Best Hiking Trails in Redwood National and State Parks

Redwood isn’t really one park; it’s four, managed together as a single 139,000-acre complex that protects 45% of all the old-growth coast redwood forest left on Earth. One entrance fee gets you into all four units, and the hiking trails in Redwood National Park vary more between them than you’d expect from a single park name: flat grove walks, a fern-choked canyon, a dramatic coastal cliff trail, and a permit-only route to some of the tallest trees alive. Figuring out which unit has the hike you actually want is most of the planning work here. See how Redwood compares to other California parks in our national parks hiking guide.

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and at no additional cost to you, I may earn a commission. Know that I only recommend hiking gear I personally stand behind; when you use my affiliate links, it helps me run this blog and keep all of this content free of charge for readers (like you).

Key takeaways:

• Redwood National and State Parks is four units in one: Redwood National Park plus three California state parks (Prairie Creek, Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith), all under one entrance fee.
• The park’s current tallest known tree, Hyperion (380 ft), has its exact location kept secret by NPS, trying to find it can carry a fine up to $5,000 and jail time, so this isn’t a hike to attempt.
• Fern Canyon requires a vehicle reservation from May 15 to September 15, but you can skip the permit entirely by hiking in on the James Irvine Trail instead.
• Tall Trees Grove is a 6-mile unpaved drive plus a separate roughly 4-mile round-trip hike. Don’t confuse the access road with the trail itself when you’re planning your day.
• Roosevelt elk are a near-guaranteed sighting at Elk Meadow near Orick, especially at dawn and dusk.

Understanding Redwood National and State Parks: one destination, four park units

Redwood National Park merged with three existing California state parks in 1994 under a single cooperative management agreement, which is why locals just call the whole complex “Redwood” even though it’s technically four separate parks stacked along the same stretch of coast.

How the four Redwood park units differ for hikers

Redwood National Park proper holds Tall Trees Grove and Lady Bird Johnson Grove, the two hikes bookending this park’s difficulty range. Prairie Creek Redwoods is home to Fern Canyon and the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, and tends to be the unit most visitors spend the most time in, since it packs in the highest concentration of must-see hikes. Del Norte Coast Redwoods pairs old-growth forest directly with dramatic Pacific cliffs, best experienced on the Damnation Creek Trail.

Jedediah Smith Redwoods, the northernmost unit, holds Stout Grove and frontage on the Smith River, and sees noticeably fewer visitors than the other three simply by virtue of being furthest from the main US-101 corridor. For details on accessible forest routes here, check our accessible hiking trails guide. Picking your trail first and letting that tell you which unit to visit is usually easier than trying to see all four in one trip.

Best easy hiking trails in Redwood National and State Parks

These are the trails to send a first-time visitor to: short, well-maintained, and they deliver giant trees within the first few minutes of walking.

Lady Bird Johnson Grove: the most accessible old-growth redwood trail

This 1.5-mile loop is completely flat and sits right off Bald Hills Road, with no permit and no season to plan around. President Nixon dedicated the grove to Lady Bird Johnson in 1969 in recognition of her conservation work, and the interpretive signs along the loop still tell that story. It’s an easy 30–45 minute walk, which makes it the single best “first redwoods” introduction in the entire park complex.

Trillium Falls: a short hike to a redwood waterfall

At 2.8 miles round trip with about 200 ft of gain, Trillium Falls pairs old-growth canopy with a small 10-foot waterfall and passes right by Elk Meadow, one of the most reliable Roosevelt elk viewing spots in the park. This is one of the shadier routes detailed in our California waterfall hikes guide.

Note that the trailhead parking area near Orick now requires a reservation during the busy summer months, so check current requirements before you drive out expecting just to park and go.

Best moderate hiking trails in Redwood National and State Parks

This is where the park complex’s signature hikes live: nothing technical, but each one asks more of your time and planning than the easy list.

Fern Canyon: the trail you’ve probably already seen on screen

Fern Canyon’s 50-to-80-foot vertical walls, covered floor-to-ceiling in five-finger ferns, have shown up in Jurassic Park and Return of the Jedi, and the short one-mile loop trail lives up to the footage. The catch: driving in requires a free vehicle reservation between May 15 and September 15, when demand for the tiny parking area gets overwhelming.

If you can’t get a permit, you don’t need one at all if you’re willing to hike in the James Irvine Trail from the Prairie Creek Visitor Center to reach Fern Canyon without any reservation required. One current note worth knowing before you go: as of mid-2026, a section of stairs connecting Fern Canyon to the James Irvine Trail is temporarily closed, so check current trail conditions if that connector is part of your planned route.

James Irvine Trail: Redwood’s best long day hike

Running about 4.2 miles one-way from the Prairie Creek Visitor Center to Fern Canyon, the James Irvine Trail is mild, shaded old-growth forest the entire way, with Gold Bluffs Beach waiting at the far end. Most hikers treat it as an out-and-back or combine it with Fern Canyon and the beach for a full loop closer to 10 miles round trip a serious day, but one with almost no technical difficulty anywhere along it.

The elevation stays gentle throughout, which makes this the trail I’d point an experienced hiker toward if they want real mileage without real climbing. For a full list of gear required for this day carry, see our hiking gear checklist.

Damnation Creek Trail: Del Norte’s most dramatic coastal hike

At 4 miles round trip with about 1,000 ft of descent and matching climb back out, Damnation Creek earns its “strenuous” label honestly, but the payoff is old-growth redwoods giving way to a dramatic, secluded Pacific cove that most park visitors never see.

There’s no trailhead signage and no facilities, so download a map beforehand, and expect real mud if you’re hiking anytime after rain. The climb back out is where an easy hike quietly becomes a genuine workout. Check how this steep climb is rated in our hiking difficulty levels guide.

Best difficult hiking trails in Redwood National and State Parks

Only one trail in the park complex needs real advance planning, and it’s worth every bit of the extra effort.

Tall Trees Grove: Redwood’s permit-required trail to some of the tallest trees on Earth

Getting here starts with a free permit limited to 50 vehicles a day, available online or at a visitor center, which unlocks the gate code for a 6-mile unpaved access road. That road is a drive, not a hike; the actual trail is a separate, roughly 4-mile round trip with about 800 ft of elevation change down into the grove and back up. Inside, you’ll pass the Howard Libbey Tree, the world’s tallest known tree from 1963 until it lost its crown in a 1989 storm; it’s since been surpassed by a tree called Hyperion, discovered nearby in 2006 at 380 ft.

Don’t go looking for Hyperion itself: NPS deliberately keeps its exact location undisclosed to protect its shallow root system from visitor traffic, and unauthorized access can carry a fine up to $5,000 and jail time. Tall Trees Grove gives you the same “tallest trees on Earth” experience without any of that risk. You can purchase a rugged backpacking pack if you plan on overnighting in the adjacent Redwood Creek gravel bars.

Roosevelt elk viewing while hiking in the Redwood parks

Roosevelt elk are the largest elk subspecies in North America, and Redwood is one of the most reliable places in the state to see them from a trail rather than a distant hillside.

Where and when to see Roosevelt elk along Redwood hiking trails

Elk Meadow near Orick is the single most consistent sighting spot, especially early morning, and the Trillium Falls trailhead sits right alongside it, so you can often combine the two without any extra driving. The herd around Gold Bluffs Beach frequently grazes near the Fern Canyon trailhead too, so keep a respectful distance if you’re parking there; these are wild animals used to visitors, not tame ones.

If you’re driving the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, go slowly; elk often stand right in the road, especially during the September–October rutting season when bulls are at their most active and least predictable.

Redwood rewards a little upfront planning more than most California parks. Figure out which of the four units matches the hike you want by consulting a detailed Redwood National Park map, book the Fern Canyon reservation early if you’re visiting in summer, and grab a Tall Trees Grove permit the same morning you plan to use it. Do that, and you’ll spend your time actually standing under the tallest trees on the planet instead of stuck at a closed gate wondering what went wrong. Make sure to consult our hiking safety guide before heading into remote redwood canyons and practice Leave No Trace trail etiquette to preserve the trees.

Frequently asked questions about hiking in Redwood National and State Parks