Pick your adventure
Turn one way for giant trees, the other for sea stacks. The Smith River is basically in the yard. Pick a day, then check the official page — trails, tides, and helicopters all change their minds.
Hero photo: CC BY-SA 4.0 — Dwatsonfam
Four parks, one forest
Redwood National and State Parks is run together by the National Park Service and California State Parks. It is a World Heritage Site and a biosphere reserve, and it protects about 45% of California’s remaining old-growth coast redwoods.
Renowned for the world’s tallest trees… landscapes span from open prairies and oak woodlands to pristine rivers and untamed coastline.
NPS homepage
About 10,000 acres · 9 miles east
Old-growth redwoods about 9 miles east of Crescent City on Highway 199. Stout Grove, Grove of Titans, and Boy Scout Tree Trail are all on Howland Hill Road. Simpson-Reed and the Hiouchi Trail are in here too, and the Smith River runs through.
CC BY-SA 3.0 — Chmee2
State park page
About 6,400 acres · since 1929
Set aside around 1929. About half is old-growth coast redwood, with roughly 8 miles of wild shoreline. Damnation Creek Trail drops through the forest to that coast. Most of the shore is steep, so you reach it on foot.
CC BY 2.0 — Katie Thebeau
State park page
About 25 miles south of Crescent City
About 50 miles north of Eureka and 25 miles south of Crescent City. This is the Fern Canyon, Roosevelt elk meadow, and Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway part of the day.
CC BY-SA 2.0 — Ken Lund
State park page
Tall Trees, Lady Bird, Enderts Beach
The national park side of the partnership. Tall Trees Grove, Lady Bird Johnson Grove, and the Enderts Beach coast sit with the state parks under one visitor plan.
Public domain — National Park Service
NPS park homePrint this, don’t trust the pin
The first map runs from the Oregon line and Brookings down to Eureka. The gold pin is Arky's B&B. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, with Stout Grove and Hiouchi, is about a 30-minute drive on US-101, CA-197, and US-199. Drive minutes start here. After this map, the public-domain park maps. NPS says a lot of commercial GPS is unreliable under the trees, so open an official JPEG or PDF before you go.
Public domain — National Park Service. North district, from Klamath north, including Jedediah Smith and Del Norte.
Public domain — National Park Service. Full park overview.
Public domain — National Park Service. South district.
Hand-picked walks
Mileage and difficulty follow the NPS trail pages. Seasonal bridges, downed trees, and permits change — check Current Conditions before you lace up.
Nothing in that filter. Try another chip, or add a trail that uses this match word.
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
On Howland Hill Road — often called the heart of Jedediah Smith. In 1929 Clara Stout gave about 44 acres in memory of her husband. The loop passes huge redwoods whose flared bases sit partly buried in Smith River flood silt, with sword ferns underfoot and a short spur to the bank.
CC BY-SA 3.0 — Chmee2
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
A newer trail on Howland Hill Road, between Stout Grove and the Boy Scout Tree Trail. We love this one — an elevated boardwalk leads through a grove of huge, strangely shaped redwoods. Stay on the boardwalk so we all keep protecting the forest floor.
Stand-in photo until we have a Grove of Titans boardwalk shot. This frame is from nearby Howland Hill Road.
Public domain — Grogan, Brian (HAER). Stand-in from Howland Hill Road
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Also on Howland Hill Road. Give it at least half a day. It goes deep into old growth and ends at Fern Falls. Around 2.5 miles an easy-to-miss spur reaches the double-trunk Boy Scout Tree. NPS warns this trailhead sees a lot of theft. As of August 2026 a downed tree near 1.75 miles could be scrambled over — that changes, so check Current Conditions.
CC BY 2.0 — Chris Rycroft
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
The classic drive-through-the-giants. About 10 miles one way and about 45 minutes, mostly unpaved. RVs, trailers, and big rigs do not fit. Stout Grove, Grove of Titans, and Boy Scout Tree trailheads are along it.
Historic HAER photo of Howland Hill Road, not a current road shot.
Public domain — Grogan, Brian (HAER)
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
A family walk under redwoods more than a thousand years old. Creeks and fallen logs make little stair-steps and pools. Current Conditions listed it Open when this page was drafted.
Stand-in photo: this is Stout Memorial Grove, not a labeled Simpson-Reed view. Swap it when you have a trail photo.
CC BY-SA 3.0 — Chmee2. Stand-in from Stout Grove
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Follows the clear Smith River, mixing riverbank forest with old-growth redwood. Rangers and visitors both like this one.
River photo from Smith River National Recreation Area, not taken on the Hiouchi Trail itself.
CC0 — Z3lvs
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
From old-growth redwood down to a rocky Pacific shore, about a 16% grade. Go at a low tide if you want tide pools, and leave the animals alone. NPS also warns about theft at the trailhead.
CC BY 2.0 — Katie Thebeau
Redwood National Park
A short walk to tide pools, with signs about how the coastal forest hangs on. Also a good spot to watch the ocean and look for whales. The last stretch is the Coastal Trail’s Last Chance / Enderts section.
Historic HAER view of Enderts Beach Road, with the beach off to the side.
Public domain — Grogan, Brian (HAER)
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
Fern walls about 30 feet high. You may get wet feet any time of year, and you may climb over or under fallen logs. A seasonal bridge is up in summer. Davison Road limits vehicle length and width, and trailers are not allowed. A summer permit or vehicle reservation is required. Check the official park site for the current dates.
CC BY-SA 2.0 — Ken Lund
Redwood National Park
The first 1.5 miles drop about 800 feet. A free online permit is required all year for parking and the access road. With the drive, plan on at least 4 hours. No RVs over 21 feet and no trailers.
Public domain — Redwood National and State Parks
Redwood National Park
A gentle loop near where the national park was dedicated. Rhododendrons show up in spring, and maple color in fall.
Generic Redwood National Park photo, not labeled as the Lady Bird Johnson Grove trail. Prefer an NPS photo when you have one.
Public domain — NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Brookings, then the cliffs
Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor is about 12 miles of Highway 101 between Brookings and Gold Beach, tying together about 18 miles of the Oregon Coast Trail. Hike the whole thing, or hop stop to stop.
Cliffs, tucked beaches, sea stacks. Gray whales pass in winter and spring along the Pacific Flyway. Harris Beach management unit: 541-469-0224. Oregon State Parks: 800-551-6949.
The state brochure flags tides, cliffs, and sneaker waves. Read it before you scramble down anything.
Short paved path
A short paved walk to a viewpoint of sea stacks and islands strung along the shore.
CC BY 2.0 — Rick McCharles
One of the best views
A short trail to seven rock arches and blowholes, plus a memorial to Samuel Dicken, who imagined the Oregon Coast Trail.
CC BY 3.0 — regstrat
Beach or overlook
The north picnic area has a flatter gravel path down to the beach. The south viewpoint is a steeper drop.
CC BY 4.0 — Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives
Named for the first parks chief
A memorial to Samuel H. Boardman, the first Oregon State Parks superintendent. Between here and Cape Ferrelo is about 4 miles of cliff-top trail, with spurs down to hidden beaches.
Stand-in: a Boardman corridor coast photo, not a shot labeled House Rock Viewpoint.
CC BY 2.0 — Rick McCharles
About a 1-mile loop
A loop out to the headland. People come for sunset, and for gray whales in fall and spring.
Corridor view. The photo is not labeled specifically as the Cape Ferrelo overlook.
CC BY-SA 2.0 — Dougtone
Local nickname
Not a name on the official highlight list. It is a beach you hike down to inside the corridor. Use the official map and the tide, and watch the cliffs and big waves.
Local nickname. Follow the official map, not just the sign in someone’s caption.
CC BY 2.0 — Oregon Department of Transportation
CC0 — Z3lvs. Smith River National Recreation Area.
CC BY-SA 3.0 — PGHolbrook
CC BY-SA 3.0 — BigT67. Low-resolution reference photo of the river mouth.
The river is the neighbor
The Smith is one of California’s longest undammed mainstem river systems, and a National Wild and Scenic River. Jedediah Smith campground and day-use area make an easy river base. Business photos stay on their own sites.
Also called Chetco Smith River Kayaks. The company says it has been at it since 1996: self-guided rentals with shuttle, gear, and route notes. Trips they describe include the estuary, redwood stretches, a Jedediah Smith Campground put-in, and the Chetco in Brookings. Season and timing are by arrangement.
The old B&B page spelled this “Kayaka.” The site now says Kayaks.
See Smith River KayaksIn Hiouchi. Half-day single or tandem kayak rentals with a shuttle. The default stretch they describe is Redwoods by River.
Kayak rentalsSummer trips depend on water and staffing. They start at Jedediah Smith Day Use and cover about 3 miles of Class I–II, with age and weight limits. The 2025 page said trips stopped after July 31 for low water and signed off until next year. Whether 2026 runs is a question for that page.
Confirm the current season before you promise anyone a ranger in a kayak.
Ranger kayak pageAfter our breakfast
We cook breakfast here. For dinner, these are the places we recommend nearby — one in Brookings, one on the Crescent City harbor, and one closest to us.
Our Brookings dinner pick. This family-owned neighborhood bistro serves seasonal, chef-driven cooking with a strong Italian influence. We send guests here when they want a sit-down meal in town.
Black Trumpet Bistro
Our Crescent City harbor pick. Chart Room sits on the waterfront at the harbor — a classic seafood spot with views over the boats. We recommend it when you want dinner by the water.
Closest to us. House of Howonquet is the full restaurant at Lucky 7 Casino & Hotel in Smith River — a large dining room with classic American breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When we are tired and do not want the drive up to Brookings, this is where we go.
Lucky 7 diningBrookings and Crescent City both have many other restaurants in different styles. We suggest checking Google Maps or Yelp for what fits your night.
Brookings Harbor
Ocean fishing out of Brookings Harbor is a real day trip from here — rent a seat on a charter, not just stare at the water. The Port of Brookings-Harbor sits at the mouth of the Chetco River in Brookings / Harbor, Oregon, roughly a half hour north of us. The port’s own pages call the area a fisherman’s paradise, with ocean fishing available most of the year and guide services and charters most of the year too. Boats commonly target rockfish (snapper), lingcod, Chinook and coho salmon when those seasons are open, plus halibut, albacore, and crab when the year allows. Seasons and fish lists below are the companies’ and the port’s public descriptions — not a promise you will catch them. Catch rules follow ODFW for that year.
CC BY-SA 3.0 — Lsuff. Deep-sea fishing, Gulf of Mexico (2004).
Book ahead when you can; popular days fill, and captains cancel when the bar or ocean is unsafe — even if the beach looks calm. Bring a valid Oregon fishing license, and any salmon or halibut tag the trip needs. Some boats sell day licenses at the harbor. Always recheck that year’s ODFW rules before you go.
Daily charters from the Port of Brookings, with bait and tackle included on their trips. They describe a year-round local fleet — custom six-pack boats plus a larger party boat — and a booking office on Lower Harbor Road. Their public pages focus on ocean king salmon, light-tackle lingcod and rockfish, and halibut when that season is open.
They describe ocean Chinook from early May to Labor Day, plus about two weeks of trophy fish at the Chetco mouth in October; lingcod on the shallow spawn in March–May; rockfish year-round; halibut when the season is open; crab too. Treat that as their typical-year description, then check ODFW before you book.
Brookings Fishing ChartersAlso on Lower Harbor Road at the Port of Brookings-Harbor. Their site calls them a family-run charter service since 1975, with U.S. Coast Guard–inspected vessels and 100-ton Master captains. Trip types on their rates page include half-day bottom fishing for rockfish and lingcod, salmon, salmon-plus-bottom combos, and albacore when the fish are close enough to run.
Bottom fish, salmon, combo, and late-summer albacore are the trip types on their rates page. Open days still follow the year’s regulations — not a fixed calendar we control.
Trips and ratesMore charter and guide boats leave from the same harbor — the City of Brookings and the Port of Brookings-Harbor list several publicly. Other public pages also mention Wild Rivers Fishing and Crescent City’s Steve Huber, who also runs Brookings and Gold Beach. Don’t assume they are the same company.
Two lighthouses, two moods
Battery Point is a walk at low tide. St. George Reef is a helicopter, and only when the weather behaves. Tour days move. Check the group that actually runs the trip.
Run by the St. George Reef Lighthouse Preservation Society, a 501(c)(3). The tower stands about 6–8 miles off Crescent City on Northwest Seal Rock, the Dragon Rocks. You only get there by helicopter, and fog and wind cancel plans. The 1865 Brother Jonathan shipwreck pushed the project. Construction ran about 1881 to 1891, it was first lit on October 20, 1892, and the Coast Guard left the station in 1975. The Fresnel lens is with the Del Norte Historical Society.
The helicopter tour schedule may change. Check the Preservation Society site for current tour days.
Fog and wind cancel flights. Don’t treat an old posted month as a promise — the society site is the schedule.
CC BY-SA 4.0 — Raquel Baranow
At the end of Lighthouse Way in Crescent City. It sits on a tide island, so you walk out only at low tide. First lit December 10, 1856. The tower and museum are open for visits when the tide allows.
April–September, daily 10am–4pm. October–March, weekends 10am–4pm. Always tide permitting.
If the tide is in, the island is not a suggestion. Come back when the path is dry.
CC BY-SA 3.0 — Mixologistmike
Fly closer
Drive times are OSRM estimates to 181 Salmon Harbor Road, Smith River, checked for this page on November 5, 2026. Traffic and road work win. Use the live map link.
CEC
Airlines. Advanced Air (Essential Air Service)
Oakland (OAK), daily round trip. Hawthorne (HHR) in the Los Angeles area is mostly Thursday and Sunday, with seasonal adds and cuts, plus a reserved free LAX shuttle. Avis and Budget are on site, and the airport says parking is free.
About 18.2 miles · About 29 min
29Schedule read from the airport site and Advanced Air’s Crescent City page, from an October 2026 timetable.
ACV
Airlines. United, Breeze, Alaska
The airport site lists nonstop Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Burbank, Las Vegas, Seattle, and Provo. Address: 3561 Boeing Ave., McKinleyville, CA 95519. Phone 707-839-5401.
About 86.3 miles · About 119 min
119This follows the flyacv.com summary. Individual airline timetables were not checked flight by flight.
MFR
Airlines. Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, United
The airport’s direct-flight table lists Phoenix; Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, and San Diego; Seattle and Salt Lake City; San Francisco and Denver; Las Vegas and Santa Ana (Orange County).
About 114.1 miles · About 2 hr 40 min
160Mostly mountain highway. Recheck the winter schedule on the airport site.
Before you vanish into the trees
Check NPS Current Conditions before a trail day. Downed trees, seasonal bridges, and closures move.
Fern Canyon needs a summer permit or vehicle reservation. Check the official park site for the current dates. Davison Road limits vehicle size and does not allow trailers.
Boy Scout Tree Trail had a downed tree near 1.75 miles as of August 2026. Recheck before you count on a clear path.
Don’t leave valuables in the car at trailheads. NPS calls out theft at Boy Scout Tree and Damnation Creek.
Tall Trees needs a free permit all year for parking and the locked access road. No RVs over 21 feet and no trailers.
Boardman stops include cliffs and sneaker-wave beaches. Use the Oregon State Parks brochure and the tide.
The St. George Reef helicopter tour schedule may change, and weather can cancel the flight. Check the Preservation Society site before you plan on it.
Ranger kayak trips are a summer maybe. The 2025 page closed the season early. Ask the NPS page about 2026.
Charter seasons and target fish are company and port descriptions. ODFW rules, ocean conditions, and the actual bite are separate things.
Airport drive times are estimates, not a promise. Open the live map the morning you land.
Every photo on this page is public domain or a Creative Commons image. Charter and kayak company photos are not used here — follow the buttons to their sites.
