On California’s far northern coast, Redwood National and State Parks protect a connected landscape of towering trees, rivers, prairies and Pacific shoreline. The name describes a partnership: Redwood National Park sits alongside three California state parks—Jedediah Smith, Del Norte Coast and Prairie Creek Redwoods. Together they cover nearly 139,000 acres, running from the Oregon border toward the communities around Orick. Distances between trailheads and viewpoints are real, so a visit works better as a regional itinerary than as a single walk among trees.
The coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, is the tallest living tree species. Some rise above 350 feet and may live for centuries or even millennia. Cool ocean air and fog help keep this narrow coastal habitat moist; the forest floor is not a theme-park grove but a layered ecosystem of ferns, fungi, nurse logs and younger trees. UNESCO recognizes the parks for protecting one of the largest remaining contiguous ancient coast redwood forests in its original forest and stream setting.