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Damnation Creek Trail in Redwood National Park is a six-hour drive north of San Francisco if you’re arriving from the south. But it’s a twelve-hour drive if you’re approaching from the north, like we were on a road trip from Vancouver, BC Canada. Located just south of Crescent City, Damnation Creek Trail makes a great hiking stop after clearing the Oregon/California state line. The Damnation Creek Trail in Redwood National Park is our first real glimpse at massive California Redwood trees up close. It became one of our favorite hikes along the northern California coast.
Being from the British Columbia coast, we were not strangers to insanely large trees. But the measure and magnitude of these California natural wonders would leave us speechless.
Redwood National and State Parks
The Redwood National and State Parks is home to 40,000 acres of ancient redwoods. These towering giants are 45% of the world’s last old-growth redwoods. Many trees have been verified as well over 2,000 years old. Contemplate a sapling sprouting during the time of the Roman Empire. That is the opportunity that awaits you as you walk beneath these towering souls, harboring the history of many generations.
Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world, with the highest tree in the park being 380ft, or as tall as a 37-story building. But it’s the girth that is likely to leave you most impressed, with the widest tree being 29ft across. Give that a moment to sink in as you contemplate parking two VW Beetles end to end for perspective. The size is hard to grasp until you pose like a midget with outspread arms at the trunk of a mammoth redwood.
Damnation Creek Trail in Redwood National Park
The Damnation Creek Trail is a 3.9-mile return hike which descends through the dense redwood forest out to the rugged coast line and breath-taking ocean views.
The trailhead parking lot is a small pullout at mile marker 16 on Highway 101. During busy travel months you’re best to arrive early. The trail delivers a 1100-foot elevation drop, which promises considerably more exertion on the return. Take time to get lost in the past with the massive towering redwoods in the thick forest canopy as you get further away from old Highway 101.
Since the Damnation Creek Trail is on a west-facing hill next to the ocean, it can be shrouded in fog from a summer marine layer. Don’t fret though, since this can add to the primeval old-growth atmosphere with golden light shadows peering through the trees, especially late day with a setting sun.
Damnation Creek Trail: out to the ocean
The trail begins with a climb through an exceptional grove of big redwoods, with only a few Douglas-Firs mixed in. The redwoods end around mile 1.5, giving way to a lush and attractive spruce wood with some pretty big spruce trees.
The trail becomes steeper and rougher, and descends into rougher, steeper, and overgrown, and a deep fern-filled canyon and rushing creek and with a nice view of a spruce-covered hillside on the other side of Damnation Creek.
The trail then crosses a deep gully via a precarious bridge, and emerges onto a bluff where the ocean finally comes into view. If you feel the need to touch the Pacific Ocean at this point, the final descent is over a stairway crudely carved into the rock. You’ll find a tiny cove with a narrow, rocky beach at the bottom.
Damnation Creek Trail: Return trip
Admiring the successive waves crashing along the rugged coastline is the reward, before staging your return trip uphill. Remarkably the additional aerobic effort required is easily rewarded with stunning views of the redwoods from a different light angle, and at a different time of day, which seem to get progressively more scenic as you approach the trail head.
Precautions
Redwoods National and State Parks receives up to 100 inches of rain per year. So, although it helps the North Coast grow the tallest trees in world, it also means you should pack along your rain gear just in case.
Hiking boots are great if conditions are wet, but trail runners would suffice, since the trail is well marked and well used. Although the canopy will mostly shade you, be sure to take water, especially since the return hike is all up hill.
Accommodation in Crescent City
Mill Creek Campground is a perfect basecamp for exploring this remote 8-mile long swath of coastline. But there are a number of accommodation options in the Crescent City area if camping is not your style. Check out the map below.
This map provides some suggestions for staying in the Crescent City area while doing the Damnation Creek Trail in Redwood National and State Parks.
Avenue of the Giants – south of Damnation Creek Trail
This famed 31-mile road is easily the most scenic drive among the redwoods, where titan trees line the two-lane country road. The road parallels and intersects Hwy 101. This drive is about two-hours south of Damnation Creek Trail, located in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. It’s definitely worth the drive if you’re heading south already. And frankly even if you’re not, you should change your plans! Fortuna and Eureka are good choices for towns to stay north of Avenue of the Giants.
Accommodation in Eureka and Fortuna
More California road trip reading
Be sure to check out these other California road trip articles:
A Harley Davidson Road Trip Adventure out of San Diego
Spring in Joshua Tree: A blooming good time to visit
Death Valley in the Spring: A two day guide
Resources
Redwood National and State Parks
Visit Redwoods information site: www.visitredwoods.com