From a handful of coast redwoods trailing south along Big Sur to a few outliers just north of the Chetco River in southwestern Oregon, the Sequoia sempervirens survives in a narrow northern California coastal band. Of the 1.6 million acres of redwoods in the current range, only about 6 percent is old growth. About 80 percent of the large trees – old growth (virgin forest) and second growth – are protected in public and privately held conservation lands. Some of the most accessible and spectacular deep redwood forests are in Humboldt County – Prairie Creek Redwoods National and State Parks, Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Arcata Community Forest, Headwaters Forest, and the diminutive Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park. This volume includes walks from all six locations beginning with the Redwood National Park and Prairie Creek Redwoods.
Although many of the longer walks are described in Volume 1, I have emphasized interesting shorter walks in and around Redwood National and State Parks in this section. Walks range from the popular Fern Canyon and Lady Bird Johnson hikes to the lesser known, but equally deserving Lyons Ranch trail high in the Bald Hills. There are accessible walks around Elk Prairie and along Prairie Creek and road walks east of Freshwater Lagoon or along the Redwood Creek levees near Orick. There is the relatively new trail to Trillium Falls and another along Streelow Creek. This section begins with several walks near the Del Norte county line.
- Ossagon Trail
- Carruthers Cove
- Hope Creek – Ten Taypo Trail Loop
- Big Tree – Elk Prairie Loop with many options
- Davison Trail
- Streelow Creek Trail
- Trillium Falls Trail
- Fern Canyon
- Lady Bird Johnson Grove
- Tall Trees Grove
- Lyons Ranch Loop (and Schoolhouse Peak Lookout option)
- North and South Side Redwood Creek Levee Walks
- Freshwater Lagoon – Old State Highway
Other options in the area that deserve a short mention – Cal Barrel Road, Moorman Pond Trail, Ah Pah Interpretive Trail
