Memorial Day Redwoods

Many people use the Memorial Day long weekend to go on a short vacation somewhere, resulting in soaring plane ticket prices. This year, a few friends and I are going to take a road trip up to the Redwood parks, avoiding the airports but still getting away for the weekend. Redwood is one of those places that I've seen pictures of my infant self at, proving that my parents had taken me there before, but I don't actually remember visiting. I look forward to this trip now that I have the fitness to go on interesting hikes and the functional memory to remember sights and experiences with.

One surprising fact I discovered while researching this trip is that Redwoods National Park is actually comprised of four different parks - Jedediah Smith State Park, Del Norte Coast State Park, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, and of course, Redwood National Park. Each park has their own distinct features, but they all provide ample opportunity to see the famous giant redwoods. The redwoods there are hundreds of years old, and the largest trees are even big enough to drive a car through.

We are still in the process of hashing out our itinerary, but the tentative plan is as follows -

Friday

Start driving up around late morning or midday and check into the house we rented in Eureka. It takes an estimated 5-6 hours to reach Eureka from the bay area, so we should get there right in time for dinner. 

Saturday

Day-hike in the parks. Redwood Hikes has many recommended hikes for all four parks. We will most likely do one of the “Big Tree” hikes such as the Boy Scout Tree Trail in Jedediah Park.

Sunday

Another day-hike. This one will likely be a non-“Big Tree” hike to see more variety. A few recommended trails we are deciding between are the James Irvine Trail and Coastal Trail in Prairie Creek Park, and the Dolason Prairie Trail in Redwood National Park.

Monday

Drive back to the bay area.

Crossing our fingers for good hiking weather next weekend!

- MC 5/18