Redwoods ◆ North Coast / CA

Walk through the ancient redwoods.

The tallest trees on earth grow in a fog-bound corridor along the California coast. You can drive most of it in two days.

Field guide ◆ The Redwood corridor

Sequoias up. Coast redwoods over.

Most people think of "the Redwoods" as one place. It's actually a 350-mile corridor running from Big Sur up to the Oregon border, with two distinct ecosystems: coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens, the tallest living things on the planet) along the foggy north coast, and giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum, the most massive trees by volume) inland in the Sierra Nevada.

We recommend the coast for a 3–5 day trip. Start in Mendocino, drive Highway 1 north through Humboldt Redwoods State Park (Avenue of the Giants), and end in Jedediah Smith Redwoods on the Oregon line. The whole route is paved, the camping is easy, and you'll walk through groves where the trees have been alive since the Roman Empire.

The Lost Coast Trail is the off-script add-on. 25 miles of trail-less beach hiking on a stretch of California with no road. Permit required, weather is uncooperative, sea stacks are unforgettable.

Best seasonApril to October

Trip length3–7 days

DifficultyEasy (driving) to strenuous (Lost Coast)

PermitState parks free; Lost Coast permit required

Pack the kit ◆ For the Redwood corridor

What to bring.

Coast redwoods are wet, foggy, and chilly even in summer. Pack for damp. A waterproof shelter, a synthetic-fill bag (down loses loft when wet), and a cookset that works in a windy meadow.

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