Established in 1922, Richardson Grove State Park was one of California’s first redwood parks. It began with 120 acres—only 1/4 the size of Muir Woods National Monument today. With the help of Save the Redwoods League and other generous donors, the park has grown to 1,800 acres.

A four-hour drive from San Francisco, the park features stunning coast redwoods more than three hundred feet tall and a national “wild and scenic” river (the South Fork of the Eel). Visitors can swim or wade in the river in summer and try catch-and-release fishing for salmon or steelhead in the winter. Check out the walk-through tree and the bat tree; learn from the tree-ring study conducted in 1933. You can camp, picnic, and hike on nine miles of trails. Don’t miss the gentle “racetrack” path, which passes many unusual redwoods, including a chandelier tree with multiple trunks branching several feet above the ground.

Richardson Grove is liveliest in the summer, when the visitor center and nature store are open. Summer brings campfire programs, Junior Ranger activities, and guided nature walks.

Access is easy off Highway 101, which bisects the park seven miles south of Garberville.