Redwood National Park: Land of Tallest trees

In early morning, as the fog caresses the tress, as you stand in the misty shadows of vast redwood forests, sustaining, flourishing in lush and humid climate along the Pacific coast. Gazing, glaring and having a glimpse of past at Earth’s Tallest living things.

The trees took the blunt and axe from loggers, and were badly threatened by logging. Once covering over two million acres of land from final ice age, tress after trees were fallen with a windswept force.

Redwood National Park near the northern limit of redwood’s slender range of the coat, preserving the remnants of a forest. Massive redwood trees, can live for some 2000 years, grows to the heights up to 367 feet, and the base of trunk can be as wide as 22 feet.

With a joint venture of the Save-the-Redwoods League and state of California who collaborated to rescue redwood trees as they acquired hundreds of groves and started the movement of protecting tress and with making of  26 state parks. In 1968, three redwood state parks Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, all encompass and merged into the national park. The Redwood National Park, from 1994 is under management of joint collaboration of National Park Service and the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The Redwood National Park is located along the coast of northern California, situated roughly between Orick and Crescent City. These parks have been declared an International Biosphere Reserve and in 1980 it got inscribed in World Heritage Site.

Logging on adjoining private land, however, endangered the parks’ sheltered redwoods. A major threat to the tallest trees was from the logged-over territory, as the soils and sediments are washed into the rivers and in the creeks. These sediments settle in to the bottom downstream. Hazard of the silt deposits, is that it asphyxiate redwoods—for the massive are astoundingly vulnerable and at risk. Adding to the danger is the waterlogged soil which weakens the tree’s resistance towards the wind. Redwood trees roots are shallow, which are often only ten feet deep.

Redwood Renaissance:

In the year 1978 Congress again took an initiative as it added 48,000 acres to 58,000 acres of the national park. This also included 36,000 acres about land which had been logged, that looked as raw and clear-cut land. A park official once wrote about this part of land as “the look of an active war zone.”

Redwood Renaissance, an epic earth-moving project in which the crews reclaim immense extends of logged-over lands. Project which should be highly appreciated is taking many influential and effective steps:

• Hillsides which were carved for logging roads presently are being restored.
• Major of the 400 miles of roads are being obliterated.

The Redwood renaissance is a new dimension to the conventional rite of gazing up at redwoods. Today’s visitor can look over at hillsides and where shorn of giants and now know that years from now the trees will rise and raise there again.

Redwood Renaissance is an effort, to save our ecosystem, the actual gems of earth and give our future generations all these marvels to admire at. Though it will take at least 50 years for the blemishes of logging to wane and some another 250 years or more for the replanted seedlings of redwood to grow to tallest size.

Flora and Fauna:

The park’s coastline:

• Salt-tolerant vegetation springs
• Brown pelicans
• Seals
• Pelicans
• Ospreys
• Gulls

Tide pool creatures:

• Crabs
• Colorful anemones

Flora and Fauna of inside the Redwood National Park:

• Redwood Trees
• Sitka Spruce
• Douglas Fir trees

Here in the park only hardy plants of hardwoods and shrubs are able to survive in its narrow zone i.e. where land meets sea. Salt-laden winds, steep slopes, chilly fog-shrouded days and sandy beaches work against against plants.

The threatened and endangered species:
Found in old-growth forests, estuaries, open prairies and coastline for essential sanctuary of survival.

• Black bears
• Sea stars
• Bald eagles
• Brown Pelican
• Chinook Salmon
• Coho Salmon
• Marbled Murrelet
• Northern Spotted Owl
• Steelhead Trout
• Steller’s Sea Lion
• Tidewater Goby
• Western Snowy Plover
• Roosevelt elk
• Marine mammals:
• Sea lions
• Gray whales

How to Get There

• Tree-lined US 101 is best way.
• The Redwood Highway:
  its runs the length of the park.
• If from the south:
  take US 101 for reaching the information center near Orick, which is about 40 miles in northern of Eureka.
• From the north:
  go through Crescent City information center site.
• From the east:
  take US 199 which is redwood- lined highway
• Hiouchi. Airports:
  Arcata and Crescent City.

Best Time to visit Redwood National Park

Though the park is open to visit year-round, summer attracts highway-jam swarms, visiting in spring or fall is the best time. As in both the seasons, bird migrations augment the charm of redwood groves. Rhododendrons burst into view in spring; in these seasons deciduous trees mystifies with color in fall. During Rains, which is welcome to redwoods but not to guests, the park is drenched in winter.

Must See and do:

The redwood national park though of course is mainly known for the massive fantastic redwood trees, its also a 40 to 50 miles of the so beautiful coastline which is part of the national park system. This includes rocky promontories, sea stacks and beaches in the Pacific Ocean. Along the coast whales and myriads of sea life is observed from shore. The trails are especially mesmerizing in the early morning or on those days when there is medium fog. So picturesque is the early morning twilight, with the sun’s rays at angle through the trees piercing with long beams of light, creates a spectacular exhibit of light and shadow and do observe the ever-changing hues of green. When there is light fog, forests befall a dreamscape of astonishing beauty.

• See along the many redwood sentinels, panorama of the trees while on US 101
• Appreciate the redwoods, by walking among them.
• See the Lady Bird Johnson Grove
• Big Tree.
• Hike along the Coastal Trail and appreciate the Pacific vision of the park.
• Visit the Tall Trees Grove
• Drive Howland Hill Road and Fern Canyon
• Splash in a kayak on the Klamath River
• Visit Gold Bluffs Beach.

Camping

• Mill Creek Campground
• Jedediah Smith Campground
• Gold Bluffs Beach Campground
• Elk Prairie Campground

The Redwood National Park is amazing destination to feel up so close to nature and marvel to the height of redwoods, the creations of nature.

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