TL;DR
Enjoy a lovely long day hike through old growth redwood forests from the Prairie Creek Visitor’s Center to Fern Canyon and back. The hike is ~12 miles with moderate elevation gain and loss. Fern Canyon doesn’t have foot bridges during the winter so your feet will get wet. Take the James Irvine Trail from the visitor’s center to Fern Canyon then walk along the road to the Gold Bluffs Beach Campground. Enjoy the sun and ocean’s views until you’re ready to head back along Miner’s Ridge Trail to complete the loop.
Thoughts
My original plan was thrown out the window due to the water level in Redwood Creek. I had wanted to do a day or two backpacking trip to Tall Trees but it would’ve involved fording the creek which is not suggested during the winter. Instead, this route was suggested to us by the park ranger at the front desk at Prairie Creek Visitor’s Center. She was very helpful in telling us what trails to take and where to stop for views of the ocean. Redwood National Park is a bit different from other national parks. It was originally a group of state parks that then became a part of the over arching national park to add more protected land as well as provide ease of management between the groups. Prairie Creek visitor’s center is in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Right outside the visitor’s center is a meadow where you can see Roosevelt elk lounging around.
The trail-head is right behind the visitor’s center. The day use parking is sparse so you should either get there early, leave your car at the campground (if you plan on using it) or you’ll have to park out on the scenic parkway. The park ranger recommended 6 hours to do this hike. This is probably slow pace time. We stopped frequently, took photos, ate lunch, and hung out at the beach and still made it back under 6 hours.
From the moment you take your first step on the trail you are in the forest. What stood out immediately to me was the density. In between the multitude of trees, big and small, are lush green ferns, mushrooms, moss and a variety of other greenery. We have redwood forests in the Bay Area but these just seemed older and less traveled. The deeper you go, the thicker the trees got. We were ants.
I think the thing I love about hiking is feeling that existential crisis. Whether you are in the forest, by the ocean, or in the mountains, your time is but a blink to them. They were here long before us and (hopefully) will be there long after us.
It was very quiet in the forest and we saw barely any other people on the trail. Other than yourself, all you can hear is the forest breathing. We didn’t even see any birds or critters, perhaps due to winter, but it made for a very timeless feeling experience. Its easy to imagine that plus or minus 50 years it still looked exactly the same.
This trail immerses you in the forest. You won’t see any sweeping views of the ocean as you would be hard pressed to get above the treeline. The canopy itself is illusive enough. At about 3.5-4 miles you’ll come to the junction. You can either continue along James Irvine which will take you to the mouth of Fern Canyon, or you can descend into the Canyon itself and follow it out to the ocean side.
We took the route down into the canyon despite the cautionary warning that we would get wet. Fallen trees make for an impromptu playground as you navigate down the stream. If you are very careful and have good balance/shoes you might be able to get through without getting wet.
Once at the mouth of the canyon you can follow the trail south to the Fern Canyon parking lot. Continuing down the gravel road will take you to Gold Bluffs Beach Campground. While the forest was misty and overcast, we were treated to some sunshine once we reached the campground. On the inland side of the campground is the trail-head to Miner’s Ridge which takes you back to the Visitor’s center through some more old growth redwoods.
Despite the scenery being relatively the same, its hard to get tired of just how large the trees are. It is hard to comprehend just how large they are since you can never see the whole thing in your line of vision. If you haven’t read “The Wild Trees” by Richard Preston I highly recommend you do so. It’ll make you appreciate these giants even more so.
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