Adventures from California’s Redwood Coast to Southern Oregon
California’s famous shoreline assumes a variety of names as it winds its way from the sunny south to the forest-dotted north. But whatever you call the region that straddles the CaliforniaOregon border, where the Redwood Coast meets Oregon’s shore, this remote stretch offers a spectacular escape from civilization.
Redwood-shaded hiking trails wind across expansive state and national parks. The Pacific unfurls over deserted beaches. And just offshore, fantastical sea stacks capture the imagination, remnants of a bygone age.
Highway 101 becomes a winding, bucolic byway out here, hugging the shore for the grandest of road trips. Here are eight must-see stops along the way, beginning on Oregon’s southernmost coast and winding down.
You’ve seen the images on Instagram – dramatic sea stacks, improbably topped by trees, rising from the surging, nearly turquoise surf. This otherworldly seascape was formed by ancient lava flows, eroded over millions of years into these towering rocks and islets.
Some 2,000 of them dot the Southern Oregon coast, but the most spectacular are clustered along the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, a 12-mile stretch of stunning scenery along Highway 101. It’s named for Oregon State Parks’ first superintendent, who suggested creating a national park along this coastline in the 1940s.
The corridor offers a dozen or so pullouts that make it easy to hike these trails, drink in the views and enjoy some of the loveliest picnic spots imaginable. Some sites, such as Secret Beach and Whaleshead, have easy beach access. (Just beware of sneaker waves.) But the most extraordinary view is at Natural Bridges, named for its seven stunning arch rocks and blowholes. If you make only one stop, this is the one.
Just make sure you stick to the actual, designated trails. The cliffside ecosystem is fragile, the edges eroded – that’s how we got this incredible scene, after all – and some places are exceedingly steep and slippery.
Details: The scenic corridor begins just north of Brookings, Oregon. Pull-outs are well marked and several offer picnic tables and vault toilets. The Natural Bridges pull-out is 1.8 miles north of the Thomas Creek Bridge. Find maps and details at ttps://stateparks.oregon.gov. Grab picnic fare at the
Railroad Street Market & Deli, 534 Railroad St. in Brookings.
The small fishing town of Port Orford, which lies about 30 miles north of the Boardman scenic corridor, is known for its “dolly dock,” one of just two in the country, where you can watch the town’s fishing fleet – 30 boats – lowered into the water by crane each day.
Trace the town’s maritime history at the Lifeboat Station Museum at Port Orford Heads State Park, where the interpretive exhibits include one of the 36-foot lifeboats used by U.S. Coast Guard “surfmen” to rescue shipwrecked sailors from 1934 to 1970. A signal from the Heads lookout tower sent surfmen racing down the 280-foot cliffs of Nellies Cove to reach the boathouse and set out to sea. You can still see traces of that steep cliffside stairway from the park’s Cove Trail. The boathouse is long gone, but pilings remain, along with remnants of the rails used to launch the boats.
Browse the museum, hike the trails – the Tower Trail takes you to the site of the long-ago observation tower – then check out the town’s art galleries and murals. When hunger pangs hit, head for the much-loved Crazy Norwegian on the main drag for chowder and fish and chips.
Details: The Lifeboat Station Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily (closed Tuesday) from May to September; stateparks.oregon.gov/, capeblancoheritagesociety.com. Find details about the town’s murals and galleries at portorfordartscouncil.org. The Crazy Norwegian’s Fish & Chips is open from noon to 7 p.m. WednesdaySunday at 259 Sixth St. in Port Orford.
It’s not often you run across a place like this, an eco-friendly bed and breakfast that sits on five forested acres and feels more like a serene retreat for Middle Earth elves than an inn. The art-filled grounds include a seven-circuit labyrinth, a slatetiled hot tub offers ocean views and five charming, shingled cottages with names like “Earthsea” are tucked among the trees. And once you settle into your cozy, antique-filled cabin, you won’t want to go anywhere except, perhaps, for a soak under a starry sky.
Details: WildSpring Guest Habitat cottage rates vary by season, $298 to $338 in April and May, for example, and $338 to $368 from June through September, with a two-night minimum. 92978 Cemetery Loop, Port Orford, Oregon; www.wildspring.com
Beaches, tide pools and a lighthouse await in this small city just south of the Oregon border. The seafront here is striking, with huge gray rocks and crumbled sea stacks scattered across the water, like some gigantic game of marbles. At low tide, grab some tennies or rugged water shoes and head for Crescent City’s Pebble
Beach or Enderts Beach, three miles south in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. Or head out to Battery Point Lighthouse, where you can see barnacles, crabs and other sea life on the rocky walk out to the tidal island.
Built in 1856, the Cape Codstyle lighthouse is accessible only at low tide. Check out the exhibits, take the tour and hear the tale of the 1964 tsunami that swept across the city and stranded the lighthouse keepers in the tower.
Afterward, grab a bite at SeaQuake Brewing, where a Battery Point blonde ale or Fogline hazy pairs nicely with locally caught fish, bacon-topped burgers and inventive, brick-oven pizzas.
Details: Battery Point Lighthouse is open at low tide daily between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 235 Lighthouse Way in Crescent City, https://delnortehistory.org/battery-point-lighthouse/. SeaQuake Brewing is open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily and until 9 p.m. FridaySaturday at 400 Front St.; www.seaquakebrewing.com.
This national park is really a quartet of parks that includes Redwood, Prairie Creek Redwoods, Jedediah Smith Redwoods and Del Norte Coast Redwoods. It’s a 139,000-acre collaboration between the federal and state park systems that includes a multitude of glorious trails. If challenging, backcountry hikes are your thing, you’ll certainly find them here. But there are plenty of easy, familyfriendly trails too, including some that are ADA accessible.
At Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, east of Crescent City, the beautiful, familyfriendly Stout Memorial Grove trail (0.5 miles) runs along the Smith River, where you can picnic and splash on a cobbled beach. Seasoned hikers should allow a half day to hike the park’s Boy Scout Tree trail (5.5 miles) to Fern Falls. (Just note that you’ll be entering the park via Howland Hill Road, a former stagecoach trail that has retained all its narrow, twisty, dirt road qualities. Don’t attempt it with an RV or trailer.)
Looking for an ADA-accessible trail? The Karl Knapp Trail (2.5 miles) at Prairie Creek Redwoods, near Klamath, takes you past some of the tallest redwoods on the planet.
Details: All four parks are free, but some areas and parking lots have day-use fees. Cell signal is spotty; carry paper maps or download maps to your phone and carry plenty of water and snacks. Find hiking maps and trail suggestions at park visitor centers and at www.nps.gov/redw/.
Whether you’re an outdoorsy type who likes a little splashy adventure or a cinephile with a penchant for velociraptors, this canyon at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is irresistible.
It’s an incredible, timeless place filled with green fronds of every shade. Rivulets and waterfalls spill down the sides. Creekwater splashes at your feet, and the blue sky is only faintly visible high above. And if you saw Steven Spielberg’s “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” you may remember the dinosaur attack that unfolded in the deep shade of the towering, fern-covered canyon walls.
It’s an adventure getting here, even without carnivorous theropods. It’s a 9-mile hike on the James Irvine Trail – or an adventurous drive to the Fern Canyon parking lot that includes a 7.5mile, winding, single-lane dirt road with two stream crossings. (RVs and low-slung sports cars need not apply.) Once there, the 1-mile loop trail runs through a creek bed, so you will get wet. Wear water shoes with grippy tread even at the height of summer, when park rangers place temporary footbridges – wooden planks – over some of the deeper spots.
But it’s a bucket list experience – breathtaking and beautiful. And if you’re better at rolling up your cuffs than we are, you only need change shoes, not pants, back at the car. Then head to Gold Bluffs Beach for a picnic or wind your way back over the steep access road to enjoy the rest of the park.
Details: Access to the park is free, but there’s a $12 day-use fee (cash, checks only) for the Fern Canyon and Gold Bluffs area. If you’re here at peak season (May 15 to Sept. 15), you’ll need to reserve a free, timed parking permit in advance at https://redwoodparksconservancy.org. The Fern Canyon parking area has vault toilets, picnic tables and beach access. Find more information at www.nps.gov/redw/.