Hello fellow wanderers!!
The Redwood forest is magical! The Redwoods extend from the Bay Area in California up to the Oregon Coast. We spent a full week here in the Crescent City area to explore the Northern portion of the Redwoods back in July 2021.
One of the hikes that we wanted to explore is Fern Canyon and the surrounding area. Fern Canyon is about an hour drive South of Crescent City and it did not disappoint!
You have to enter the Gold Bluffs Beach area which has a fee of $8 to get in, paid in cash or check to the ranger station. The road is paved up to this point and then turns to dirt. Our F350 made it fine. We did see some cars struggling in an area of the road that was washed out, but otherwise, the dirt road is accessible by 2 wheel drive cars.
The parking lot was full when we arrived late morning so we ended up parking down the road and with that said, Fern Canyon was also packed with people. So we ended up hiking up James Irvine and doing the Miner's Loop which bypasses Fern Canyon in the beginning but drops you down into Fern Canyon on the way back.
We ended up hiking a total of 11.5 miles including our trek out to the beach. The elevation gain overall was just over 1,700' total. The trail is absolutely stunning and beautiful!
We spent some time in Fern Canyon which is where scenes of Jurassic Park were filmed. After leaving Fern Canyon we headed out to the beach. It was a chilly and foggy July summer day so the ocean views were clouded but we still loved the beach!
We highly recommend this trail but it is strenuous depending on how far you go. If you want to just visit Fern Canyon (which is well worth it) your hike is easy and less than a mile and a half out and back.
Please check out our video of this hike on our Youtube: Wandered Off and don't forget to like and subscribe. We truly appreciate the support!
Thank you!
Wandered Off
Chris & Brandi
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