Redwoods Day 1

Stout Grove- very large trees!

Our ranger guided hike through Stout Grove

Huge trees we had to go under on our hike

Playing in the river at our campground

We had an uneventful drive here through the Redwoods to the very northern tip of California.  We are staying in a state park called Jedediah Smith State Park.  This park is different from other national parks in that there is a cluster of state parks and national parks all mixed together...an act of congress and lawsuits I am sure.  I don't even think we will visit the actual Redwood National park as it is so far south from us...but this state park is beautiful!  We started off our day at a ranger program at the visitors  center in our campground.  It was about ferns, flowers and fairy rings.  We all learned a lot and the kids got their Jr. ranger badges.  After that we hung around our campsite relaxing, had lunch and then headed out for a ranger guided hike in Stout Grove.  This was a beautiful grove of Coastal Redwood trees, many that have been around for hundreds of years.  After that we hiked a bit more down to the river.  The drive there is called Howland drive and it is a beautiful drive on a one way dirt road that goes through the forrest.  We then headed back to our campground for some river time.  I don't know if we hit a heat spell but the weather was 85 degrees today and we all got on our swimsuits.  The Smith river is very wide and slow moving and we found a sandy beach area where Tim and I could put out the beach chairs while the kids played in the water.  The high point was Megan finding a salamander in the water.  After a few hours we headed to camp for dinner, a bike ride, and then to yet another ranger program which was a campfire talk at the visitors center.  This park is ideal for our family...gorgeous setting of tall trees and ferns, river just a short hike from camp, paved loops for biking, ranger programs for learning, and no hook ups for lots of peace and quiet and privacy.