I have visited all the parks noted in the last ten years. All the photos and videos are mine. The parks are ordered from south to north.

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

This park has a nice old growth grove with large trees. You need to park in a lot and take a short walk to reach the trails. There is a nice visitor center and gift shop. The park is very close to Felton. Next door is Roaring Camp which hosts a scenic round trip train excursion to Santa Cruz.

Hendy Woods State Park

Hendy Woods is about 140 miles north of San Francisco International Airport. It’s a fairly difficult drive, with lots of traffic in the San Francisco area and many congested areas along California 101. The final leg from Cloverdale to Philo is a winding and hilly two land road with some nice scenery.

The park itself has many impressive trees, some exceeding 350 feet in height. It is situated on flats above the Navarro River and has about 100 acres of old growth redwoods split 80-20 between the Big Hendy and Little Hendy groves.

Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve

Montgomery Woods is about 15 scenic, winding and hilly miles west of Ukiah, situated in a small canyon along Montgomery Creek. The primary old growth area is about 40 acres, and contains about 18 trees over 350 feet in height, including 3 or so over 360 feet. Reaching the grove from the parking area adjacent to Orr Springs Road requires a quarter mile hike with 300 feet of elevation gain.

Jackson Demonstration State Forest – Chamberlain Waterfall

Chamberlain Waterfall Grove is an exceptionally scenic 10 acres of old growth coast redwood trees about 20 road miles west of Willits. The drive is scenic but some forest roads are involved and phone reception is not reliable so a written or printed route is required. The trail is well maintained and drops from the gravel road parking area down some stairs and switchbacks into the canyon where the grove and waterfall are located. There are a couple 335-340 foot tall trees in this grove.

Smithe Redwoods State Natural Reserve

This small and mighty grove is named after Frank and Bessie Smithe who formerly operated a private resort that included this grove. The area is on a flat above the South Fork Eel River just south of Dora Creek and about four miles north of Leggett. It is adjacent to the southbound side of a winding high speed area of California 101 so take care entering and exiting from the parking area pullout.

The old growth grove is about 11 acres and includes 3 trees between 330 and 340 feet in height.

Richardson Grove State Park

Richardson Grove contains 40 acres of old growth redwoods astride either side of California 101 just north of the Mendocino – Humboldt county line. There are several trees in the park around 345 feet in height. The park has a good number of trails and small roads and is mostly on a flat above the South Fork Eel River although there are also some upland areas.

Longer length tractor trailers may soon be able to travel through Richardson Grove on Highway 101 due to a planned project to make some of the curves more gradual. No large old growth trees are to be removed though roots of some trees will be cut.

Humboldt Redwoods State Park

This park has about 60,000 acres of old growth coast redwood forest in both alluvial and upland settings. Some of the forested areas are very tall, with about 120 trees between 350 and 360 feet in height, about 24 trees between 360 and 370 feet in height, and about 6 trees between 370 and 374 feet in height.

The Avenue of the Giants and Mattole Road wind through much of the old growth, with good trail access through the groves. Some of the largest most impressive groves are Founders, Federation, and Bull Creek.

Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park / Van Duzen County Park

This area includes three separate areas of old growth along the Van Duzen River. The redwoods highlight is the Cheatham Grove, which has 5 trees over 340 feet, with the tallest around 355 feet. Overall there are 550 or so acres of old growth. The drive from the west over to this area is very nice.

Redwood National Park

Redwood National Park contains about 29,000 acres of old growth forest. There are about 40 trees between 350 and 360 feet in height, about 15 trees between 360 and 370 feet in height, five trees between 370 and 380 feet in height, and one tree above 380 feet in height (Hyperion). The largest trees in the park are in the Mill Creek unit just south of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.

Much of the park is untrailed and steep. However the trails provide a good sample of the forests in the park, including Lostman for the big forest in the north and Tall Trees Grove trail for the remnant forests along and above Redwood Creek. The area around Elam Camp contains thick intimidating forests along steep slopes.

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Prairie Creek Redwoods contains about 12,600 acres of old growth redwoods. There are about 12 trees over 350 feet in height, with the tallest around 361 feet. There are many notable large redwoods in this park. The Drury Parkway is a relative quick paced road through the park, then Cal Barrel Road, when open, is more of a slow scenic drive.

Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park

Del Norte Redwoods includes about 3,400 acres of old growth forest. There are a handful of trees over 330 feet in height. The old growth groves are fairly tightly packed with large trees, with ample rain and lots of fog. This results in this park having the highest average old growth biomass across all the redwood parks.

At some point in the near feature there may be an underground tunnel constructed to bypass the landslide stricken Last Chance grade on Highway 101.

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

Jedediah Smith redwoods contains about 10,300 acres of old growth coast redwoods. This park is known for its large trees. There are about 10 trees over 350 feet in height, with the tallest tree at about 361 feet.

The Boy Scout Tree trail runs through the central area of the park and is recognized as one of the premier hiking trails. This park also has the Grove of Titans boardwalk.