California's Best Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

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