On a weekend in May when the big mountains were still snowed in, but I had Friday off, I decided to take a short trip to a remote park in northern California I had driven through before, but never actually hiked in: Humboldt Redwoods State Park.
Hours north of the Bay Area with nothing but small towns and Bigfoot memorabilia for miles, this park harbors some of the greatest stands of old growth Redwoods anywhere. I made a weekend of it, and decided to see if the trees here exceeded the great forests of Big Basin and other parks!
Over the course of a long weekend, I saw tons of massive trees, drove incredible roads, and hiked numerous trails. The Bull Creek Flats Trail was the first on my list, and it definitely set the bar high for the rest of the weekend!
Miles/Elevation:
7.4 miles (not including side trips)
640 feet vertical gain
About Humboldt Redwoods State Park:
Located in the remote northern forests of California, Humboldt Redwoods State Park is one of California’s largest. At about 53,000 acres, it is California’s 3rd largest state park, behind only Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Henry W. Coe State Park.
The real treasure of Humboldt is the pristine stands of old growth Redwoods it provides safe haven for. Established in 1921 from land purchased from the Pacific Lumber Company, these forests were never logged as heavily as the lands surrounding San Francisco, and other more accessible parts of California. Largely thanks to the Save The Redwoods League, 17,000 acres of old growth Redwood forests have been preserved!
Despite the remoteness of the park, there are ample services and infrastructure in the park. With more than 250 campsites in well developed campgrounds, and over 100 miles of hiking trails, there is plenty to do! On top of that, there are tons of swimming holes, fishing and boating opportunities, incredible scenic drives, cycling spots, and more!
If you are looking for incredible giant Redwoods, this is the place to go! While Redwoods National Park gets more acclaim, and Muir Woods is more famous, the sheer number of enormous trees here is unmatched anywhere in the world.
Of the 137 trees over 350 feet tall in the entire world, 100 of them are in Humboldt Redwoods State Park! Legends like the Stratosphere Giant, the Dyerville Giant, the Founders Tree, and the Giant Tree preside over the landscape here!
Getting To Humboldt Redwoods State Park:
Humboldt is a pretty remote park, and will most likely take some effort to get to. The closest city to the park is Eureka, but with only about 40,000 residents, this isn’t a major metropolis with a bustling airport.
Unless you are a local, you will likely be driving from the San Francisco Bay Area. If necessary, a flight to San Francisco, Oakland, or San Jose will set you up with a four hour or so drive north to the park.
Highway 101, a major north-south route in California, runs right through the park, so any visitor will need to take 101 to Humboldt. From the Bay Area, expect 4-5 hours depending on where exactly you are coming from. The other major city you may fly into is Sacramento, and even then you will need to drive north on 101. Another smaller city you could potentially fly into is Redding, but flights will be harder to come by.
There are no parking fees at any of the trailheads I visited here.
Bull Creek Flats Trail:
The first thing to know about the Bull Creek Flats Trail is that there are a lot of different places to start the hike. On the Alltrails map, they have it starting at the Blue Slide Day Use Area. That would be fine, but I started at the Big Trees Day Use Area, and I think it made for a pretty good starting point!
Starting at the Big Trees Day Use Area and hiking counter clockwise, the first thing you’ll encounter is Bull Creek. For a creek, it’s pretty big, and in spring was closer to a river to my eyes! There isn’t really a bridge here, so you’re on your own to find a way across!
I decided to try and make it across on a submerged log just an inch or two under the surface of the water, big mistake. First of all, while it started as just under the surface, by the far end of the stream, it was more like 4-6 inches under the surface. Secondly, it was super slippery and I actually slipped and fell in the creek!
I wasn’t physically hurt barring a small cut on my shin, but emotionally I was pretty disappointed in myself! The biggest hurt from the fall was having wet shoes for the rest of the day, but I was fine, and importantly, I kept my phone and camera dry!
The way to cross here is to climb onto the fallen Redwood that reaches both shores and walk on its fallen trunk. It doesn’t seem like an official trail, but it’s the best way that I found to cross, and definitely had been walked on extensively before.
Big Trees Loop:
The start of my version of the hike actually included a short side trail called the Big Trees Loop. This small loop is maybe a quarter mile, but to me it’s a must see side trip because it takes you to the Giant Tree, a 363 foot tall monster of a tree! This is probably the most massive Redwood I have seen anywhere, and since it’s such an easy trip to see it, you gotta go!
Bull Creek Trail South:
After completing the short Big Trees Loop, you’ll rejoin the Bull Creek Trail South and start the main portion of your hike along Bull Creek. The creek will stay to your left as you hike the first half of the day, and all the while you’ll be under massive old growth Redwoods, and other creekside foliage!
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
I was super impressed by this trail. I have seen huge old growth stands of Redwoods in Big Basin and Portola and Henry Cowell, but the really big trees are usually limited to one small area. Here, we hiked for miles and the trees never got smaller! The whole place is old growth forest. It really is an incredible stretch of trail!
You’ll veer away from the creek a couple times and have some minor climbing to do, but this ssegment of trail is pretty straightforward hiking. After the biggest climb of the day, you’ll descend down to the creeks edge, through a beautiful stand of trees with bright green clovers growing beneath, and have to cross Bull Creek once more.
You’re in bear country, so be sure to always be bear safe!
Crossing here is a little bit tricky. There is another fallen Redwood that clearly is used for crossing, but actually getting onto the section of trunk that crosses the stream is a bit interesting. The way I did it was to climb down to the stream bed, and them climb onto the trunk itself. There are some other fallen trees that could be walked on to get to that point, but heading down to the waters edge is probably the simplest way to go.
Rockefeller Loop Trail:
After crossing Bull Creek again, I took another small side trip, this time through the Rockefeller Forest. The Rockefeller Forest is the largest contiguous old growth Redwood Forest in the world, and the Rockefeller Loop Trail takes you through some of the finest examples the forest has to offer!
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
From the tree crossing of Bull Creek, you’ll take a right to get to the Rockefeller Loop. The entire loop is only about 3/4s of a mile long, but it is a worthwhile side trip! After completing the loop, you’ll be back at Bull Creek ready to finish up your hike!
Bull Creek Trail North:
The final section of trail you have to complete is the Bull Creek Trail North. As is probably obvious, it follows Bull Creek on its northern bank, so you will have the creek on your left this time not your right.
On a day of incredible hiking, this was definitely the low point. I’m not saying it’s a bad stretch of trail, there’s a ton of big trees, and the creek is always pretty close, but it’s not nearly as idyllic as the hiking you’ve already done.
The road is pretty close to the trail on the right, and at times you’ll actually have to walk on the road. You’ll spend more time in the leafy parts of the forest near the creek, and while this isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just not as epic as the towering old growth giants. You’ll also walk through some stands of younger Redwoods, and while it can be cool to see the younger trees, it just isn’t quite the same.
Visit Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park for more great Redwood hikes!
From the river crossing near the Rockefeller Loop back to the Big Trees Day Use Area is just over 3 miles. It’s a very flat section of trail, so quick hikers should be able to do it in an hour or less. And again, while it’s not a bad stretch of walking, it just isn’t as absolutely incredible and jaw dropping as the rest of the hike!
Portola Redwoods has one of the best Redwood hikes in the Bay Area!
But before you know it, you’ll be back at your car having just completed one of the best Redwood hikes California has to offer!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 9/10
If you’re looking for the single best day hike through Redwood forests, I honestly think this may be the answer. The trees here are bigger than anything you’ll find in the Bay Area or Big Sur, and they are on par or bigger than the trees north in Redwoods National Park.
Beyond the quality of the hike, it’s pretty quiet for a trail of this quality. The massive groves around the Bay Area get inundated with people on the weekends, but Humboldt is remote enough that it doesn’t get the same crowds.
The only con with this trail is there aren’t any big time panoramic views. While that’s usually what I personally look for in a hike, the forest here is so great that it doesn’t really bother me. There also aren’t really any exposed sections of trail, but you aren’t really in the big mountains here, so to me that is totally forgivable.
This hike is fantastic.
Pros:
- Massive Redwoods
- Stunningly Beautiful
- Relatively Quiet
Cons:
- No big panoramic views
- Final 3 miles is meh
Alternative Hikes:
Johnson Camp, Grasshopper, Bull Creek Loop – California
Hidden Springs Trail – California
Grasshopper Mountain Trail – California
Founders Grove Nature Trail – California
Drury-Chaney Trail – California
When to Visit Humboldt Redwoods State Park:
While this trail is technically open and doable all year round, Humboldt is far enough north that winters get pretty chilly and pretty rainy. While it’s not quite a Seattle winter, I personally would not recommend visiting in the rainy season (November to April). You might get lucky, but if you don’t, expect highs in the low 50’s with rain.
The better time of year for a visit to Humboldt is late spring, summer, or early fall. Summer will obviously have the warmest weather with highs likely in the 70’s, and the shoulder seasons will be a bit cooler, though with some variability. During my visit in early May, the highs were in the upper 60’s, but the forecasts were all over the place, calling for anything between 80 and 60. Really I don’t think you can go wrong with any month between May and October.
Paul Slayton
June 2, 2021Nathan this is SWEET! Share with everyone.