Giant Redwoods

DW and I are planning a trip for April or May to see the giant redwoods in California. Are the biggest trees located in north California? What would the temperatures be like in April or May?

The trees are huge; some of the trees as tall as a football field is long. Temps in April and May will be mild.

By mild he means low 40's high 50's and rain.
If your coming this far you might as well visit the coast from Arcate,CA to Astoria Oregon. Lots to see besides big trees.

Check weather dot com for the history of nearby cities.

We saw the ones in Kings Canyon and they had famous names and were huge but there may be bigger ones else where.

Being from KY this was a new experience for me and the kids (just turning 14 at the time) and I am glad we did the 8000 mile run to the Pacific by way of Yellowstone and back through the Grand Canyon.

Now at 16 and being pulled in so many directions I am not sure they would be cool with being on the road for 31 days be we have hit 38 of the lower 48 states by RV or by car to date. They are still cool with week car trips and hotels. At 6'3" the son requires a lot of physical space and the daughter a lot of personal space and both are in short supply in a 32' MH. :)

I know the OP is not traveling with kids but to those with kids still at home work to get them out as far as you can while you can.

sremsing the redwoods are awesome and worth the trip. We really found the forest to be relaxing. Still not sure why but Monument Valley impressed me more than the great Yellowstone and Grand Canyon. Maybe it was the tour riding on a bus seat welded on to the back of a PU truck with NO seat belt. :)

We left KY with no schedule other than see Yellowstone, Pacific Ocean, Grand Canyon and the Four Corners (required by the son). The best part of Four Corners was we went through Monument Valley to get there. :)

Have a wonderful trip to the west coast and go as far as time will permit. We never plan to do it again in a RV but glad we finally loaded up and took off after talking about it for five years. The west is very different we found.

Well redwood on the coast are taller but the sequoia redwoods in the sierra Nevada mountains are wider and have more mass. I would recommend seeing both.

John Muir National Monument just north of San Francisco has some fabulous redwoods but don't forget Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

As elkhorn98 points out the Coast Redwood also known as Giant Redwood boasts that it is taller, the Giant Sequoia is slightly shorter but has more weight. A little information (from Sequoia Kings Canyon Web Site) about the difference between the two trees.

Giant Redwoods

Live up to 2,000 years
Have branches up to 5 feet in diameter
Bark grows up to 12 inches thick
Can reproduce either by seed or by sprout

Giant Sequoias

Live up to 3,000 years
Have branches up to 8 feet in diameter
Bark grows up to 3 feet thick
Reproduce by seed only

Beyond just the difference in the trees however is the difference in their environment. Yosemite, Sequoia, and the coast all offer different experiences that go beyond just the trees. If you can manage it visiting all three areas is well worth it. At the very least consider visiting Yosemite along with the coast. If we get any snowfall it will be melting off by April and May. That is when the waterfalls in Yosemite are at their best.

We have found coastal Redwoods as far south as Big Sur, but the best ones are in Humboldt Redwoods state park and further north to near the Oregon border. Shoot for May if you can because the weather is much more reliable. We start camping on the coast in early May. You can still run into fairly cool/wet weather until after Memorial Day, so be prepared for that. We are in an extreme drought right now though, so maybe rain won't be an issue.

Avenue of the Giants is an excellent place to see the redwoods.

After full timing for over 12 years, we fell in love with a town in the Sierra foothills in North CA, got off the road, and moved here! The weather is fine after March. We're currently in drought conditions, so who knows what April might bring. Day time temps, are comfortable with a light jacket. Depending on your altitude, nights can be chilly till the end of May.