Redwood Coast Travel Guide 2008 - (Page 3) four driving tours Avenue of the Giants The best place to view redwoods from your car, the 31-mile avenue winds through a series of impressive old growth groves. It parallels Hwy 101 and offers a memorable alternate drive as you enter or leave Humboldt County. Flat with gentle curves, the road passes by small towns, campgrounds, and plenty of redwood and Eel River trails. From the south, enter at Phillipsville; from the north, Pepperwood. See map on pg. 12 Redwood (Newton Drury) Scenic Parkway This ten-mile road through Redwood National and State Parks north of Orick rivals the Avenue of the Giants for scenic splendor. To view exceptional old growth specimens, stop at the Big Tree and Corkscrew Tree waysides, or take a short detour on the unpaved Cal-Barrel Rd. Along the way, keep your eyes open for half-ton Roosevelt elk grazing in the meadows, including in front of the Prairie Creek Visitor Center. This scenic alternate to Hwy 101 begins six miles north of Orick or four miles south of Klamath. Charlotte Cerny roosevelt elk Hog Heaven on Hwy 36 Many motorcyclists call this 140-mile road the best cycle ride in California. Besides great mountain, redwood and coast views, its engineering quirks create heavenly hairpins. The ride begins from Hwy 101 in Fortuna, winds east along the Van Duzen River and Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park, ascends into the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and glides into Red Bluff. Trinity River and Bigfoot Scenic Byways Follow two scenic byways for spectacular mountain and river views. From Arcata go east on Hwy 299. The road gains altitude as it passes through farmlands and forests. In an hour it reaches Willow Creek, where one can visit the Bigfoot museum or cool off in the Trinity River in the summer. Turn north on Hwy 96, the Bigfoot Scenic Byway, toward the Hoopa Valley for more great spots to fish, paddle and swim. Lost Coast Loop This half- or full-day drive samples the fabled Lost Coast, the longest stretch of wilderness beaches in the continental United States. From Ferndale, take the Mattole Road, known as the Wildcat, to Capetown and Cape Mendocino to reach the shore. Impressive vistas, deserted beaches, and tidal pools await. Continue south to tiny Petrolia, site of the state’s first oil wells, then retrace the route back to Ferndale. If you have more time, continue on Mattole Road as it winds through Honeydew and Humboldt Redwoods State Park to loop back to Hwy 101. Peter Stearns lost coast California’s Redwood Coast | 3 www.redwoods.info http://www.redwoods.info
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