Forest, 4.5 miles west
of the Avenue via
Mattole Rd, is one of
the park’s most pristine
stands. It’s the world’s
largest contiguous old-
growth redwood forest,
containing about 20% of
all such remaining trees.
54 p121
The Drive » From the Avenue
of the Giants, follow signs to the
groves in the park. You’ll pass a
number of small villages along
the way, which are a ramshackle
collection of midcentury tourist
traps, woodsy lodges and huge
stands of trees. Avenue of the
Giants ends at Hwy 101. Drive 22
miles north to Scotia.
Scotia was the last lumber company town operating
in California and perhaps the American West. Most
company towns have a hard workin’ look, but Scotia
is handsome and well built, with green lawns and
homes from the 1890s. It even has its own style of
architecture – I call it Tyrolean Redwood style. Look
at the columns, the porticos and the porches of
the stores and shopping center; they’re redwood
logs with the bark still clinging to them. That bark is
so deeply furrowed it looks like the flutes of Greek
columns. The builders left the redwood unpainted so
you can appreciate its beauty. It is said that walking
into a grove of ancient redwoods is like walking into
Nature’s Cathedral. When it comes to redwood, the
result is extremely beautiful whether built by the
hand of God or the hand of Man.
Ray Hillman, historian, teacher and tour narratorSCOTIA ARCHITECTURE
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE:
Avenue of the Giants, Humboldt Redwoods State Park