Redwood National Park Itinerary: 1, 2, or 4 days

With years of experience exploring some of the most breathtaking national parks in the U.S., our family has honed the art of creating itineraries that blend adventure, education, and relaxation. Redwood National Park holds a special place in our hearts for its towering trees, serene trails, and awe-inspiring landscapes.

In this Redwood National Park itinerary, we’ll share firsthand insights, practical tips, and hidden gems we’ve discovered during our visits. Whether you’re traveling through for a day with kids, looking for easy hikes but a longer trip, or seeking the perfect photo spot, our guide is designed to help you make the most of your time in this unforgettable park with this perfect Redwood National Park itinerary. I’m going to lay it all out as a 4-day trip, just like we did, with some notes of things to eliminate should you have a shorter amount of time.

Redwood National and State Parks are so spread out that I really recommend at least 2 days, but even just one day is worth the trip! We started in the south, so this itinerary will too. If you are coming in from the north, just reverse it.

For more details on each activity below, read “Is Redwood National Park Worth Visiting? Things to Do & Reasons to Visit in 2025“

Day 1 – Humboldt Redwoods Itinerary

📍 Start at the Humboldt Redwoods State Park Visitor Center

🥾 Directly across the street is Gould Grove Nature Loop

0.7 mile trail
Easy
30 min

🥾 Drive up Avenue of the Giants

Take some time to get out and take pictures
Optional – stop at California Federation of Women’s Club Hearthstone

🥾 Stop at Founders Grove Nature Loop Trail (4.1 miles up the road, about 7 minutes)

0.5 mile trail
Easy
30 min

🥾 Rockefeller Loop (1.9 miles from Founders Grove, 6 min)

0.6 mile trail
Easy
30 min

🥾 Optional – Drury-Chaney Loop

2.4 mile trail
Moderate
1 hour

🥾 Head north on Hwy 101 for 83.3 miles to Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center

Get your picture at the Redwood National and State Park sign just south of the visitor center

Roosevelt Elk grazing in morning mist in Elk Prairie

🥾 5 miles north, stop at Elk Meadows

🥾 Check in to Elk Prairie Campground

Want to know more about the campgrounds? Check out this post.

Total Time with travel: 3 h 30 min (4h 45 min for optional stops)

If you’re looking to make this a shorter trip, pick one hike to take to see the trees. I’d recommend Founders Grove Nature Loop Trail. You can also pass on the visitor centers if you don’t collect stamps or souvenirs.

Day 2 – Prairie Creek Redwoods Itinerary

Kids standing in the cutout of a downed tree on Tall Trees Trail

🥾 Tall Trees Trail (18.5 miles from Elk Prairie, this will take you about 45 minutes to drive)

4.5 mile round trip
Moderately strenuous
3 hours
800′ descent to get to the grove, then 800′ ascent
Get your reservation here

🥾 Redwood Creek Overlook (6.2 miles from Tall Trees, this will take about 22 minutes to drive)

🥾 Lady Bird Johnson Grove (12.2 miles from Redwood Creek Overlook, 28 min)

1.4 mile loop
Easy
1 hour
Don’t forget to use the National Park app for information about the grove

View of beach and sand at Gold Bluffs Beach Campground

🥾 Check in to Gold Bluffs Beach Campground

This is 9.9 miles away from Lady Bird Johnson Grove and will take about 30 minutes to drive

Total Time with travel: 6 h 3 min

If you’re looking to make this day shorter or you aren’t interested in harder hikes, cut out Tall Trees Trail and Redwood Creek Overlook. I don’t think Redwood Creek Overlook is worth the drive out if you aren’t doing Tall Trees.

Now, if you’re up for a little bit harder hike, I highly recommend Tall Trees. It is somewhat strenuous coming back up, but there are plenty of benches to sit and rest. Our kids are semi-experienced hikers, and they did fine! Bring lots of snacks and candy for bribes. We packed lunch expecting this to take us much longer than it did.

Day 3 – Prairie Creek Redwoods Itinerary

Waterfall with moss covered trees on Trillium Falls Trail

🥾 Trillium Falls Trail (5.4 miles from Gold Bluffs Beach, 20 min)

2.7 mile loop
Moderate
2 hours
If you want to shorten this one, take the trail on the right and go counterclockwise. The waterfalls are about 0.5 miles in.

🥾 Stop by Elk Meadows again as you drive up to Big Tree Wayside (4.7 miles, 8 min)

Easy accessible trail with multiple short walks
Make this as long or as short as you want. We spent about 30 minutes.

waves crashing on the black sand beach at Gold Bluffs Beach

🥾 Spend the night at Gold Bluffs Beach Campground

Total Time with travel: 3 h 55 min

To make this day shorter, cut out Trillium Falls. If you are only looking to cruise, the road heading north is the scenic Newton B Drury Parkway.

Day 4 – Del Norte Coast and Jedediah Smith Redwoods Itinerary

🥾 Fern Canyon (1.3 miles from Gold Bluff Beach, 5 min)

1.1 mile out and back
Easy
1 hour if you’re going quick – We took lots of time for photos and playing in the water, so it was closer to 1.5 hours
Reservation required May through September. Get that here.

🥾 Optional – Miner’s Ridge and James Irvine Trail Loop

12.1 mile loop
Moderate to strenuous
5 – 6 hours

🥾 Newton B Drury Parkway – Drive along this on your way north

🥾 High Bluff Overlook

🥾 Klamath River Overlook

🥾 Optional – Hidden Beach Trail (30.1 miles from Fern Canyon, 50 min)

1.7 mile out and back
Moderate
44 minutes
Best at low tide

🥾 Optional – Damnation Creek Trail

3.4 miles
Moderate
2 hours 22 minutes
Also good at low tide for tide pooling

🥾 Crescent Beach Overlook

Star fish in a tide pool at Enderts Beach

Looking at the arched rock through the mist on Enderts Beach

🥾 Enderts Beach (17.4 miles from Hidden Beach, 24 min)

0.5 mile down to the beach
We walked a total of 2.57 miles and spent 2 hours which included plenty of time exploring the beach.
Great tide pools, not good swimming

🥾 Simpson Reed Grove (7.4 miles from Enderts Beach, 21 min)

1 mile loop
Easy
30 minutes

🥾 Hiouchi Visitor Center

🥾 Drive along Smith River on Howland Hill Road for a scenic drive to Stout Grove

🥾 Stout Grove (7.4 miles from Simpson Reed Grove, 19 min)

1 mile loop
Easy
40 min

🥾 Optional – Grove of Titans

1.7 mile round trip
Moderate
1 hour

🥾 Optional – Boy Scout Tree

5.5 miles
Moderate
3 – 4 hours

Camper van in camp site at Jedediah Smith Campground

🥾 Check in at Jedidiah Smith Campground (5.6 miles from Stout Grove, 18 min)

Total Time with travel: 5 h 10 min

If looking to make this day shorter, I would cut out Simpson Reed Grove. The other three are too wonderful and each unique to the other to pick which one to cut. I’ll let you make that choice!

If you are looking to add in Hidden Beach Trail, make sure you figure out your low tides. Both are best at low tide, but they area 24 minutes apart so it might be hard to hit both. We loved Enderts Beach but it would not have been great during high tide.

To make the day longer, you can add some of the optional hikes or even move Fern Canyon and the beaches to Day 3 with plans to stay in Crescent City. Then Day 4 could be Stout Grove, Grove of Titans, and Boy Scout Tree.

Bottom Line: Redwood National Park Itinerary: 1, 2, or 4 days

As far as a Redwood National Park Itinerary goes, you can make this suit your adventure!

For one day, drive along the scenic drives and add a few short hikes.

Spending 2 days will give you a little more exposure to this majestic area. On a 2 day adventure, I would keep the scenic drives and add in Tall Trees Trail, Fern Canyon, and Stout Grove.

And if you want to make this longer than 4 days, you easily could by adding in all the optional stops.

So, which Redwood National Park Itinerary are you picking?