Redwood Creek Trail is a 15.6 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Orick, California that features a river and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, camping, and backpacking and is best used from April until October.
Lovely trail along a creek surrounded by redwoods. With a permit, one can camp anywhere along the creek, the only place in the park it's possible to camp outside a campground.
April 15, 2021Mid April-hike: Relatively flat and easy hike, be careful for where the trail started to slide into the creek - new path in progress i think. We crossed Redwood Creek, cold but only up to our knees so very doable if you are ok with getting wet. The sand bars are a nice spot to lay out in the sun and dry off. Its definitely worth it — the trail was relatively busy before the crossing, but we didnt see a soul on the other side of the creek. After that first crossing, it gets a little hilly but not too bad. The woods were stunning and it had some great looking camping spots too.
April 11, 2021About 2 miles in the trail ends. There are bridges that are put in across the river but they have not been installed yet this season. You can cross the river and sand bars but I recommend doing this only if you know where the trail picks back up on the other side.
April 9, 2021There is a swarm of bees on the trail about a half mile in.
April 7, 2021Very lush and green, only made it to first creek crossing, creek current was deep and fast to cross.
March 30, 2021Great trail during anytime of the season
January 20, 2021Great trail BUT the bridge over the creek is CLOSED FOR SEASON. There is no easy way to cross, so you have to stop and go back about 2 miles into the trail.
January 16, 2021Trail was closed at river crossing, otherwise a flat easy to hike trail.
January 16, 2021January 2, 2021December 5, 2020Really beautiful trail! It was well marked and easy to follow, but included a couple stream crossings, so get read to get your feet wet. Tall trees grove is beautiful and worth the extra mile!
December 5, 2020November 28, 2020October 27, 2020October 17, 2020September 26, 2020Beautiful trail in California's coastal rainforest. We backpacked it on the last weekend of September. It rained hard on Friday night, but it was warm and sunny on Saturday and Sunday. The rain brought out thousands of frogs on the trail. We had never seen so many! The summer bridges had been removed, so there were two places where we had to cross the creek with our shoes on (at the 1.5 mile mark and again right before the Tall Trees Grove). On our first day we covered 12 miles. We hiked in 4 miles and set up our tents on a gravel bar near a swimming hole. We then hiked the remaining 4 miles to see the Tall Trees Grove and another 4 miles back to our campsite. On the second day, we swam and then hiked back 4 miles to the trailhead. Note that you will see a lot of ancient redwoods all throughout the hike, thus visiting the Tall Trees Grove at the end is not a must. However, the Grove has ancient redwoods at a higher density than on the main trail and is truly awe inspiring!
September 26, 2020Would have been a 5 if we had water shoes. They took down the bridges 3 or 4 days ago. If you’re prepared, it’s a beautiful trail.
September 7, 2020September 5, 2020September 2, 2020We went 3 miles in and 3 miles out. Flat trail and pretty. A good recovery hike if you had long and more strenuous hikes the day before.
August 31, 2020July 24, 2020July 8, 2020The intro to the creek is a bit long and I got lost a couple of times trying to find the trail. You’ll need to cross and walk along the creek. I found a place by the creek right after passing the bridge to the first camp and had a stop. It’s about 3 miles in. Step into the water! It was so peaceful. Recommend not immediately turning around when you see the creek!
June 27, 2020There are several things you need to know about this hike: 1, It's blissfully flat, for large sections of the walk. (Until you get to the death-defying 5 Mile mark... Then, it gets gruesome, really fast. We decided to stop at the Bond Creek, and go swimming. (There's a nice swimming hole with shade trees) :) 2, The trail is very wide. Almost Manicured. The path has crushed gravel strewn along the way, and it is clear that the Forest Service does and excellent job at maintaining the trail. (Thank you Park Service!) 3, Traffic Noise. You need to be at least 1-1.5 miles in, before you stop hearing traffic noise. Because of easy accessibility, I was -pleasantly surprised- at how few people were on the trail. Once you get past the 2nd mile, it's paradise :) Absolute serenity, next to the Redwood Creek... Not a single human-made noise. It was magnificent. 4, Trees, and Berries This trail boasts an astonishing number of "Bear Scent Marking" trees. There are roughly 3+ miles of berry patches alongside this trail. (Wild Blackberry, Wild Raspberry, Thimble Berry, and Salmon Berry were all visible. We were about a week too early in the season and did not get to enjoy the harvest, but the bears didn't seem to care. They were gorging themselves on unripe berries, and leaving scat everywhere to prove it) (We did not see any bears). The Bear Scratching Posts are very obvious, around 3 miles in. (Berries will be ripe in roughly a week.) Because this trail follows the creek, you see a LOT of towering Maples and some astonishingly tall Douglas Fir. Look for an 8-Ft at the Base, Doug Fir... It's amazing. There are several groves of these, and while I was hoping to see Redwoods (spare Redwoods), I thoroughly enjoyed the Doug Firs. I rated this trail a 3 star. It's pleasant and visually enjoyable. There was no real challenge or terrain variation. Because you are following the creek bed, it does give you an unobstructed view of Redwoods and their scale against the Maples in the foreground. It's quite pleasant. *** Special Note. Take time to swim in the creek :) :) :) It's wonderful. This is my 4th time swimming in Redwood Creek, and I highly encourage it. *** One more Special Note. You will cross 2 bridges (they are in place), but there should probably be a 3rd bridge. The water in that last section was about 8 inched his, and my wife did get her boots wet in one spot. I think on a different day, with different water levels, (later in the summer) this would not have been a problem. Enjoy :)
August 28, 2019A long one but doable because it’s mostly flat. Beautiful old growth redwoods and maples line the path. Amazing swimming hole just after the 5 mile mark if you are willing to do a bit of scrambling down the hill.
August 26, 2019Awesome trail! Definitely recommend camping along the creek. My buddy and I [regrettably] forgot the bug spray and paid the price. Tons of mosquitoes on the trail but didn’t see one when on the creek-bed. In terms of sites, there are some good campsites along the creek ~5 miles in. We camped elsewhere but noticed those are a couple good ones. 10/10 recommend as long as you remember the spray!
August 26, 2019Hiked only half of this since it started getting a bit repetitive around mid way point , but it was a beautiful trail! Saw a lot of banana slugs and ate about 6 handfuls of wild blackberries. At around the 2 mile mark , look for the berries on the sides of the trail , they went on for about a mile. Really nice views out in the creek too.
