempting to lure enticing young females away.
So the dominant bull has to defend his harem and his turf both, keeping constantly alert and dealing with the challenges as they come, lowering his head, heavy under a full rack of antlers, and bellowing menacingly at the young bulls and straying females. During this time they rarely eat and sleep little, and are called upon frequently to perform their head-bull duties. By the end of the rut, as any male who has ever kept a harem can attest, the exhausted bull stumbles off into the forest to sleep a lot and fatten up until the next rut.
The females also turn to the protection of the deep forest to birth their young. Come spring the females bring the new members back to the herd to graze in Elk Prairie to the delight of campers. A word of caution: these large members of the deer family, though appearing tame and docile, are still wild animals. If you penetrate their zone of safety, they can be quite protective or aggressive, depending on the season. Keep your distance and take your photos with telephoto lenses.
THE DEEP FOREST
Seventy-plus miles of trails spread through the 14,000-acre park like an elongated spider web. From the campground and visitor center, several trails cross the coastal hills (only an 800-foot elevation gain) to the ocean along wet western slopes and boggy flats providing access to some of the most awe-inspiring old growth redwood forest on the planet. And that is not an overstatement.
One of my favorites, the Irwin Trail, leaves the campground at the visitor center and snakes among the giants for 4.5 miles to the end of Fern Canyon at the beach. The forest here is a living example of the primeval, old-growth forests that once covered vast areas of the west coast.
Shorter trails lead from the campground or visitor center to many of the popular features of the park, like Elk Prairie Trail that circles Elk Prairie, where your chances are good for seeing grazing elk, or the short walk to Big Tree, the tallest tree in the park measuring well over 300 feet tall with a 21-foot diameter.
A self-guided nature trail and an accessible trail for those with physical or visual limitations are also easily accessible from the visitor center. In May and June take the Rhododendron Trail to see the showy Western azalea and rhododendron in bloom. You can mountain bike on a designated bike trail from the south end of the campground to Davison Road and on to the beach and Fern Canyon. From the campground to Fern Canyon and back is a nice day ride of about 20 miles round trip.
GOLD BLUFFS BEACH
A mile south of the visitor center the scenic parkway merges with Route 101 and another two miles south (three miles north of Orick) Davison Road turns off to the right. You can often spot a group of bachelor bulls in the meadows on both side of Davison Road before you enter the forest, where the paved road turns to dirt and gravel.
You can drive this narrow winding road in regular passenger vehicles, but motorhomes over 24 feet and trailers are not permitted. Continue for four miles to a seven-mile stretch of beach and dunes that is unique to the north coast's predominantly rugged mountainous and rocky shoreline. Gold dust was actually mined here, though never quite becoming profitable enough to continue.
Follow the road north to Gold Bluffs Beach Campground and to the unique Fern Canyon. You will ford a couple of small streams along the way. Watch for elk that often hang out on the grassy dunes near the campground and sometimes wander across the road, so drive carefully. The beachfront campsites, favored mostly by tenters and truck campers, often experience wind and fog but offer a wild natural coastal camping experience.
FERN CANYON
At the north end of Davison Road a one-quarter mile trail leads from the Fern Canyon parking lot to where Home Creek flows into the ocean at the end of Irwin Trail. Over time the creek has carved a narrow channel through the thick sedimentary deposits forming a steep, narrow-walled canyon that rises vertically to over 50 feet high. Thick growths of five-fingered, sword, and lady ferns and moisture-loving mosses sprout from the walls like vertical ground covers, dripping continuously with moisture that oozes out of the canyon walls.
Steven Spielberg found this natural wonder so unique that he picked it for one of the scenes in Jurrasic Park: 2 The Lost World. Summer plank bridges enable crisscrossing the stream as you venture up the canyon, but in the upper reaches the creek can spread wall-to-wall so wear river sandals or old sneakers and be ready to wade. Do it. It's worth getting your feet wet to see the rest of the canyon--and fun too. At the rear of the canyon steps climb up to the Irwin Trail for the return trip or along the canyon rim back to the parking lot.
COAST WALK
From Fern Canyon a trail leads north along Gold Bluffs Beach for both hiking and mountain biking. Few people venture on up above Fern Canyon but this lovely hike skirts the forest at the base of the bluffs with views of the dunes and ocean, and often elk.
Though elk are the dominant wildlife, the park is also home to black bear, deer, coyote, an occasional mountain lion (though you will not likely see one), bobcat, skunk, fox, squirrel, and chipmunk. You might even see a spotted owl or marbled murrelet, both dependent on old growth forest.
USEFUL INFORMATION
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is 50 miles north of Eureka and 25 miles south of Crescent City at the south end of Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway that turns off Highway 101.
Expect summer temperatures of from 40 to 70 degrees with afternoon and morning fog. Winter temps will dip to between 35 and 55 degrees with rain common from November through May.
A map including trails is available at the visitor center/nature store.
