California – Big Tree & Newton B. Drury Parkway, Prairie Creek Redwoods
If you’re passing through Redwoods National and State Parks with little time, you can still see a few incredible trees by taking the scenic Newton B. Drury Parkway and making a quick stop by Big Tree. Yep, that’s the name of a particular tree that is, you guessed it, very large! In addition to Big Tree, you can stop by the Prairie Creek Visitor’s Center, try elk spotting in the large meadow, and take a deep breath of old-growth forest on the Newton B Drury Drive.
We visited Big Tree and the Newton B Drury Drive after making the Lady Bird Johnson loop trail and exploring Fern Canyon. We were getting tired, so there are fewer photos, but it was such a different environment and experience than Fern Canyon that I wanted it to have its dedicated post.
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Redwoods National and State Parks – An Introduction
I’ve lived in California my entire life but only recently learned that Redwoods National Park is a combination of the national park and three other state parks! The National Park Service and the California Department of Parks and Recreation have long worked together to protect the redwoods, and they decided to jointly manage the parks in 1994. Once you know, you’ll see “Redwood National and State Parks” everywhere. Although a tad confusing, the area is so massive that it’s helpful that the state parks kept their names. Here are the different zones, from south to north:
- Redwoods National Park
- Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (Where Big Tree and Newton B Drury Parkway are located!)
- Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park (we drove through but didn’t do any hikes during this trip
- Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Big Tree and Newton B Drury Parkway is located in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, with so much to explore! It includes the coastal region with Fern Canyon, a large open prairie near the Prairie Creek Visitor’s Center, and an old-growth forest. With so much variety, I look forward to coming back to explore more of the area.
At a Glance:
- Rating: 4 (out of 4) stars; I enjoyed myself and would like to see it when the ferns are in their full glory
- Intensity: Casual clothes with walking shoes
- Location: Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California
- Cost: $8 per vehicle, which is waived if you have the National Park Annual Pass (you can buy at REI!). Fees are collected at the campground, which you don’t pass on the Newton B. Drury Parkway.
- Restrooms: There are non-flushing toilets in the parking area
- Timing: 30 mins – 2 hours
- Distance: 0.3 miles
- Elevation Gain: 19 ft
Highlights:
- Walk into a canyon, where the walls on either side are covered with ferns and plants!
- Roosevelt Elk! We saw a small herd up close and right off the road, and we were able to drive by slowly without bothering them.
- Superfun to explore the canyon, walk over logs, and look at the microenvironment.
Lowlights:
- There is a gnarly stream-crossing on the drive to the parking area. My Prius *barely* made it. I’ve dedicated a section about the drive to the parking area and alternatives.
Newton B. Drury Parkway Scenic Drive
The Newton B. Drury Parkway is a 10-mile drive through Prairie Creek Redwood State Park. It follows a north-south route that connects with Highway 101, making it an easy choice to “take the scenic route!” The most southern area is the Visitor’s Center, Big Tree, meadow, and the largest trees. In the northern section, the trees seemed smaller and more spaced out. Keep this in mind to decide where you want to end up.
Due to our timing and energy levels, we started with the large meadow and visitor’s center before it closed. Although we didn’t see any Roosevelt Elk in the meadow, we had just seen a herd on our Fern Canyon drive, so there is a section about the elk below. The openness of the meadow and even Highway 101 is a stark contrast to the dark foliage of the trees on the Newton B Drury Parkway. It engulfs you quickly!
Since the road is straight and does not curve around trees, it would be easy to drive fast and miss the incredible old-growth forest. After all, I recommend that you take it slow and stop a couple of times, even if it’s just to get out of your car to look up at the towering trees above.
Big Tree
If you start in the south, the Big Tree comes up quickly! We accidentally went past it slightly, which worked out to explore more of the area on the Circle Trail near mile marker 127.96. I expected paved parking, but it is simply an extra wide shoulder where you can pull over and park (we might have missed the parking area…?). We entered a trail with an informational plaque and signage to get to the Big Tree. The funny thing about this short trail was that we were surrounded by absolutely massive trees on our way to see one called Big Tree. Everything felt enormous, and I had to stop a few times to get photos of the behemoths.
Big Tree is formally big. It has signage with information about the tree, is fenced off, and has a platform on the trail-side of the tree. I loved Big Tree because we had it entirely to ourselves. I’m not sure if it was the time of day (late afternoon), season (early March), or weather (cloudy), but it was eerily quiet with Big Tree. Further away from the tree, an interactive informational plaque with tubes pointed out certain things on the tree. These older trees have branches that are big enough to support other plants. So there is an entire ecosystem high above in the trees.
Circle Trail Back to the Car
Instead of taking the same trail back to the car, we opted to do the Circle Trail. Either way, it’s a 0.3 loop with off-shoots to explore other areas. Because we passed the tree and parked on the shoulder of the road, we might have added on a little more to the trail, but I loved it! Everything felt extremely old and established. The trees were massive, and a few were interactive – as in walking along a giant fallen tree or walking under/through one that had fallen over the trail and the park carved out a path. The path itself is very even/flat and is considered wheelchair accessible while not being paved.
Although I figured that the “Circle” trail would lead back to the car, I was still relieved when it was so easy. It would have been cool to check out Corkscrew Tree Trail if we had more energy. But alas, I must leave some things to come back to.
Hike and Bike Day
While writing this post, I discovered that The Newton B Drury Parkway is closed to motorized vehicles on the first Saturday of each month from October to May! How cool would it be to bike or rollerskate under the old-growth redwoods without cars?? I would love it. I wish we had known because we were just one day away from being there. Now I’ll just have to go back.
Prairie Creek Visitor’s Center
As I mentioned above, we started our drive at the Visitor’s Center, which was a good little break from everything. The center is inside a little wooden cabin. The merchandise was a little sparse, but some informational brochures and educational bits were interesting. I also loved that there was only one other couple in the store while I shopped. It was nice to chat with the cashier, where I found out that it is generally pretty quiet in winter and picks up during the summer.
Roosevelt Elk! (Roosevelk)
Roosevelt Elk frequent the large meadow directly in front of the Prairie Creek Visitor’s Center. Signs warn visitors not to approach or get too close to the elk, which I would heed! There were no elk in the meadow when we visited, but we had just seen a herd very close up while driving to the Fern Canyon Trailhead. There seem to be a couple of different herds in and around Redwoods National and State Park, so keep your eyes peeled along the roads. Here’s where we saw Elk over two days:
- On the road to Fern Canyon Trailhead
- Amongst the aspen trees on the west side of the road near Davison Road
- A solo elk near the Newton B Drury Highway 101 exit on the south side
- In the giant meadow near Big Lagoon (they were in the distance)
Please note that Roosevelt Elk can be aggressive, and you should never approach one. The ones we saw near Gold Bluffs Beach were unamused by us, but we did get a few stare-downs. We stayed in the car and didn’t stop for long. Please be smart when elk-spotting.
Other Hikes: Redwood National and State Parks
There is so much to discover in Redwoods National and State Parks. Seriously, so much. Since this was my first visit, I opted to do shorter walks in each area instead of doing longer hikes. Here are the other hikes I did during our visit:
- Lady Bird Johnson, Redwoods National Park
- Stout Memorial Grove, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
- Fern Canyon, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
Overall Thoughts: Big Tree and Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway
Although a short post, I wanted to dedicate more time and attention to this part of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park since it was so different from Fern Canyon. I’m glad we stopped by, drove the scenic parkway, and checked out Big Tree. The old-growth forest here had a very different vibe than the hillside Lady Bird Johnson Grove or the pristine Stout Grove, and I found it interesting to compare the three.
Since we were pretty tuckered by the time we got to this section of the state parks, I look forward to coming back to drive the road from north to south and appreciate the nuances a little more. The hike and bike option would be a neat way to experience the grove, so I genuinely think I’ll be back for that!
I cannot wait to go back to Redwood National and State Parks. Now that I have a better understanding of the area and different parks, I am looking forward to doing a few longer trails. Do you have a favorite hiking trail in Redwoods National and State Parks that I should check out? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Travels,
Hanna
