State Parks Rendezvous 2024 Site Visit - Planned Itinerary:

Background

The following sites are located within the beautiful and wild North Coast Redwoods District, which covers northern Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del North Counties, and includes the unique, cross-jurisdictional partnership of Redwood National and State Parks. We look forward to welcoming participants of the California State Park Rangers Association’s 2024 Rendezvous in September!

Redwoods Rising: East Fork Mill Creek Floodplain Restoration

Redwoods Rising is an ambitious, landscape-scale project to restore areas damaged by historical logging in the globally significant forests of Redwood National and State Parks. These parks are home to almost half of the world’s remaining protected old-growth redwood forests, which store more carbon per acre than any other forests on Earth. They also safeguard imperiled salmon and trout, and rare creatures such marbled murrelets and the endangered western lily.

Site visit opportunity: This project is restoring the property to old-growth redwood forest characteristics, providing recreational opportunities, protecting sensitive resources, providing opportunities for research and interpretation, and balancing visitor needs with the unique natural character of the Mill Creek watershed. This is an easy walk to see the results of recent restoration actions.

Grove of Titans

Deep in the heart of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park lies a grove of ancient redwood trees named for their remarkable size — the Grove of Titans. Known by Indigenous people for centuries, the group of trees was re-discovered by researchers in the 1990s. The grove is a magnificent stand of ancient redwoods containing some of the world’s tallest trees. With no direct access, this sacred grove was kept relatively hidden for many years until the location was posted online in 1998. Visitors in search of these elusive old-growth trees created informal “social trails,” which damaged the forest floor and degraded riparian habitat, threatening the long-term survival of the grove itself. A new trail alignment, interpretation, and an elevated walkway have created safe, appropriate recreational access to the grove.

Site visit opportunity: This project demonstrates the challenges of balancing visitation and natural resource protection. With unchecked visitors trammeling ferns, soil, and damaging pristine habitat, RNSP partners, local communities, and nonprofit partners came together to re-envision the Grove of Titans as a healthy, accessible, and protected resource for generations to come. This is an easy, 1.7-mile there-and-back walk through the giant trees and along Mill Creek.

‍ Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park: Day Use Area 

The 10,000 acres of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park are part of RNSP, which is a World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve, where 45 percent of California’s remaining old-growth redwoods are held in the public trust. Jedediah Smith is the only campground in Redwood National and State Parks that has big lowland redwoods right in the camp. Here, you can enjoy the aquamarine waters of the wild and scenic Smith River as it flows past old-growth redwood trees. This is an incredibly beautiful and popular destination in the summer. Families with canoes, kayaks and inner tubes congregate along the cobbled banks of the river adjacent to this day use area.

Site visit opportunity: Drive right up to the Day Use Area and enjoy the river beach, which is cobbled and surrounded by old-growth redwoods.

Tolowa Dunes State Park: Yontockut

Tolowa Dunes State Park includes some of the finest wetlands habitat on California’s North Coast. The  ancient sand dune complex has evolved into several distinct ecological communities, including shoreline, river, open and vegetated sand dunes, wooded ridges, and wetlands. A diverse assortment of birds, animals and plant life thrive here, and the area serves as an important stopover on the Pacific flyway for thousands of migrating ducks, geese and swans. At the end of Pala Road on the south bank of the Smith River, pick up the Yontockut Trail which is a 7.6-mile loop leading out to the beach and back. Yan’-daa-k’vt (Yontockut) is the spiritual center of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Smith River.

Site visit opportunity: This moderately challenging hike is perfect for birding, fishing, and enjoying the shoreline, and is beautiful year-round.