Avenue of the Giants

Avenue of the Giants is aptly named. The giants are, of course, the towering coastal redwood trees. The 31-mile route parallels Highway 101 and was actually the highway until 1954. Some of the largest coastal redwoods in existence are in the forests on either side of the Avenue.

The drive, in the southern part of Humboldt County in northern California, begins a few miles south of Scotia and ends north of Garberville. There are several access points along the way. There is limited parking at the pullouts. While you can easily drive any RV down the Avenue, if you can park your RV somewhere and drive in your tow or toad vehicle, you'll have a much easier time getting out and exploring. Plus, if you turn down any of the side roads, you'll find the roads narrow and windy and not RV  friendly. A few old logging towns dot the Avenue but Garberville is best for lunch and fuel.

The pullouts give you the opportunity to walk in the silent forests among the gigantic trees. A sustainable forest has quite a few downed trees. Nearly all these forests have been logged at one time or another so large stumps still stand. Downed trees and stumps are nurseries for not only new redwoods but for hundreds of other plants and creatures. According to one of the park brochures, 1700 species of plants and animals depend on a tree during its life span. There are over 600 living on a snag, but more than 4000 species living on a downed log! The stumps and logs are miniature gardens. It can take 400 years or longer for a downed tree to become incorporated into the forest floor.

 The Founders Grove is a must stop. There is a place for RVs, though I wouldn't take a very long one. The Founders Tree is 346 feet tall, 40 feet in circumference and 12.9 feet in diameter. It is 190 feet to the first branch! It is a good photo op except to include much of the tree in your photo, your subject looks like a doll. If you get close to your subject, then you get no sense of how big the tree is. We could not figure out why one man was taking photos from about three feet away unless he wanted to capture the texture of the bark.

Looking up to the canopy will put a crick your neck if you look very long.  Because the canopy shuts out light, the lower branches that don't get light break off. These branches are referred to as "widow makers." The force of one falling from a couple of hundred feet in the air is lethal. The leaves of a redwood are different at the top too. The climate is entirely different at the tops of the trees than down in the cool understory below.

The other amazing tree in the Founder's Grove is the Dyerville Giant. It lived for about 1600 years and was the "Champion" Coast Redwood until it fell in 1991. It was 370 tall, two feet taller than Niagara Falls or comparable to a 30 story building! It probably weighs more than one million pounds. Standing at the base of the upturned root, humans are dwarfed by the tree. (That red dot is me at standing at the bottom)

The Rockefeller Forest has some of the tallest trees. It is on the west side of Highway 101. There is also a tree you can drive through (admission charged). We knew our GMC Duramax dually would not fit so did not check that out.

There is something especially peaceful about a redwood forest. The floor is thick with debris so sounds of feet are muffled. Giant ferns grow. We humans are so small in this Jurassic Park-like setting. I marvel to think how long the giant specimens have been growing. The Humboldt Redwoods State Park Visitor Center has marked the rings for one tree that fell in the 1990s. It began growing in 1148. Markers note the discovery of American by Columbus, signing of the Declaration of Independence and other historical events. The oldest tree recorded was found near here and was more than 2200 years old. Now that's old!

It's also amazing that trees that have been burned out are still growing. George is in what is called a "goose pen," so named because settlers could block off openings and keep geese in there at night. This is a living tree.

If you haven't traveled out West, seeing the redwoods should be on your list. The Avenue has the greatest concentration of coastal redwoods plus some of the tallest. Redwood National Forest further north is another opportunity to see large acreage of redwoods. The giant sequoias, another variety of redwood, can be seen inland at Sequoia National Park. In your RV travels, you'll never see it all, but make it a point to see these unique trees somewhere in your journeys.

Update: Hurray! Our RV is fixed and we are headed down the road. I have a couple of catchup posts and will tell you more about the service we received - some excellent, some disappointing. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Photos by George Bruzenak

Comments

[Julianne Crane]

Jaimie your article and George's photographs bring back wonderful memories of my Spring visit to Avenue of the Giants. It is truly an inspiring place to walk and spend time reflecting.

[Jaimie Hall Bruzenak]

Yes, it is. I wish I'd brought my journal and done some writing.

Jaimie

[Jennifer]

Beautiful pictures and description. Oh this post makes me so jealous that I am not on the road yet! ;)

I just found your site while searching for more info on solo women fulltime RVers, so if you have any more info on that, I would love it!

Thanks,

Jennifer
www.livinginmycar.com

[Jaimie Hall Bruzenak]

I enjoyed looking at your site. I'm sure you'll reach your dream to travel. We do have an ebook - The Woman's Guide to Solo RVing at RVLifestyleExperts.com

Jaimie