Redwood National Park Travel Guide

 Basaic Says:  Across the beach from the overlook you will see the DeMartin House. This was a thriving ranch and dairy farm owned by Louis and Agnes DeMartin. Mrs. DeMartin was famous for her hospitality and her skills in the kitchen including baking great fresh bread. Over the years,... 

 Basaic Says:  Not far north of Lady Bird Johnson Grove is Lost man Creek. The area along Lost Man Creek offers another slight variation on the environment of the redwood forest. The constant availability of water enables other types of trees and plants to mingle with the redwood giants. 

 Basaic Says:  Here you see an area with a dense cover of ferns. This area was badly damaged by a fire. The ferns, like these Sword Ferns, are the first plants to inhabit these burned out areas. Along with grasses and mosses, they live and die enriching the soil for the wildflowers and low... 

 Basaic Says:  Redwoods do not die easily, and even after they do they provide life and safety to the forest. The trees frequently lean against each other and provide roosts for birds and food for insects. After they eventually fall they provide food for other land bound animals. 

 Basaic Says:  This area was clear-cut by the logging industry in the 1960s. Notice how much smaller these trees are and the absence of any of the real giants. Nothing was left here but the stumps of the trees. The forest is recovering though and will return to its natural state. 

 Basaic Says:  This hollowed out redwood is a fire survivor. The fire that helps clear out the underbrush frequently also kills the trees; but not the redwood. The thick bark of a redwood does not contain volatile resins like pines, and firs and its sap is mostly water. This makes the... 

 Basaic Says:  The scientific name for the Coastal Redwood is “sempervirens” which translates to “everlasting”. Some of these trees were here when the Mayans and the Aztecs flourished or when Marco Polo traversed the Asian continent. 

 Basaic Says:  There is a booklet you can buy that will tell you information about the trees and their forest. The information coresponds to numbers on the trail. The first stop is entitled Timeless. Walking through the grove it is easy to imagine the people who entered the groves... 

 Basaic Says:  As you hike along the Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail, there is a plaque on the trail where former President Richard M. Nixon dedicated this grove to Lady Bird Johnson on 27 August 1969 in recognition of her efforts to help preserve the redwoods and other natural wonders. 

 Basaic Says:  If you are approaching the park from the south, as I did, then your first stop should be the Kuchel Visitors Center. Here you can get trail maps and other brochures about attraction in the park and view exhibits about the redwoods, the coastline and other topics. There are... 

 KimberlyAnn Says:  Roosevelt Elk are usually found in open grass lands, however, they can also sometimes be seen in the forest, especially in hot weather when they look for shade to rest in. The elk are the largest mammal in the park, and may weight more than 1,000 pounds. These are wild... 

 JLBG Says:  The Lava Beds National monument (page to come) lies in the far north east corner of California. It is a striking example of eruptions where the outer lava cools and gives a solid crust while the inner lava remains fluid enough to flow out, giving empty tubes that can be... 

 JLBG Says:  Lassen Volcanic Park (page to come) is located in the southern part of the Cascade Mountain range. It is by far not as impressive as the Yellowstone but nevertheless has boiling mud pots, steaming ground, roaring fumaroles, and sulfurous gases. They are a testimony of... 

 Basaic Says:  The trail through the Lady Bird Johnson Grove is a 1 mile (1.4 km) loop trail that is easy to moderate in difficulty. It loops through a range-top forest of redwood and Douglas firs. Because the windswept slopes and ridges provide a less desirable environment than the more... 

 KimberlyAnn Says:  One of the best places to start out your visit to Redwoods National Park is to stop at one of the visitor centers. Its five visitor centers are spaced through out the park, so hopefully you will be able to stop at one or more of these if you visit during summers. However, in...