Humboldt Redwoods State Park · California
Thirty-one milesof very old trees
A free scenic road that runs beside Highway 101 through the largest old-growth redwood forest left on earth. Here's every stop on it, in the order you'll actually reach them.
- Length
- 31 miles
- Road
- State Route 254
- Cost
- Free, no permit
- Time
- 1 hr — all day
Start here
What it actually is
The Avenue is an old road, not an attraction. It was built as a stagecoach and wagon route in the 1880s, and when Highway 101 was rebuilt alongside it, the old road stayed put — running through the trees instead of around them.
It winds through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which covers about 53,000 acres and holds roughly 17,000 acres of old-growth coast redwood. That includes Rockefeller Forest, the largest unbroken stretch of old-growth redwood anywhere in the world.
You can join or leave it at several points, so it's easy to drive part of it. There's no entrance station, no fee, and no reservation.
The two ends
South entrance: US-101 exit 645, near Sylvandale and Phillipsville. The first marked stop is a mile and a half in.
North entrance: US-101 exit 674, near Pepperwood.
The whole road
Every stop, in order
Tap the direction you're driving. Everything below reorders to match your windshield.
North entrance — Pepperwood
US-101 exit 674. Coming down from Crescent City, Trinidad, or Eureka, this is where you leave the freeway.
Drury-Chaney Grove
A 2.4-mile loop on flat, accessible tread through a forest floor carpeted in redwood sorrel. Widely considered the best nature trail in the park, and quiet compared to what's ahead. You can walk five minutes of it and still feel like you got the point.
Immortal Tree — Redcrest
A roadside veteran that has survived fire, flood, logging, and a lightning strike that took its top off. Carved markers on the trunk show the high-water lines. Two minutes from the car.
Eternal Treehouse
A hollow living redwood you can step inside — the cavity was burned out by fire centuries ago and the tree kept growing. Pure roadside Americana, and genuinely fun with kids.
Rockefeller Forest & Bull Creek
West off the Avenue on Mattole Road, in the Bull Creek basin. Ten thousand acres — the largest continuous old-growth redwood forest on the planet. The Rockefeller Loop is an easy 0.6 miles and sees a fraction of the traffic that Founders Grove does, for arguably better trees. Worth the extra miles: the Big Trees Day Use Area further along holds the Giant Tree and the fallen Flatiron Tree.
Founders Grove
The one everybody comes for, and it earns it. A half-mile self-guided loop past the Founders Tree and along the Dyerville Giant — a 362-foot redwood that came down in 1991 and now lies across the forest floor. Walking its full length does more to convey the scale of these trees than standing at the base of a live one.
Dyerville Lookout
A rest stop with picnic tables where the South Fork meets the main Eel. Dyerville was a stagecoach stop and shipping point until the 1955 flood took the town off the map.
Mahan Grove
A 0.6-mile loop to a plaque honoring Laura and James Mahan, who in 1924 stopped this grove and Rockefeller Forest from being logged. Quieter than Founders, and connected to it by trail if you'd rather walk than drive between them.
Weott
A small town on the road. Not a destination, but useful to know it's here.
Humboldt Redwoods Visitor Center
About two miles south of Weott, at Burlington. Rangers here have current trail conditions and road closures after storms — worth five minutes even if you think you have a plan. Inside, the Redwood Log of History is a cross-section of a trunk with its rings labeled by what was happening in the world when each one grew.
Federation of Women's Clubs Grove
The hearthstone here — a four-sided stone fireplace beside the river — was designed by Julia Morgan, the architect of Hearst Castle. There's a swimming hole in the South Fork of the Eel right next to it. On a hot day this is the best stop on the road and most people drive straight past it.
Williams Grove
Day-use area with river access, picnic tables, and room to spread out. The practical lunch stop if Founders Grove is packed.
Shrine Drive-Thru Tree — Myers Flat
One of three drive-thru trees in Northern California, and the only one on the Avenue. Small fee, unapologetically a tourist trap, and the photo is the point. Measure your vehicle first — this is not an RV move.
Miranda
Small town with a market and a place or two to eat. Between here and Myers Flat is where you'll find most of the Avenue's food.
Bolling Grove
One of the first groves ever protected here, and a good opening act if you're driving up from the south. Big trees, short walk, few people.
Chimney Tree — Phillipsville
A hollow redwood burned through top to bottom, still alive, open to the sky like a chimney. Stand inside and look straight up.
Franklin K. Lane Grove
Auto Tour Stop #1 in the official brochure — a mile and a half from the south entrance. If you're driving south to north, this is your first stop; if you're heading the other way, it's your last.
South entrance — Phillipsville
US-101 exit 645, near Sylvandale. Coming up from the Bay Area or Garberville, start here.
Auto Tour brochures are available free at both ends of the road. The posted signs sit roughly 200 feet before each stop, so don't brake the moment you see one.
Before you go
The questions people actually ask
The confusion
This is not Redwood National Park
It's the single most common mix-up in Northern California travel planning, and it costs people whole days of driving.
Avenue of the Giants runs through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, in southern Humboldt County. It has the largest old-growth grove in the world and the most accessible big trees anywhere.
Redwood National and State Parks are a different set of parks, more than two hours further north — Prairie Creek, Fern Canyon, Lady Bird Johnson Grove, the Roosevelt elk herds, and the coastline near Orick and Klamath.
Both are worth seeing. Neither is a day trip from the other. If you want both, plan two bases — one down here, one up near Trinidad or Arcata — rather than four hours of driving in the middle of your trip.
Where to stay
Use Shelter Cove as your base
Shelter Cove puts you 30 miles from the Avenue of the Giants — close enough for a full day trip, far enough to have the Lost Coast all to yourself.
Check dates
Or browse all houses and dates on our booking site →
Our houses
BlackSands
Steps from Black Sands Beach with ocean views, a hot tub, and room for a group. The perfect base for the Avenue, the Lost Coast Trail, and everything in between.
The Hobbit House
Tucked into the trees, built for a group, and minutes from the black sand beach.