My Top 5 Favorite Redwood Groves

California’s Redwood forest is heaven for tree lovers, and impressive even to those who hate trees. For me, the Redwood forest is a key point of interest in my origin story, because it’s where my parents got married. But the majestic beauty of the trees alone is enough to keep me coming back again and again. The Redwood forest is one of my favorite places to be, and should definitely be at the top of your travel bucket list.

When visiting the Redwoods for the first time, many are surprised that the Redwoods are not one giant forest. Instead, the coastal Redwoods grow in clusters, much like their relatives the Giant Sequoias do. The clusters of Redwood trees, called groves, are concentrated along a 150-mile stretch of northern California. Since Redwoods don’t grow further than 50 miles from the coast, the Redwood groves form a long vertical belt that is protected by the Redwood National Park and several state parks.

With so many Redwood groves, the choices are overwhelming. There isn’t enough time to visit them all, unless you have weeks to spend in the woods!

Below, I’ve listed my five favorite Redwood groves (so far anyway!). Two of them are well-known Redwood groves. Two of the stops of my list are not officially groves, but rather short loop trails within a state park or a larger Redwood grove. And one is actually a cluster of Redwood groves along a road…so I’ve taken a bit of liberty when it comes to sharing my favorite stops in the Redwood forest.

To make it easier for you to visualize, I’ve ordered the groves from south to north, traveling along Highway 101. Also known as the Redwood Highway, the scenic stretch of Highway 101 between Leggett in the south and Crescent City in the north runs through the Redwood forest and offers access to many different Redwood groves and scenic byways through the trees.

1.  Gov. William Stephens Grove

Located in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park, this little grove is the perfect stop along the scenic Avenue of Giants. The 0.7 loop trail takes you for a leisurely walk through the Redwood grove, with plenty of picture opportunities along the way.

If you are looking for a slightly longer hike, just head less than a mile up the road and stop by the Dry Creek Trailhead. The short out-and-back hike takes you over some picturesque wooden bridges and back along the Avenue of Giants, before climbing higher into the Redwood forest.

To access these trails, you will need to exit Highway 101 several miles south, and take the Avenue of Giants scenic byway. It’s a beautiful drive that you don’t want to miss!

2. The Founders Grove

If you continue north up the Avenue of Giants, the Founders grove is just 12 miles up the road from the Dry Creek Trailhead. Although the famous Founders Tree is now said to have been wrongly measured, and actually falls short of the reported 346.1 feet, the grove still offers a beautiful walk through the Redwood forest.

The walk through the Founders Grove is a short 0.5 miles, but has access to other trails that branch off from the nature loop. Since the nature loop is so short, and the Founders Grove is one of the more popular Redwood groves, you will probably be sharing the trail will lots of other visitors. If you want to stick to more secluded Redwood groves, Founders may not be the best stop for you.

3. Big Tree Wayside Grove

Eventually the Avenue of Giants comes to an end and merges back onto Highway 101. But you’re in luck, because the Avenue of Giants is not the only scenic route through the Redwoods that California offers. About an hour and a half after joining back with Highway 101 north, you will enter the Redwood National and State Parks. Here, you can exit Highway 101 and take the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, which runs through the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

Aside from being a great state park to camp or see elk, the state park has many great Redwood groves. The Big Tree Wayside should be at the top of your list. As the name suggests, Big Tree is one of the largest Redwoods you’ll see. But the whole walk through the grove is beautiful and worth a stop.

4. Walker Road Redwood Groves

Once you finish driving up the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, it merges back onto Highway 101 again. Just keep heading north through Crescent City. Right on the other side of Crescent City is the Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State Park, the most northerly state park on my list. To access the state park, split off Highway 101 after Crescent City and hop onto Highway 199. Just over a mile down the highway you’ll come to Walker Road, a small winding arm that extends into the Redwood forest.

There are a number of paths you can take from Walker Road, but the largest trailhead is on the right almost as soon as you turn onto the road. From there you can hike the short Simpson-Reed Trail, or extend your hike a little bit with the Pearson Memorial Trail.

What makes the Walker Road Redwood groves really stand out is the massive burls. The biggest and most wacky looking burls I’ve seen are along Walker Road, so at least take a drive down the narrow lane and enjoy the magic of the Redwoods.

5. Stout Grove

In my mind, Stout Grove will always be a playground. That’s because Stout Grove doesn’t just have huge living Redwoods, it also has lots of huge fallen Redwoods and small paths criss-crossing the Redwood grove inside the nature loop.

Stout Grove is also fun because of the route you have to take to get there: Howland Hill Road. Just a few miles down from Walker Road, Howland Hill Road is a gravel route that is one-way in most places, carefully threading its way in between big Redwoods. If you’re not careful you might run into a tree, but it’s a very fun curvy road to drive! The road parallels the Smith River, as well as Highway 199, which runs on the other side of the river.

During the summertime, you can also access Stout Grove from the Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State Park Campground. Located right across the Smith River from Stout Grove, the campground erects a footbridge over the river each summer. You can simply walk down to the river from your campsite, stroll across the bridge, and enter Stout Grove.

As the last big Redwood grove going north, Stout Grove is actually my favorite Redwood grove. However, I admit I’m a bit partial to the grove because of its placement right next to the Smith River. I love being able to camp at Jedidiah Smith (which is probably the best campground in the Redwoods) and walk right across the bridge to grove. I can chill at the riverside, dip my feet in the cool water, or take pictures from the bridge.

What About the Grove of Titans?

You may have noticed that the Grove of Titans is not on my top 5 list. While the grove definitely contains some of the largest Redwoods, a metal grate boardwalk was installed around the trees during recent trail renovations. The grates are in place to protect the forest, but they do diminish the beauty of the grove to some extent. Also, the Grove of Titans itself only contains a few trees, making it a relatively small grove.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a visit! The Mill Creek Trail, which leads to the Grove of Titans, is one of my favorite trails in the Redwoods. The five Redwood groves I’ve listed above are all just short loops under a mile long, so the Mill Creek Trail is perfect if you want to get in a longer hike. Since it follows the Mill Creek, you get the sound of trickling water added to the grandeur of the Redwoods. Even better, the trailhead is just a few miles further up Howland Hill Road from Stout Grove, so you really have no excuse for missing it.

If you have more than a few days in the Redwoods, you can visit a lot more groves than what I have listed here. Take your time, explore the scenic routes, and see as many of the Redwood groves as you can.

For more insight into exploring California, read my post on visiting the Lost Coast.