Redwood Creek Trail: Day Hiking and Backpacking to Tall Trees Grove

The Redwood Creek Trail is an 8.7-mile one-way route within Redwood National Park, Humboldt County, California, following the corridor of Redwood Creek from its trailhead on Bald Hills Road south through the valley floor to the Tall Trees Grove. The trail runs almost entirely at creek level through a wide alluvial floodplain flanked by old-growth coast redwood, bigleaf maple, red alder, and California bay laurel — a composition that changes only gradually over the course of the route and that the valley has arranged to its own satisfaction over the past several thousand years.

The trail is administered by the National Park Service as part of the Redwood National and State Parks complex, a jointly managed system covering approximately 139,000 acres in northern Humboldt and southern Del Norte counties, operated in partnership with California State Parks. The complex includes Prairie Creek Redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods in addition to the national park proper; together they constitute the largest intact coast redwood forest under public protection in the world.

The Redwood Creek Trail occupies the interior corridor of Redwood National Park in a geographic sense that the parks complex's other trails largely avoid. While the Lady Bird Johnson Grove and Trillium Falls trails operate from Bald Hills Road above the valley, and the Fern Canyon and Prairie Creek trail networks work the northern coastal edge of the complex, the Redwood Creek Trail descends into the valley floor and stays there — 8.7 miles of redwood forest, creek crossings, and the kind of quiet that accumulates at some distance from any road. Lady Humboldt considers this a reasonable use of a day, and notes that the trail asks in return only that visitors carry adequate water and check posted creek conditions before departing.

The trailhead is located at the end of a short gravel spur off Bald Hills Road, approximately 2.8 miles east of the Orick interchange on U.S. 101. The parking area accommodates approximately eight vehicles and includes a pit toilet, a register, and an NPS interpretive kiosk. No day-use fee applies. Overnight use of the backcountry camps along the trail requires a free permit available at the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center in Orick, 1.5 miles south of the interchange on the west side of the highway.

From the trailhead, the route descends briefly to the Redwood Creek floodplain and follows the creek's left (east) bank upstream — south and slightly east — through old-growth and second-growth redwood forest, with the creek visible intermittently through the alder and maple understory. The valley is wide enough that the redwoods on the opposite bank are silhouetted against the fog or sky rather than crowding the trail. The creek runs to the right. Everything else is vertical.

Waypoint	Approx. Miles	Notes
Bald Hills Road Trailhead	0	Pit toilet; register; NPS kiosk; day use free; backcountry permit required for overnight
First Designated Backcountry Camp	~2.7	Designated tent sites; bear box for food storage; creek water with filter
Main Creek Crossing No. 1	~5.0	Temporary bridge Memorial Day–Labor Day only; ford required outside that window; gravel-bar channel 40–60 ft wide
Second Designated Backcountry Camp	~5.4	Mid-route camp with creek access; positioned between the two main crossings
Main Creek Crossing No. 2	~7.2	Second seasonal bridge location; typically shallower than Crossing No. 1 at equivalent flow
Third Designated Backcountry Camp	~8.0	Closest camp to Tall Trees Grove; last creek access before the grove
Tall Trees Grove	~8.7	First-growth coast redwood grove; Howard Libby Tree; maintained NPS interpretive loop within grove

The return trip repeats the route in reverse — total round-trip distance approximately 17.4 miles. Most overnight parties split the distance across two days, camping at one of the mid-route sites and reaching the Tall Trees Grove on the second morning before other parties arrive from the trailhead. Parties completing the route as a long day hike should allow 9 to 10 hours and plan for an early start; October daylight in Humboldt County ends by approximately 6:30 p.m. and is not subject to revision.

The Redwood Creek Trail presents its primary logistical complication in the form of the creek itself. The trail crosses Redwood Creek twice in its middle miles, at gravel-bar locations where the channel braids and shallows — but the depth and velocity of those crossings depends substantially on season and recent precipitation.

The National Park Service installs temporary wooden footbridges at both crossings between approximately Memorial Day and Labor Day, a window calibrated to the combination of lower summer flows and peak visitor traffic. Outside that period — from early September through late May — the bridges are removed to prevent flood damage during the storm season, and the crossings require wading.

Season	Bridge Status	Typical Conditions	Notes
Late May–Labor Day	Bridges in place	Dry crossing at both locations	Optimal window for parties unwilling or unable to wade; bridges narrow and stable; no current exposure
September–October	No bridges	Knee-deep at typical pre-storm flows; gravel-bar crossing	Current window: manageable before winter rains; creek levels vary with storm events; check NPS conditions report before departing
November–February	No bridges	Potentially dangerous; post-storm flows may exceed safe fording depth	Creek can rise 3–4 feet within 24 hours of significant rain; consult NPS visitor center before planning
March–May	No bridges	Declining from winter maximum; late April typically passable; late May reliable	Spring conditions improve steadily; confirmed low-water conditions from NPS report recommended before mid-April visits

At typical October flows, before the first significant winter rain event, the Redwood Creek crossings run at roughly knee depth at the designated ford locations across gravel-bar channels 40 to 60 feet wide. The gradient at both crossings is modest. Trekking poles assist with balance on the round-cobble substrate. Water shoes worn for the crossings and exchanged for dry footwear on the far bank are the standard approach; waterproof boots do not keep water out at knee depth and are not a substitute for the pole-and-step technique on moving water over round rock.

The NPS maintains a current conditions report for the Redwood Creek Trail at the Kuchel Visitor Center. This report reflects actual creek gauge readings and recent ranger assessments, and it exists specifically to inform this decision. Lady Humboldt notes that consulting it before any September through May visit is not a precaution in excess of the actual situation.

October is the month in which the Redwood Creek corridor undergoes the transformation that no other season offers. Bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) grows in dense groves along creek margins and in the floodplain openings where alder thickets yield to the gravel bars, reaching peak gold and deep yellow from mid-October into early November. This canopy operates in considerable contrast to the surrounding redwood forest's uniform green — the sort of seasonal phenomenon that does not require advance preparation to notice, and that the valley appears to have arranged without consulting the redwoods about the palette. The color is the county's quiet rival to the more-advertised fall foliage of inland California; it occurs at sea level along a creek and is accessible entirely on foot, which may explain the gap in reputation.

Roosevelt elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti) use the Redwood Creek floodplain year-round; October brings them into the gravel bars and corridor margins in post-rut positioning. The annual rut concludes through October; by late in the month, bulls have generally retreated from active herd movement and are found in the alder margins and maple groves rather than the open meadow sections. Cows and calves continue using the open floodplain. Lady Humboldt notes that the elk on this trail are habituated to hikers in a way that does not imply comfort — they will tolerate observation at distance and will move if pressed, as is consistent with their general policy on the subject. Fifty meters is the appropriate minimum approach distance.

Species / Event	Peak October Window	Location on Trail	Notes
Bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) fall color	Mid-October–early November	Creek margins throughout; densest in lower 3 miles	Color peaks 1–2 weeks before leaf drop; first cold nights accelerate the turn
Roosevelt elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti)	Year-round; post-rut Oct	Floodplain gravel bars and alder margins	50-meter minimum distance; bulls in recovery may be less predictable than summer individuals
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) spawn run	October–January	Main channel and gravel riffles throughout	Redwood Creek supports an active salmon run; carcasses on gravel bars by November indicate upstream spawning activity
North American river otter (Lontra canadensis)	Year-round	Active creek sections; pools below riffles	Slips into water well before proximity is established; surface breathing and diving are typically the primary sighting
Pacific giant salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus)	Year-round; most active in damp conditions	Stream margins; moist trail sections after rain	North America's largest terrestrial salamander; gray-mottled, up to 13 inches; moves on trail in wet weather
Black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus)	Year-round; rut Oct–Nov	Forest understory along entire trail	Most visible at dawn and dusk in the alder margins adjacent to creek crossings

The Chinook salmon spawn run reaches Redwood Creek in October and continues through January, subject to rainfall-driven flow conditions. Salmon carcasses on gravel bars beginning in November are not indicators of a problem but of a functioning ecosystem: the nitrogen transferred from spawned-out fish to the creek corridor constitutes a measurable input to the old-growth trees growing on the adjacent flats — a connection between the creek and the canopy that the trees appear to have been relying upon for considerably longer than the trail has existed. The seasonal wildlife guide covers the North Coast salmon run calendar and the species that congregate around spawning areas in full.

October light in the Redwood Creek valley — lower angle, longer afternoon window, reduced marine layer — reaches the creek floor for more hours than in summer, when coastal fog often holds until late morning. Lady Humboldt considers the combination of gold maple canopy and October light one of the county's less-publicized seasonal features, and attributes the relative obscurity to the creek corridor's distance from any road that might otherwise advertise it.

Three designated backcountry camps along the Redwood Creek Trail accommodate overnight parties, spaced at intervals suited to either a two-day or three-day itinerary. Each camp includes designated tent sites and a bear canister or box for food storage. Water from Redwood Creek, filtered or treated with an appropriate device, is the water source at all camps. Vault toilets are not available; Leave No Trace catholes at 200 feet minimum from water, trail, and camp are the standard approach throughout the backcountry.

A free backcountry permit is required for overnight use of any designated camp on the Redwood Creek Trail. Permits are issued at the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center in Orick during staffed hours; the visitor center also operates an after-hours kiosk for self-serve issuance when the building is closed. Current visitor center hours are listed on the NPS Redwood National and State Parks website and vary by season. The permit system registers parties in the night's camp inventory; while a reservation is not guaranteed in the strict sense, the trail's distance from the road system limits demand to a level that makes walk-in permits feasible on most fall and winter dates. Summer weekends accommodate more competition.

The third camp in the sequence, positioned approximately 8 miles from the trailhead adjacent to the Tall Trees Grove, places overnight parties at the grove in the early morning — before any same-day hikers who departed the trailhead at dawn. The grove in October morning light, before the creek-level fog resolves, operates at a different register than the grove at midday. Lady Humboldt finds this distinction worth the prior evening's camp, and notes that it costs nothing beyond the time required to carry a pack 8 miles through an old-growth redwood valley, which some will consider this a reasonable exchange.

The Tall Trees Grove is accessible by a route that does not involve the Redwood Creek Trail at all. The Tall Trees Road, reached by continuing on Bald Hills Road approximately 13 miles from U.S. 101, ends at a small parking area from which a 1.3-mile round-trip trail descends to the grove through second-growth forest. A free permit — specifically a gate combination code issued by NPS staff at the Kuchel Visitor Center — is required to proceed past the locked gate on Tall Trees Road. Staff issue the code during visitor center hours; the road is unpaved and suitable for vehicles with reasonable ground clearance.

The Tall Trees Road approach presents no creek crossings, places most parties at the Tall Trees Grove in under an hour of total walking, and requires no backcountry permit or overnight commitment. The grove is the grove regardless of approach. Lady Humboldt does not suggest that the merit of a destination should be calibrated to the effort required to reach it, and considers the Tall Trees Road entirely defensible as a primary option for any visitor whose schedule or capacity is not oriented toward full-day wilderness hiking.

The relevant distinction is what each approach offers beyond the grove itself. The Tall Trees Road delivers the grove efficiently. The Redwood Creek Trail delivers the valley — 8.7 miles of it — and the grove at the end.

The Bald Hills Road trailhead is reached from the Orick area of northern Humboldt County, approximately 50 miles north of Eureka and 40 miles south of Crescent City on U.S. 101. From U.S. 101, take the Orick/Bald Hills Road interchange. Bald Hills Road climbs east from the highway; the Redwood Creek Trail trailhead spur appears approximately 2.8 miles from the interchange on the left (north) side, marked with an NPS sign. The spur and parking area accommodate standard passenger vehicles.

The Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center — source for backcountry permits, current creek conditions reports, and the gate code for Tall Trees Road — is located at the Bald Hills Road interchange on the west side of the highway. Current hours and seasonal schedules are maintained on the NPS Redwood National and State Parks website. The conditions report is updated regularly by NPS staff during the no-bridge season and constitutes the most reliable current assessment of whether the creek crossings are manageable — more reliable than any fixed published guide, which the creek's seasonal variability renders obsolete at intervals that do not correspond to publication schedules.

Bald Hills Road also provides access to the California condor viewing areas at Counts Hill Prairie and other Bald Hills grassland openings, approximately 10 to 14 miles east of U.S. 101. Condors are observed with some regularity along this corridor during fall and winter, when the birds range widely from their primary nesting and foraging territories. A party driving Bald Hills Road to the Redwood Creek trailhead in October is, in effect, passing through condor country on the way in and the way out; scanning the ridge thermals above the open prairie sections on the return is not a waste of time.

Orick itself offers limited services. The Orick Market on U.S. 101 provides fuel and basic provisions — functioning, in effect, as Orick's commercial infrastructure in aggregate. The nearest full-service grocery and gear options are in Arcata, approximately 50 miles south.

The Bald Hills Road corridor provides access to several trail systems with substantially different characters. The Lady Bird Johnson Grove (1.4-mile loop, first-growth redwood at ridge elevation) and Trillium Falls Trail (2.7-mile loop through alder bottomland at Prairie Creek Redwoods) both begin from Bald Hills Road and are suited to the visitor with a half-day rather than a full day available. Neither involves creek crossings.

The Fern Canyon and Prairie Creek trail network, accessed via Davison Road approximately 10 miles north on U.S. 101, covers the northern coastal edge of the parks complex — slot canyon, five-finger fern walls, Roosevelt elk at Elk Prairie, and the extensive old-growth loop trails of Prairie Creek Redwoods. Parties combining a Redwood Creek Trail overnight with a Prairie Creek day on a multi-day visit cover the two most distinct trail ecosystems the parks complex contains without any logistical redundancy. The hike directory lists current conditions for both areas as reported by the parks.

For parties seeking a multi-day wilderness route with greater length and remoteness than the Redwood Creek Trail, the Lost Coast Trail — 25 miles of coastal wilderness in the King Range to the south — represents the county's other major backpacking commitment. The two routes share almost nothing in character: the Lost Coast Trail operates on black sand beaches, exposed headlands, and tide tables; the Redwood Creek Trail operates on a forested valley floor, seasonal creek crossings, and bear boxes. Lady Humboldt has observed that most visitors who have done one eventually want to do the other, and finds this entirely in keeping with the county's general policy of providing more than one version of the same general interest.

How long does it take to hike to the Tall Trees Grove and back in a single day?

Round-trip to the Tall Trees Grove is approximately 17.4 miles. At a steady pace of 2 to 2.5 miles per hour including time at the grove, the full round-trip requires 9 to 10 hours on the trail — a commitment that rewards an early start. October daylight in Humboldt County runs until approximately 6:30 p.m. and is not extended by circumstance. Parties departing the trailhead after 8 a.m. should treat the grove visit as a turnaround-and-return operation rather than a leisurely destination. The two-day version with a backcountry permit from the visitor center eliminates this calculation, and Lady Humboldt recommends it as the option that does not require a decision to be made at mile 8 about whether the light has held.

Are the creek crossings dangerous in October?

At typical October flows — before the first significant winter rain event — the Redwood Creek crossings run at roughly knee depth and are manageable for most adults with trekking poles and appropriate river-crossing judgment. They are not dangerous at low flow. They become potentially dangerous within 24 to 48 hours of a significant rain event, when creek levels can rise several feet quickly. The NPS conditions report at the Kuchel Visitor Center reflects current gauge data and ranger assessments; it is the appropriate source for a current-conditions determination rather than any fixed guide, including this one, which has a publication date and the creek does not.

Is a permit required for a day hike on the Redwood Creek Trail?

No permit is required for day hiking. A free backcountry permit is required for overnight camping at any of the three designated camps. The permit is available at the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center in Orick during staffed hours, or from the after-hours kiosk. No fee is charged for the permit. The same visitor center also issues the Tall Trees Road gate code for the alternate-access approach to the grove.

Is the Redwood Creek Trail appropriate for first-time backpackers?

The trail presents a genuinely long day hike or a moderate two-day backpacking route, with modest elevation change and well-marked designated camps. The creek crossings are the variable that distinguishes it from a straightforward beginner route: at summer flows with bridges in place, the technical demands are minimal; at fall and spring flows requiring fords, some experience with moving-water crossings and comfort with wet feet are assumed. The trail otherwise does not require technical skills beyond standard wilderness camping competency. Lady Humboldt notes that "first-time backpacker" covers a range of underlying capabilities that trail ratings do not fully capture, and suggests that parties new to overnight hiking consider the two-day Redwood Creek route as a first or second overnight rather than a first-ever attempt — a recommendation offered without condescension and with the intent of ensuring the valley gets its full attention rather than serving as backdrop to a logistics emergency.

Lady Humboldt's weekly field guide reports the Orick area elk and salmon activity, creek gauge conditions, and Bald Hills Road condor sightings each Tuesday morning from the same county and the same season. A subscription is available here, at no charge.