Visiting the Redwoods - suggestions

I took the family to the Redwoods last summer. I highly recommend Prairie Creek CG, but I think your trailer might be slightly too long. Whether you can camp there or not, the Newton B Drury Parkway was pretty cool.

I'd take one day to unhook the trailer and drive Howland Hill Road. It was the #1 highlight of the trip. We dry camped in the gravel backlot of the Elk Valley Casino, dropped off the trailer and drove the road the next morning. (We decided to buy breakfast at the casino and it was really good.)

I preferred the northern Redwoods, but the Avenue of the Giants was worth driving especially since you'll see the largest Redwoods there. We just spent one day driving the Avenue of the Giants, but three days exploring the northern redwoods.

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Any suggestions on the best place to see the redwoods closer to Santa Cruz

We camped at Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park with our brand new at the time 30' Artic Fox. Site 3 was pretty easy to get in (one of the few big trailer friendly pull-trough) but put our door on the wrong side. We still loved it. Book early!!

Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park in Crescent City is awesome. Stout Grove is in that park and is the oldest Redwood Growth forest in the country and also where they filmed the Ewok Village in Star Wars. Highly recommended. Not too far from there is the Tour Thru Tree in Klamath, which is about 30 miles south and Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park is about halfway between the two.

We spent 3 months on the road from SoCal to Maryland and about a month and a half was spent in northern California and Oregon. We loved every second of it. Lots of good spots in Oregon on your way down from WA including Crater Lake. We liked the Klamath Falls area.

If you want some spectacular coastal redwoods and beaches, my favorite area is between Trinidad, CA (just north of Eureka/Arcata bay area) and Crescent City. This is in the Redwood National Park area with lots of beautiful groves. CA State parks Patricks Point near Trinidad & Prairie Creek Redwoods SP (home to a her of magnificent Roosevelt Elk) are two of my favorite areas. There are RV parks near by if the state parks are unavailable, don't have appropriate size sites, or if you want hook ups (the state parks are not always the best for some RV's)

A short side trip - TV only, no trailers allowed - is the dirt road down to Gold Bluffs Beach and Fern Canyon in Prairie Creek Redwoods. It is wild to see the huge elk on the beach eating the grass that grows in the freshwater lagoons formed by the creek in the sand dunes.

South of Eureka Highway 101 turns inland and follows the south fork of the Eel River. There are several CA State parks in the redwoods, the Avenue of the Giants, Benbow lake and Richardson Grove SP.

If you desire, a little Goggle-Foo will find lots of in the forest side roads and things to see, along with the usual "Roadside Attractions."

Enjoy your redwood experience!

Sequoia NP is in the Western Sierra foothills and the Coastal Redwoods are South of Eureka. Near the town of Meyer Flat is Myer Flat Unit II which is a Federal campground. If you can get one of the larger spots, it's a great place. Ave of the Giants is just South of Town and up North a ways is the Eel River. There is a great beach and very slow moving river that our DGKs love. Lots to look at and explore, Ferndale is a great day trip, the Roosevelt area is lovely, the remnants of an old apple orchard at the Ranger Station, a couple of demonstration forest. Not too far is Redwoods SP and that has camping and family oriented programs.

All the area parks are a great respite from the heat of the valley and south. As John Denver said, "Cool and Green and Shady".

The Mariposa Grove in Yosemite is a good choice, plus driving through Sequoia NP.

Benbow KOA, really a wonderful place, in and around Garberville. The is the heart of Redwood Country, and a tour of the historic redwood sites is just a short drive away. Drive through tree, Redwood camper, Trees of Mystery, and a bunch of stuff I remember from post cards and Disney programs as a kid. Benbow KOA is a good basecamp. Nice campground, excellent restaurant at the Benbow Inn, golf course attached if your into golf. Not far from the Willits train to Fort Bragg. All fun.

May want to go to rv parks section and search redwoods.