Pets allowed
Allowed
Guided tours
No
Backcountry camping
Yes
Lodging
No
Please respect the outdoors by practicing Leave No Trace. Learn more about how to apply the principles of Leave No Trace on your next outdoor adventure here.

If you are looking for massive, 2,000-year-old trees that will dwarf your car and/or RV, this is a great option. Established in 1929, the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park is a predominantly old-growth coast redwoods park. The Park has a visitor center with exhibits and a nature store, a campground with 87 family campsites, nearly 20 miles of hiking and nature trails, and access to Smith River (the last major free flowing river in California).

The Park protects 10,000 acres of primeval redwood groves as well as an undergrowth of azaleas, rhododendrons and ferns. It is open year-round, with summer temperatures ranging from 45-85 degrees Fahrenheit and winter temperatures ranging from 30-65 degrees Fahrenheit.

Logistics + Planning

Preferable season(s)

Spring
Summer
Fall

Congestion

High

Parking Pass

General Day Use Fee

Pros

Massive trees. Extensive amenities.

Cons

Big crowds. Reservations can be difficult to obtain.

Features

Campgrounds + Campsites
Showers
Backcountry camping
Historically significant
Flushing toilets
Boat ramp(s)
Mountain biking
Potable water
Picnic tables
Old-growth forest
Fishing
Bird watching
Wildlife

Site type

Full hookups

Location

Nearby Adventures

Nearby Lodging + Camping

Comments

05/09/2016
Jed Smith is a pretty awesome spot. This park contains a few of my favorite redwoods for sure. Do your research and you should be able to see some things you most certainly will remember forever.
01/05/2015
Visited Jedediah Smith Redwoods in January of 2015... absolutely incredible trees. Definitely deserving of a spot on your bucket list!
Jedediah Smith's most abundant understory is Sword Fern, followed by Evergreen Huckleberry. Then Rhododendron, Salmonberry and more.

July and August are the busiest months, but I always find parking in summer. And between 7am to 11am in summer mornings, the park is still rather docile.

Late October to May, the park is very quiet. For example, around 4pm two weeks ago, I stood on a log from almost 20 minutes hoping somebody would come into Stout Grove to take their photo a couple of hours before it got dark.
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