Road Trip - Crescent City 08-16-2013

In the morning, we took Highway 101 South, at Ext 765 we changed to Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway to Elk Meadow.  Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway is a 10 mile scenic drive through ancient redwood.  The park ranger told us that we might see some elks at Elk Meadow.  No elk was there!

There are only two short paths to redwood groves in the park; Trillium Falls Trail and the Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail.  Trillium Falls Trail is a 2.6 mile loop trail located near Orick. We only walked a small portion of the trail than decided to skip it. 

The Lady Bird Johnson Grove loop is a 1½ miles trail which winds through a collection of old growth redwoods, situated in a flat area at elevation about 1,200 feet, high enough for the forest often to be covered by low cloud.

After the Lady Bird Johnson Grove, we back on Highway 101 North and turned on Davison Rd.  On Davison Rd, we stopped at Elk Meadow.  Again, we did not see any elk.  We continued on Davison Rd, passed Gold Bluffs Beach, and stopped at Fern Canyon.

At Fern Canyon, there are two trails: Yurok Loop Trail and Coastal Trail.  The Yurok Loop Trail offers spectacular views of False Klamath Cove and Lagoon Creek.  In the Yurok Loop Trail, there are many different plants such as Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, cow parsnip, etc.   The Yurok Loop Trail meets with Coastal Trail.  The Coastal Trail took us up on the hill and we saw the Pacific Ocean.  We did not want just to see the Pacific Ocean; we wanted to touch the sea.  So, we walked the Coastal Trail North which took us right in the beach.  We walked around the beach and enjoyed the sound of the waves and smelled the scent of sea.

On the way back to hotel, we stopped at Klamath River Overlook.   At the Overlook, we saw where Klamath River meets the Pacific Ocean.

The past two days we were in Redwood National Park, I leaned that there are so many dirt roads.  All Scenic Drives except Newton B. Drury Scenic Drive are dirt roads.  The dirt roads are long, narrow, and very dusty.  I think my car need a bath now.  However, it is worth it.