Creep between weeping walls in FERN CANYON
Your feet will get wet, your car will need washing and you won’t mind. That’s what awaits on the short, scenic hike through Fern Canyon in Humboldt County’s Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.
The Fern Canyon Loop Trail, which neighbors Gold Bluffs Beach, measures barely a mile. But the path takes you up a narrow canyon into primordial greenery between walls that rise 50 to 80 feet on each side. Parts of “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” were shot here 25 years ago, as were parts of the BBC’s “Walking With Dinosaurs.” The walls weep. The fronds drip. Home Creek riffles underfoot. Bring water shoes.
And book it a week or two ahead. In 2022, rangers imposed a May-to-September requirement that hikers reserve permits for their canyon-adjacent parking in advance. (The alternative: Hike into the canyon from the park visitor center, a 10-mile round trip on the James Irvine Trail.)
Also this year, spring and summer hikers in Fern Canyon and the Gold Bluffs Beach area will need to reserve permits up to two weeks in advance, with a limit of 250 reservations per day, thereby easing backups and wear and tear on the narrow, muddy road to the trailhead. The day-use fee is $12 cash at the entrance. No dogs. The second half of the loop hike is a less interesting route through Sitka spruce forest. When done, you might want to do what I did: Hike the wet bit a second time.
BONUS TIP: Leave time to drive the 10-mile-long Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, which is flanked by massive redwoods. It’s free. (Like Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, it’s also part of Redwood National and State Parks.)