Walker Road Redwoods in Del Norte County
If you want to see some Redwoods near Crescent City, CA then you should drive to Walker Road.
Walker road is a Day Use area located right of highway 199 in the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.
It has Redwood trees, hiking trails, and the Smith River.
Details
- Location: Walker Rd. Crescent City, CA
Walker Road is a popular place to visit the Redwoods near Crescent City, CA. Here is all the information about this day use area.
I visited in 2020 to get these photos to help you plan your visit.
Directions:
To get to the Walker Road from Crescent City, CA is about a 13 minute drive.
You will head north on 101 and take exit US-199 toward I-5/Grants Pass.
Then you will continue on highway 199 for about 2.5 miles and Walker Rd will be on the left.
I have included the map location above for navigation.
Even the drive to the day use area is beautiful as you will be driving through some massive Redwoods.
It’s one of the best drives through the Redwoods in Northern California.
Day Use Area:
Once you turn on Walker Road you will see the sign for the day use area.
Depending on how much time you have to explore the Redwood Forest there are a few different options of things that you could do here at Walker Road.
You can hike through the redwoods, drive down walker Road, or visit the Smith River.
Hiking Trails:
There are two different Redwood hiking trail heads on Walker Road.
#1 Simpson Reed / Peterson Memorial Trail
The first trail head that you will see right after you enter the day use area is The Simpson-Reed Trail.
The Simpson Reed trail is an easily accessible 0.8 mile loop hike that is an easy hike.
This trail also connects to the Peterson Memorial loop trail which is only about 0.3 miles.
Related: Simpson Reed Hiking Trail – Crescent City Redwoods
#2 Leffer-Ellsworth Loop Trail
The Leffer Ellsworth Loop Trail is a 2.6 mile loop that is also located a little farther down Walker Road.
This is also a trail that is a walk through the Redwoods.
This trail travels along a section of the 19th-century Crescent City Plank road and then goes down into a canyon filled with ferns.
The plank road is a historical wagon route that was used in the 19th century to travel between Crescent City and the gold mining camps in the mountains.
Drive Walker Road
If you are just wanting to take a drive through the Redwoods then you can just drive down walker road and not even stop to get out.
Just the drive alone is amazing since the road goes right through the redwoods and dead ends at the Smith River.
The road is just a short drive and you can turn around at the end.
It is easily accessible for cars, but is too small for RVs or trailers.
Along the road there are places where you can pull out and park.
Perfect to get out and take some photos or just see the Redwood trees up close.
The trees are huge and you can see them right from the road. I really loved the large ferns and the mossy covered trees.
Visit the Smith River
If you want to see the Smith River up close then just drive to the very end of Walker Road. It dead ends right on the bank of the beautiful Smith River.
This is a popular swimming spot for locals in the summer. The Smith River is one of my favorite spots because the water is so crystal clear.
You can even see down to the bottom in many spots.
People also love to fish here. If it is the spring time you many even see some wildflowers along the bank.
I found these pretty flowers when we visited in May.
