California`s Redwood Highway Winds Through a Land of Giants

ROUTE 66 Road Trip
By Elaine Beebe Lapriore
REDWOOD RAMB
California’s Redwood Highway
Winds Through a Land of Giants
Beneath a towering
canopy, visitors to
California’s redwood
country connect with
nature at every
neck-craning turn,
from the lush
tree-studded
landscape to the
rich local bounty.
Photo courtesy of the Humboldt
County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
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Vol.1 / No. 2
wo
BLE
W
here giants rule the
earth, the second
most striking thing
is the calm. The
most remarkable
thing is, of course, the incomparable
glory of the world’s tallest trees,
some more than 300 feet high and
more than 2,000 years old.
But the ancient hush of the
forest lures you in its own way.
It envelops you, beckons you to
hike into its wonders or to stroll
along its loamy floor: to inhale its
essence, gazing upward in awe.
A trip to California’s Redwood
Coast is to bathe in nature. “It
revitalizes your soul,” says
Sandy Ingraham, a lawyer
from McLoud, Okla., traveling in a 19-foot Roadtrek 190
motorhome. “We’ve come out
here once a year for the past
20 years.”
Sandy’s travel partner, Nina
Rowland, agrees. “A friend
once told me that coming
to the redwood country
would make me feel totally
insignificant. I think it’s the
opposite. We were standing in the redwood forest
and I felt totally significant. Totally alive. Totally
inspired.”
In far northwestern
California, nature’s bounty extends beyond the
world’s tallest trees; it
permeates the lifestyle.
Hiking, fishing, birding
wonder
and surfing are
popular pastimes, and local
foods draw
heavily on the
land: produce,
from berries
to hazelnuts to
mushrooms.
Seafood, especially oysters and salmon. Artisan
breads and cheeses made from the
milk of the region’s cows. Wine from
local grapes.
Where it Begins
The gateway to the redwoods is the
town of Leggett, where Highway 1 and
101 merge. The appropriate starting
point is the Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree.
Never mind that the portion of this
315-foot tree that you can actually
drive through is merely 6 foot by 6
foot by 9: “We see motorhomes by
the dozen,” says the man at the gate
accepting the $3 admission fee. How
many of those dozens he sees making
it through is another matter. But it’s
the thought that counts. There’s RV
parking near the famed tree, with a gift
shop and pleasant picnic area.
As you head north from Leggett, the
first several miles of Highway 101 are
two-lane, somewhat steep and fairly
curvy. Don’t worry; the bulk of the
journey north to Arcata is easier going.
This section of 101 is home to
many of the redwoods’ old-fashioned
roadside attractions. Opened in 1949,
Confusion Hill hosts the “World
Famous Gravity House” (an optical
At Humboldt
Redwoods State Park
Visitor Center in
Weott, Charlie Brown,
of Michigan, stands
beside a tree that was
almost 900 years old
when it died. When
this tree was a seedling, the Magna Carta
was signed.
illusion, open yearround) and a half
hour train ride through old-growth
and second-growth forests (open
Memorial Day through Labor Day).
You’ll also see roadside shops selling chain saw art: wooden sculptures,
often of a grizzly bear on its haunches,
made from a log with a chain saw. If
this piques your interest but it looks
like a tight fit for your rig, rest assured
there are several other stands with
easier RV access further north on the
Avenue of the Giants.
Another landmark is French’s Camp,
nine miles south of Garberville, which
has hosted the Reggae On the River
music festival every August for the
past 20 years. For more information,
see www.reggaeontheriver.com.
Benbow
Tired of roughing it already? Benbow
Valley RV Resort and Golf Course, an
exit south of downtown Garberville,
offers a nine-hole golf course, pool,
laundry, wi-fi wireless Internet access
and one of the region’s finest restaurants
just a short walk away.
Cathleen Rafferty and her husband,
Phil, live in nearby Arcata; they decided to stop here on their way home from
a trip to Monterey, Calif., with their
2003 26-foot Timberlodge trailer.
“We’ve driven by here a number of times, and this time we said,
‘Let’s stop on our way home,’ ” said
The Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree in
Leggett, near the intersection of
Highways 1 and 101, is a fine place to
start your redwood journey north. The
tree is 315 feet high but its snug thruway
is only 6 foot by 6 foot by 9.
Main photo: Hiking trails for all skill
levels abound in parks throughout this
verdant cathedral of ancient redwoods.
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Vol.1 / No. 2
The Immortal Tree pull-off on the
Avenue of the Giants boasts this hollowed-out trunk, which is big enough
to explore inside and out.
Open since 1949, the mysterious
Confusion Hill, in Piercy, is just one
of the Redwood Highway’s many
roadside attractions.
Al and Lyn Fleming of Edmonton,
Alberta, arrived at Benbow Valley
RV Resort in their 40-foot Monaco
Diplomat along with dogs Pebble
(the Yorkie) and Tia (the Shih Tzu).
Cathleen, who teaches education
at Humboldt State University. “I
would definitely come back. The
setting is beautiful, in this nice
valley, and the grounds are really
well-maintained.”
Of Benbow Valley’s 112 full
hookup sites with cable TV, 55 are
pull-through; some have a phone connection. Sites are $27.78 per night;
$25 for senior citizens.
The lodge contains a small but
well-stocked grocery store, a pro
shop for golfers, showers, modem
access and a lounge with a large,
inviting fireplace. Nearby Benbow
Lake offers swimming in summer
months and canoeing and kayaking year-round. Winter is the best
season for fishing, when the steelhead run.
A short footpath links the RV
park to the Benbow Inn, a Tudor
mansion on the National Register
of Historic Places that’s been a
destination since its 1926 opening. Old Hollywood came up here
to enjoy the fishing, riding stables and boating on the Eel River:
Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable and
Joan Fontaine, as well as Eleanor
Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover.
As the inn and RV park share
ownership, they offer a seamless
resort experience. You can pull in
to the RV park and charge the
resort’s amenities to your bill: most
notably, a meal on the inn’s patio or
in its dining room, which the Wine
Spectator gave a nod in 2004.
Chef Marci Bame offers elegant
dishes, incorporating local ingredients whenever possible, such as
salmon, steelhead, organic baby
greens and cheeses. Cypress Grove
goat cheese graces a caramelized shallot tart; Point Reyes blue
cheese appears atop a grilled New
York strip steak and in a spinach
salad with apples, toasted walnuts
and applewood-smoked bacon.
The inn serves breakfast and dinner (brunch on weekends); lunch is
served in the summer only, on the
patio. For dinner, reservations are
suggested and appropriate attire is
requested (no jeans, t-shirts, sneakers,
flip-flops or similarly casual garb).
Benbow Inn is closed from
New Year’s until the Friday before
Easter. The rest of the year, it’s
open for lodging and dining and
also hosts special events, from a
Christmas Day dinner to jazz in
June. In August, see Shakespeare
performances by starlight along
nearby Benbow Lake (www.shakespearebenbow.com).
Route 66
Regional ROUTE 66
RV Network Dealers:
All Seasons RV
3300 Colusa Hwy.
Yuba City, CA 95993
(530) 671-9070
Pan Pacific RV Center
252 W. Yettner Rd.
French Camp, CA 95231
(209) 234-2000
Pan Pacific RV Center
2020 Taylor Road
Roseville, CA 95678
(916) 782-3178
Pan Pacific RV Center
1104 El Camino Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95815
(916) 927-1853
Redding RV Center
4850 Westside Rd./Hwy. 273
Redding, CA 96001
(530) 243-3461
Redding RV Center
2425 Cascade Blvd.
Redding, CA 96003
(888) 895-8932
Sierra RV Sales & Rentals
9125 S. Virginia St.
Reno, NV 89511
(775) 324-0522
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Vol.1 / No. 2
Avenue
of the Giants
All these comforts are nice, but
it’s the scenery that’s the star of
redwood country’s show.
“The scenery is what we’re
after,” says Al Fleming of
Edmonton, Alberta. That’s why he
and wife Lyn, on their way home
from Arizona, have diverted to the
redwood country in their 40-foot
Monaco Diplomat motorhome.
And for scenery, you can’t beat
the Avenue of the Giants. Roughly
parallel to Highway 101 from
Phillipsville to Pepperwood, this
30-mile road winds through more
than 52,000 acres of Humboldt
Redwoods State Park, 17,000
acres of which are old growth.
The magnificent trees are so close
to the side of the road, it feels like
Photo courtesy of the Humboldt
County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
you’re plunging into the forest, with
its deep, primordial woody smell.
The avenue offers plenty of pull-off
areas if you want a closer look.
“We have big forests back home,
but we’ve never seen such big
trees,” Al says. “It’s such beautiful
country, and so good to be off I-5.
A few very small towns surface
along the drive. Myers Flat, the
biggest of the bunch with a population of 630, boasts another drivethrough tree. This one, the Shrine,
has an aperture that’s 7 feet square.
majestic
good eats, great sites:
The 77-acre Sequoia Park, in Eureka, offers towering redwood groves and
lush terrain accented by wildflowers and ferns, picnic areas, a playground,
formal garden and duck pond.
There’s also the Taste of Humboldt
gift shop, full of local comestibles,
and Riverbend Cellars wine-tasting
room. There’s ample RV parking.
You can camp in the park right
under the redwood canopy, if your
rig is shorter than 33 feet. Burlington
Campground is open year-round,
with 57 sites, hot showers, fire rings,
hiking trails; it’s a short walk from
swimming and fishing in the South
Fork of the Eel River.
Two other campgrounds in the
forest are open during the summer
season. All are $15 per night; $13
for senior citizens. For reservations,
call Reserve America at (800) 4447275 or see their website, www.
reserveamerica.com.
Next door to the Burlington
Campground, the visitors’ center
has a wide array of exhibits, includ-
-
Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary, Arcata
Avenue of the Giants, Phillipsville to Pepperwood
Benbow Inn, Garberville
Café Marina, Eureka
Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree, Leggett
Clark Historical Museum, Eureka
Curley’s Grill, Ferndale
Humboldt Redwoods State Park Visitor Center, Weott
Loleta Cheese Factory, Loleta
Manila Dunes, Manila
Philly Cheese Steak Shoppe, Eureka and Arcata
Samoa Cookhouse, Samoa
Wildberries Marketplace, Arcata
Woodley Island Marina, Eureka
ing a short film, and a great bookfilled gift shop. Guided walks are
available by appointment.
The center maintains a running
list of wildlife sightings in the forest. A sampling from the first three
months of this year included black
bear, gray fox, red-tailed hawk, redshouldered hawk, golden eagle and
bald eagle.
Outside the visitors’ center lies
a cross-section of a tree that was
almost 900 years old when it died.
Its rings are marked with small
flags with dates in history. When
this tree was a seedling, we learn,
the Magna Carta was signed. The
tree’s diameter is 9 feet.
“Up the road, there’s an even
bigger one,” visitor Charlie Brown
of Michigan points out. “It’s 12
feet across.”
And so there is, four miles north.
The namesake tree in Founders’
Grove launched the Save the
Redwood League in 1918. The preservation group raises funds to buy
redwood lands, then deeds the land
to federal and state government to
become parks and nature preserves.
You can also view a felled giant.
In 1991, the 362-foot Dyerville
Giant fell to the ground; its
root base is an amazing 35 feet.
Founders’ Grove’s parking lot has
a large vehicle turnaround.
In Town
Humboldt County natives are
a dichotomous bunch — loggers,
hippies and Native Americans —
each group with its own powerful
relationship to the land.
The area is sparsely populated,
especially by California standards:
126,000 in the whole county.
Humboldt’s largest town, Eureka,
has fewer than 30,000 residents.
Depending on your interests,
the smaller towns south of Eureka
might be worth a stop. Scotia is
among the few remaining companyowned logging towns, with historic
wood buildings and a small museum. RV parking is easiest at Hoby’s
Market and Deli, just a few steps
from Scotia’s sights.
Antique shops line the main
street of Ferndale, five miles west
of 101, many in Victorian houses
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A Marsh Egret steps lightly through wetlands.
Home to 150 species of bird life, the Arcata Marsh
and Wildlife Sanctuary draws birders from around
the world.
Sandy Ingraham (left) and Nina Rowland (right)
of McLoud, Okla., have driven a Roadtrek to
California’s redwood country for the past 20 years.
This spring, dog Molly joined them at the Benbow
Valley RV Resort, Garberville.
harmony
Scattered throughout the redwood forest are
more than 100 memorial groves, dedicated
to those who helped save the giant trees. In
the shadow of ancient redwoods, hiking is
seasonable year-round.
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y
restored in icing-sweet pastel hues.
The town offers RV parking
two blocks from downtown; just
follow the signs. For a sit-down
meal, Curley’s Grill serves a
wide range of dishes in a dining
room with Victorian touches; the
friendly servers are happy to offer
tourist advice.
In Loleta, the Loleta Cheese
Factory offers daily demonstrations
and tastings of their 24 varieties of
Cheddar and Monterey Jack.
Eureka is mostly a place to fuel
up and stock the larder, but there
are a few attractions. Its restored
Victorian homes include the Carter
Mansion on Humboldt Bay.
Old Town Eureka, the newly
gentrified waterfront along the bay,
boasts antique stores, restaurants
and little shops. Its narrow streets
aren’t suitable for big rigs, though.
Three major Indian tribes call
Humboldt County home: the Wiyot,
Yurok and Hoopa. To learn more
about them, visit the Clark Historical
Museum on the corner of Third and
E Streets. The Northern California
Indian Development Council gift
shop on F Street sells Native-made
gifts, such as pottery, baskets, jewelry and art.
Downtown but right on 101
North/Fifth Street (at G Street),
the Philly Cheese Steak Shoppe
is worth a stop for homesick
Philadelphians. The restaurant ships
its key ingredients from Philly,
including Amoroso rolls, and it
also sells the delectable Tastykake
snack cakes. There’s even a replica
Liberty Bell.
A few blocks north on 101/
Fifth Street, the North Coast Coop sells organic groceries, many
locally made products and produce.
In March, locally harvested oysters sold for $6 and $8 per dozen.
Eureka also has a Safeway and
Costco off 101.
Woodley Island Marina is a nice
detour with docks full of boats.
HumBoats rents canoes, kayaks
and sailboats, plus guides. Its restaurant, Café Marina, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and offers the
catch of the day (often for sale on
the docks as well).
Just north of Eureka lies Arcata,
home of Humboldt State University
and Wildberries, the area’s best
gourmet grocery, with a full range of
take-out and a branch of Ramone’s
bakery and coffee shop inside.
From April to November,
Arcata’s town square hosts a farmers market at 9 a.m. on Saturdays;
parking may be a challenge.
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Photo courtesy of the Humboldt
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11
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allure
Off the beaten path, the Victorian
Village of Ferndale stands as an
architectural showcase. In order to
explore the nearby coastline, a tow
vehicle is firmly recommended.
For a sense of the activism the
area is known for, visit the North
Coast Environmental Center. For
more than 30 years, this coalition has been at the center of the
region’s environmental protection
issues, including the redwoods, the
rivers and endangered species.
An international draw for birders
is the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife
Sanctuary. A former landfill that
locals cleaned up, it’s now home
to fish, native vegetation and more
than 150 species of birds and is on
the Pacific Flyway.
On Water
The swath of land we’ve traveled
is part of California’s Redwood
Coast, but in truth not much oceanfront is RV-accessible.
The old roads leading to the Lost
Coast towns of Shelter Cove and
Petrolia are full of such hairpin
turns that no one we spoke to
would recommend them for your
rig. If you’re towing a car, the drive
from 101 at Garberville to Shelter
Cove is 25 miles, and takes at least
an hour. Your reward is charter
fishing and good fish and chips at
the campground store.
But feel free to concentrate on
the inland portion. If you’re driving up the coast, you’ve already
enjoyed spectacular ocean views in
Mendocino County and can anticipate lovely beaches in Trinidad,
just north of Arcata, where puffins
are known to romp on the rocks.
The Eureka area does have a few
waterfront diversions on the south
spit that divides Humboldt Bay
from the ocean.
Opened in the 1890s, the Samoa
Cookhouse is worth a stop for the history as much as the food. The West’s
last surviving cookhouse, all meals
are served family-style; there’s a history museum, too. The cookhouse
offers ample RV parking.
Traveling down the spit, Samoa
Dunes Recreation Area is home to
both an endangered plant area (40
acres) and off-highway vehicle terrain (215 acres).
“Fourth of July, Memorial Day,
this place is packed,” says Bill
where to stay:
—Benbow Valley RV Resort & Golf Course, Garberville,
(707) 923-2777 or (866) BENBOWRV
—Dean Creek Resort, Redway, (707) 923-2555
—Giant Redwoods RV and Camp, Myers Flat,
(707) 943-3198
—Humboldt Redwoods State Park, (707) 946-2409
for information/Reserve America, (800) 444-7275
for reservations (33-foot maximum length)
—Redwoods River Resort & Campground, Leggett,
(707) 925-6249
—Richardson Grove State Park, Garberville,
(707) 247-3318 (30-foot maximum length)
—Riverwalk RV Park and Campground, Fortuna,
(800) 705-5359 or (707) 725-3359
—Samoa Boat Ramp, Samoa, (707) 445-7651
—Eureka KOA, (707) 822-4243
Gibert of Redding, who’s staying
at the adjacent campground in his
30-foot Komfort trailer with his
wife, Sally.
He gestures around a near-empty
lot. “It gets crazy down here: all the
motorcycles and quads. Sometimes
they let people park down the
middle, add an extra row, with no
water hookup.”
Sandy Ingraham, the Oklahoma
lawyer, recommends the dunes at
Manila just a few miles north. “I’ve
never seen so much sand with no
one on it,” she marvels. “You should
plan for a day there.
“Stop at the community center,
and just walk west, and don’t give
up,” she advises. “And remember
where you put in, so you can find
your way back.” [
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