TOWERING TREES in the LADY BIRD JOHNSON GROVE, Redwood National Park, California

Redwood trees in the Lady Bird Johnson Grove of Redwood National Park, California.

I've been to a lot of our country's national parks, but this was my first time in Redwood National and State Parks in Humboldt County in northern California. Established in 1968, the 130,000 acres of forests, rivers, prairies and coastline that make up the park stretch from the small town of Orick to Crescent City near the Oregon border. Nearly a third of the parkland is old-growth redwood forests. On my recent visit in October to Humboldt County for an author festival, I did an author presentation at the school in Orick. 

Once a community of thriving lumber mills, the town's population shrunk after the establishment of the national park and the closing of the lumber mills. Only a few students now attend the school. On the afternoon of my visit, more elk were on the playground than students!

Elk on the Orick Elementary School playground.

It was a beautiful fall day, and after my visit with the students my companion and I had time for a short detour into the national park before returning to Eureka. Just beyond the town of Orick we found the turnoff from Highway 101 with a sign to Lady Bird Johnson Grove. The narrow road climbed out of the valley into the forest and along a ridge. After a short distance we came to a parking lot surrounded by towering redwoods and Douglas firs. An information board at the trailhead included a map and description of the park’s founding:

Lady Bird Johnson came to this site on November 25, 1968 to help dedicate Redwood National Park. She returned on August 27, 1969 to be honored by President Richard Nixon with this grove of trees named in her honor, recognizing Lady Bird’s devoted service to the cause of preserving and enhancing America’s natural beauty for the enjoyment of all people.

Indigenous people of the North Coast region have made the redwood forests and associated ecosystems their home since time immemorial

We followed the path and crossed the bridge into the grove. Looking up, giant redwoods reached to the sky, dwarfing the people below. It is awe inspiring.

Redwood trees can live up to 2000 years and often reach the age of 600 years.

Redwoods are the tallest trees in North America, reaching heights of up to 367 feet. Underneath, on the forest floor, grow an abundance of shrubs, ferns, wildflowers, mushrooms.

The park is also home to a wide variety of wildlife--birds, fish, marine mammals, land mammals and more. Elk graze in the valleys. Cliffs along the coast are nesting sites for thousands of seabirds. In 2022, California condors were released in the park, expanding the current range of these endangered birds that once lived up and down the Pacific Coast.

Redwoods National Park surrounds and encompasses three previously established California State Parks--Prairie Creek, Del Norte, and Jedidiah Smith--expanding protection for the trees and accompanying ecosystems. The parklands are managed cooperatively. The Redwoods National and State Parks have been designated a World Heritage Site and part of the California Coast Ranges Biosphere Preserve. I wish I had had more time to spend there. I will have to go back someday.
 

Roosevelt Elk. Only male elk have antlers.