While I was visiting Yosemite National Park and the Giant Sequoia trees I learned they had a national park just for Redwood trees. As we were transiting down the Pacific Ocean on our sailboat we stopped in Crescent City then Eureka for weather. The scenic drive by boat was pretty stunning from Crescent City to Eureka. 

Getting to Redwood National Park from San Francisco

We rented a car from Enterprise and got a free upgrade! We were given a Ford Fusion with peanut butter leather seats. The car was sweet and the manager actually picked us up in his personal car at the marina to bring us to the office making it one of the best places to rent a car that we have experienced.

I like enterprise the most so far because you can park the car after hours and drop the key in the drop box. It allows you to operate your life in a manner that most car rental companies do not allow at the neighborhood stores. We find this out the hard way flying from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (MDL). Enterprise can be a bit more expensive but it is a life saver providing more flexibility while you travel. 

We got in the rental car and were on our way to exploring Hwy 1, coastal redwoods and specifically the California State Parks. First up will be the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center to get a map and find the shorter hikes that are going to be suitable for th kids. 

Redwood National Park and State Parks Visitor Center

We pulled into the most southern visitor center parking lot and were surprised there was no parking fee. The visitor center happened to be the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center. It was located in the vicinity of the Redwood Creek Picnic Area. The building has ranger talks, a gift shop and bathrooms.

Banana Slugs

Here we learned about the yellow slug or as some call it the banana slug. The kids learned that the slug could be up to 10 inches long and the banana slugs can only be found in North America. 

Banana slugs can be found in the Pacific Northwest of the Lower 48, Canada and parts of Alaska. They will be more active when the temps are lower and humidity levels are higher. Some of the best places to find the slugs are in the old growth forest because the trees provide a small microclimate that creates the idealistic conditions for the banana slugs. 

Talk to a Park Ranger

We chatted with a ranger about our day trip with the kids. I like to discuss with them good ideas about different hikes and things to see so we can get the most out of our park visit that will be good for the kids. They are a great resource for this because they know the park really well. 

We told them we wanted to do a trail that was somewhat easy and could enjoy some of the tallest trees they have to offer in the park. They pointed us in the direction of the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

Don’t forget to visit the beach at the National Park Service visitor center. There is an easy path to the Redwood Creek Beach County Park that is right behind the visitors center. The views here on the edge of the forest take you back to the Paul Bunyan days.

Scenic Drive on Hwy 1

With our map in hand and a belly almost full of coffee we were really on the road trip adventure now. I was stoked to check this off my bucket list and so were the kids to see some of the largest old-growth redwoods in the world. Some of these trees are thousands of years old and tower over the forrest floor.

We pass into the little town of Orick. It’s a cute town with log cabins and Wild West/Frontier style buildings. The gold rush probably brought frontiersmen and miners to this area and settled here in the valley with the river.

As we drove on Hwy 1 we spotted a huge pack of elk just before Bald Hills Road. The elk were large and healthy. It was a sight to see for the kids and us adults. 

We turned off of Coastal Hwy 1 onto a little road that led us to a gorgeous valley with a log cabin on the other side. This building would be the Prairie Creek Visitor Center.

Prairie Creek Visitor Center

When we arrived here, this looked like the place to be because of all the cars and commotion.  There were serious looking hikers with trekking poles and your average sightseer. 

We got out and looked at the trail map to find the old-growth redwood trees. There are miles of trails that will wind you through the forest floor and take you to the fern canyon from this location.  

We would have loved to hike to the fern canyon because of the pictures online. The hike was going to be to far for the family. It was going to be about 4.5 miles there and 4.5 miles back. This gave us a total of 9 miles. Thats not what we had in mind for the day. 

I looked at the map and added up the mileage for a good hike through the woods to see other things in the area. I looked at the Prairie Trail and it was pretty flat and no elevation gain really involved making it perfect for a day hike for the family. 

We decided to embark on this trail and at the end we did find out it was pretty flat. We headed down the Karl Knapp trail to the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway to link up to the foothills trail.we hardly ran into any other hikers and really enjoyed trekking throught the trees.

Big Tree Wayside

We kept going and were pleasantly surprised by the Big Tree Wayside. This tree is one of the biggest redwoods we have ever seen in Redwoods National Park. It’s pretty amazing how the earth grew this big of an evergreen tree.

This tree is to be somewhere around 1500 years old according to the National Park Service. 

The specifications of the tree are below:

Height — 286 feet tall

Width — 23.7 feet wide

Volume — 28,619 feet cubed

This tree is the 16th largest coastal redwood and the largest tree in James Irvine grove. It is not one of the biggest trees in the area but it is in the top 20 biggest redwood trees. 

This tree has a parking lot only 250 feet from the viewing platform and the tree itself. The parking area is a bit small but can accommodate around 20 vehicles. The trail to the big tree is wheelchair accessible and very flat for your journey to the tree. 

The parking area hosts a public restroom that includes pit toilets. These are a great option if a bathroom incident is needed. The girls won’t use the pit toilets, it’s scary to them and they smell bad. Not to mention if you drop something in the toilet, it is gone forever!

We had a blast enjoying the big tree wayside. It is a perfect location to get photos as keepsakes and for your socials or blog ;). The amount of people here was small and almost nonexistent. 

This is a perfect spot to do your TikTok’s and Instagram photos without feeling embarrassed. After a few candid photos we were on our way back to the trail for the next adventure.  

Atlas Grove

After venturing down the Foothills Trail more we arrived at Atlas Grove. The key identifier you are looking for is the Rotary International Monument that is carved out of a gray stone. This monument marks the grove that includes some of the oldest trees in the redwood forests. 

The tall trees might not stand out at first but if you go off trail a bit in a east south east direction you can find the tree Zeus. This tree is located towards the back of the grove and it is around 334 feet tall making this tree about 50 feet taller than Big Tree Wayside. 

Redwood Tree Specifications for Atlas Grove

Famousredwoods.com describes the Atlas Grove area just perfectly below. 

“Atlas Grove includes the redwood with the highest-class reiteration and 2nd largest crown (Iluvatar), the redwood with the deepest crown (Zeus), the coast redwood with the most leaves (Iluvatar), the 2nd (Atlas) and 4th (Zeus) fastest-growing redwoods, and 2 of the 30 largest coast redwoods (Atlas and Iluvatar). The grove contains 7 trees larger than 20,000 ft3 (566 m3), 2 trees larger than 25,000 ft3 (708 m3), and 1 tree larger than 30,000 ft3 (850 m3). Zeus is the tallest tree and Iluvatar is the largest and oldest tree in Atlas Grove.”

But what do these numbers even mean? Builders and carpenters like ourselves (Amanda and I) use the term board foot. A board foot is a measurement of a board 1 inch thick, 1 inch wide and 12 inches long. This is how a carpenter will estimate how much lumber is needed to build a house or do other projects that may include furniture.

It takes roughly 6.3 board feet of material to build one square foot of a house. Google says it is an industry standard to use about 12,600 board feet to build a 2,000 square foot home in America. 2,000 (square foot home) x 6.3 (board foot average per 1 square foot) = 12,600 (board feet)

How Many Homes Can be Built From One of the Atlas Grove Redwood Trees?

20,000 feet cubed(3) is one of the smallest old growth tree sizes in Atlas Grove. Of course there are smaller trees mixed in with the old-growth redwood trees. We are going to focus on the coastal redwood trees to provide a realistic size comparison. 

How Many Homes Can Be Built From One Tree?

20,000 feet cubed (3) is equal to 240,000 board feet. The one redwood tree (Epimetheus for example) provides enough lumber to build 19 homes with a floor plan of 2000 square feet of living space. The one tree is so big it can roughly build 19 homes for people to live in. 

There are 7 trees that have a volume of 20,000 board feet. 7 trees from Atlas Grove could build roughly 133 homes. That’s how enormous these trees are in person. A subdivision could be built by these 7 trees alone if you are comparing rough estimate numbers. Hopefully this calculation can provide a realistic perspective while walking through the woods enjoying the coastal redwoods trees. 

Tall Trees Grove

I looked at visiting the Tall Trees Grove but it didn’t look like an easy hike for the kids. It included a 4.5-mile (6.5km) round trip backcountry hike distance. The distance of almost 5 miles is at the limit of the kids at this time of our visit. 

It also includes a total of 1,600 feet (487 m) elevation gain. That’s roughly climbing around 1600 stairs for the entirety of the hike. So we decided to hike Atlas Grove. If you have little ones the Atlas Grove was nice, flat and relaxing to walk compared to Tall Trees Grove.  

This coastal redwood grove is very special and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some of the trees in the forest have names and statistics that are just mind blowing. The trees happen to be that massive and you will be in awe upon their presence in the forrest. 

Comparing Old Growth Coastal Redwoods Too The Giant Sequoias 

The General Sherman Tree is the largest tree in the world (Giant Sequoia) and is located inside Sequoia National Park. With a volume of 52,508 cubic feet. 52,508 X 12 = 630,096 board feet from this one tree. The largest coastal redwood named Hail Storm has a volume of 44,750 cubic feet for comparison. The giant sequoias largest tree is 8,000 cubic feet larger. 

630,096 board feet / 12,600 (board feet to build one home) = 50 possible homes from this one tree. It’s an amazing feat that America has trees this large on the earth. Amanda and I have toured the Sequoia National Park in our younger years so the kids have yet to experience the sequoia trees and Yosemite National Park. 

San Francisco Area Day Trips

If you are short on time and want to see some coastal redwoods in the Bay Area there are a few good options that are a good choice. The drive to the Del Norte Coast Redwoods is a pretty long drive just to see some of the giants that are in your backyard.  

Our advice is to do a morning hike at Muir Woods National Monument then cross the Golden Gate Bridge and visit the Golden Gate Park. Definitely take some photos at the bridge and enjoy the park and the bridge in the background. 

You will want to find lunch somewhere close to the park, there are plenty of options from Sunset Cantina (mexican food) to Jack In The Box. After lunch head south on Hwy 1 towards Santa Cruz for a scenic coastal cruise. 

After the extremely scenic drive navigate your way to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. This is a really short drive from the South Bay Area and it is extremely close to the Santa Cruz area. 

If you want to experience the redwoods and have limited time I would suggest these two locations and even doing the route I have highlighted to enjoy a fully packed day of sightseeing coastal redwoods, iconic San Francisco tourist spots and tiny bit of wine country all in one day. 

Final Thoughts

We visited the coastal redwoods in mid September and had a blast. We looked for the yellow banana slug while at the park and we were unsuccessful at locating a slug unfortunately. Let us know if you have found a banana slug in the park in the comments below. 

If we visit again, I would love to do a longer hike and spend more than one day in the park. The scenery and ambiance of the park were very relaxing. The nature therapy was a good way to renew our mental and physical health for the next adventure.