Efforts have been made to preserve the redwood trees since the 1920s and once you begin driving through the park it is easy to see why these trees have been carefully safeguarded for over 100 years. As we made our way towards the ranger center to collect our passport stamps and additional souvenirs these massive giants towered over us.
While visiting Redwood N.P. you will likely drive through the three state parks that border this national park. Redwood National Park was created in 1968, by which time nearly 90 percent of the original redwood trees had been logged.
We only had one day to visit Redwood and opted for the Trillium Falls hike. This hike took just over an hour and showed a decent amount of what the park has to offer. Twisting roots under foot and a dense canopy overhead accompanied us for most of the trail. We crossed over bridges, passed waterfalls and balanced on fallen logs throughout the forest. I especially enjoyed the vibrant plant life and moss-covered trees.
A little fun fact, one I did not know until after the hike is that trillium flowers grow along the route, giving it its name.
After leaving the park we headed north, a common theme of the trip, towards Crater Lake in Oregon. While I don’t think I should go into painstaking detail about each stop we made along the way, keeping in mind that half the joy is in the journey, we did make frequent stops and pulled a few U-turns to stop at shops or see the sights along our route.
After setting up camp, playing UNO, making s’mores and warming our toes by the campfire. We camped just outside of Umpqua National Forest at a dispersed campsite, meaning free. Dispersed camping is allowed in this area.
