Northern California's Most Easily Accessible Redwood Grove Is Hiding In Plain Sight At Prairie Creek State Park

Tell me more about the Redwoods of NorCal.

If tackling the Karl Knapp Trail, an easy and accessible hike in NorCal, whet your wanderlust for the redwood forests found all over our region of the state, you'll want to carve out lots of time to explore these forests in full.

There's nothing like the redwoods of NorCal. The first thing you'll notice as you enter Sequoia National Park is how dramatic the rugged landscapes are. The park's 631 square miles are full of looming mountains (including Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the Lower 48), rugged foothills, deep canyons, caverns, and, of course some of the world's largest trees. Within this expanse, Sequoia National Forest quite literally stands out; this 1.1 million-acre forest contains 34 distinct groves and is truly unlike any other place in the world. John Muir, who was known as the Father of National Parks, remarked that the sequoia groves are “not like places, they are like haunts.” Giant Forest is the largest of the 34 groves, with Redwood Mountain Grove and Atwell and East Fork Grove not far behind it. The hiking here is unrivaled, providing visitors the unique opportunity to walk among real-life giants.

Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park is another glorious place to explore. As one of the most wondrous and wild places in the country, its massive size means this treasure is generally not very crowded, either. Within this expanse, there are numerous easy and accessible trails, too. Fern Canyon Trail is one of the most popular treks in the park; it's a mile-long loop trail that features a waterfall and some of the very best forest views!