San Francisco Chronicle: 10 Must See California Redwoods

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1. Iluvatar Photo: Michael Nichols / Courtesy National Geographic / Michael Nichols / Courtesy National Geographic

1. Iluvatar Ever since a centerfold photo in National Geographic was published, it seems every person at the Prairie Creek Redwoods visitor center asks, “Where’s that tree that was in National Geographic?” The answer, from the visitor center, is that you drive on the opposite side of the parkway and turn on Cal-Barrel Road. The signed trailhead is the Foothills Trail, an easy walk. On the trail, look for an old cement marker for the Rotary Club (with its logo), and from that marker, the tree is at your 2 o’clock. “This monster is one of the most massive trees in the world and has more than 200 trunks and stems,” Stenger said. The Atlas and Zeus redwoods are nearby.

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No. 2, Nugget Photo: Courtesy Mark Graham / Courtesy Mark Graham

2. Nugget The Nugget is located in the Tall Trees Grove along Redwood Creek. To get there, you get a free permit from the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center, directions to Bald Hills Road and then can pass through a locked gate to reach the trailhead. From here, it’s less than a 1.5-mile hike with a grade to the biggest of the big. The Nugget “is the second-fastest-growing redwood on record,” Stenger said. “Several neighbors are among the world’s 10 tallest trees.”

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No. 3, Corkscrew Tree Photo: Redwood Coast Parks / Redwood Coast Parks

3. Corkscrew Tree The weird “Corkscrew Tree” is a massive redwood on which four trunks look like they are knitted together. For photographers, capturing its twisted nooks is irresistible. It is located along the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, north of the Big Tree Wayside, at a pullout on the left with parking. It takes about a twominute walk to reach it. “Some think it a cathedral tree with a fairy ring gone wild,” Stenger said. “Others suspect that several coast redwoods grew around a tree of a different species that later died and decayed.”

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No. 4, Klamath Tour Thru Tree Photo: Redwood Coast Parks / Redwood Coast Parks

4. Klamath Tour Thru Tree Three drive-thru trees are still living along the Redwood Highway, U.S. 101. The best is located near the town of Klamath. Heading north, just after you drive over the Klamath River, there’s a signed right turn for the drive-thru tree that leads up the hill to a mom-and-pop property with the tree. “Craftsmen who carved the tree’s cavity avoided essential living wood, safeguarding its health,” Stenger said.

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No. 5, Stout Tree Photo: Redwood National and State Parks / Redwood National and State Parks

5. Stout Tree The Stout Tree is the centerpiece of a small old-growth grove located just above the north shore of the Smith River at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. To get there out of Crescent City, drive on Highway 199 past Hiouchi, turn right over two bridges, then right again on Howland Hill Road to a signed parking area. It’s a 10minute walk through the grove. It’s pristine and mammoth, with a sister giant nearby. Old trees for old souls. A new viewing deck is designed to protect the tree’s shallow root structure.

No. 6, Big Tree Photo: Richard Stenger, Redwood Coast Parks / Richard Stenger, Redwood Coast Parks

6. Big Tree This mammoth redwood has a circumference of 68 feet, so huge it is difficult to imagine until you see it. It is located along the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, about a quarter-mile north from the turnoff on Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

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Many walk from the campground to see it. Those with RVs will find the Big Tree Wayside big enough for turnarounds. A restroom is available.

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7. Sir Isaac Newton Photo: Mario Vaden / Redwood Coast Parks / Mario Vaden / Redwood Coast Parks

7. Sir Isaac Newton Tree The Sir Isaac Newton Tree is named not only for its size, as one of the largest verified redwoods, but with a wild-looking burl. It is located on the Prairie Creek Trail, north of the Corkscrew Tree, in Prairie Creek Redwoods. The same grove has the Terex Titan. This trail provides access to a series of super giants. “It’s an easy walk through an obscure grove,” Stenger said. “You might even say it is hidden in plain sight.”

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8. Horse Good Pen Photo: Joe Yogerst, Redwood Coast Parks / Joe Yogerst, Redwood Coast Parks

8. Horse Goose Pen This redwood is named for its unique trunk, with a large natural tree cave at its base. Locals call the hollow a “goose pen.” This is a popular destination for guided horseback rides from the Orick Rodeo Grounds (on the east side of U.S. 101) to Redwood Creek (near Bald Hills Road) and into Redwood National Park. From a trailhead about a mile north of Orick, it’s less than a 2-mile venture to Horse Goose Pen.

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9. Eternal Spring Tree Photo: Justin Legge / Redwood Coast Parks / Justin Legge / Redwood Coast Parks

9. Eternal Spring Tree The most unique redwood in the Lady Bird Johnson Grove, the most popular of the groves, has a hole in the cambium, from which water constantly flows, like a perpetual fountain. Justin Legge, a naturalist with Redwood Adventures, named

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it. The turnoff for Lady Bird is well signed off U.S. 101 at Bald Hills Road, then it’s a 2.6-mile drive to the grove.

10. Hyperion Photo: Justin Legge / Redwood Coast Parks / Mario Vaden / Redwood Coast Parks

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10. Hyperion SUBSCRIBE

The Hyperion is a verified 380 feet tall, the tallest tree on the planet, according to rangers. It is located near Redwood Creek in the general vicinity of the Tall Trees Trail and the Nugget (see listing No. 2 for access details). Rangers will not reveal the exact location of the Hyperion, but it’s on the far side of the creek, impassable except in summer and early fall. There are so many giants in the grove, that most think, that, well, “it has to be one them.”

Tom Stienstra is The San Francisco Chronicle’s outdoors writer. Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom

More Information Contacts

Info/maps: Redwood Coast Parks, https://RedwoodCoastParks.com.

National Park Visitor Centers: Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center, Orick, 707-4657765; Redwood National Park and California State Parks, Crescent City, 707-4646101; both at www.nps.gov/redw.

State Parks: Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Orick, 707-465-7347, Visitor Center, 707-465-7354; Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Crescent City, 707464-6101; both at www.parks.ca.gov.

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