California's Best Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

(Dana P.) #1
4 Avenue of the
Giants & Humboldt
Redwoods State Park
The incredible, 32-mile,
two-lane stretch of
highway known as the
Avenue of the Giants
is one of the most
justifiably celebrated
drives in California, and
a place where travelers
stand with jaws agape
and necks craned
upward at the canopy.
The route connects
a number of small
towns with midcentury
motels, diners serving

‘Lumberjack’ meals and
pull-offs parked with
Harleys. Visitors would
be remiss to drive past
the majestic groves
along the Avenue: the
California Federation
of Women’s Clubs
Grove, which is home
to an interesting four-
sided hearth designed
by renowned San
Franciscan architect
Julia Morgan and the
Founders Grove, home to
the 370ft Dyerville Giant,
which was knocked down
in 1991 by another falling
tree.
Much of the Avenue
of the Giants snakes in
and out of Humboldt

Redwoods State Park
(www.humboldtredwoods.org).
At 53,000 acres – 17,000
of which are old-growth


  • it boasts three-quarters
    of the world’s tallest 100
    trees. Tree huggers take
    note: these groves rival
    (and may surpass) those
    in Redwood National
    Park. The 100-plus miles
    of trails can be taken
    on foot, horse or bike
    and range in difficulty
    from the kid-friendly
    Drury-Chaney Loop Trail
    (with berry picking in
    summer) to the rugged
    Grasshopper Peak Trail,
    which climbs to the
    3379ft fire lookout. The
    primeval Rockefeller


TRIP HIGHLIGHT

JOHN HESELTINE / GETTY IMAGES ©

NORTHERN.CALIFORNIA

9


(^) LOST COAST & SOUTHERN REDWOODS

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