Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
Encyclopedia
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
, located in Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...
, near the town of Orick
Orick, California
Orick is a census-designated place situated on the banks of the Redwood Creek in Humboldt County, California. It is located north of Eureka, at an elevation of 26 feet . The ZIP Code is 95555...
and 50 miles (80 km) north of Eureka
Eureka, California
Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
. The 14,000 acre (57 km²) park is a coastal sanctuary for old-growth Coast Redwood trees.
The park is jointly managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
as a part of the Redwood National and State Parks
Redwood National and State Parks
The Redwood National and State Parks are located in the United States, along the coast of northern California. Comprising Redwood National Park and California's Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks , the combined RNSP contain...
. These parks (which includes Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park is a state park located in California. The park, established in 1927, is with approximately 50% old-growth coast redwood and of wild coastline. The park is a World Heritage Site & Biosphere Preserve....
, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Jedediah Smith Redwoods Park, established in 1929, was named after the noted fur trapper Jedediah Smith, who visited its location during an 1826 expedition. It is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California, nine miles east of Crescent City, on U.S. Route 199...
, and Redwood National Park) have been collectively designated as a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
and International Biosphere Reserve.
The meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
along the Newton B. Drury
Newton B. Drury
Newton Bishop Drury was the fourth director of the American National Park Service and the executive director of the Save-the-Redwoods League.-Early life and career:...
Scenic Parkway, with Roosevelt elk
Roosevelt elk
The Roosevelt elk , also known as Olympic elk, is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk in North America...
, is considered a centerpiece of the park, located near the information center and campground. Other popular sites in the park are Fern Canyon
Fern Canyon
Fern Canyon is a canyon in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Humboldt County, California, western United States. The park managed in cooperation with other nearby 'redwoods state parks' and Redwood National Park.-Ferns:...
and Gold Bluffs Beach. The park is also home to the tailed frog
Tailed frog
The tailed frogs are two species of frogs. The species are part of the genus, Ascaphus is the only taxon in the family Ascaphidae . The "tail" in the name is actually an extension of the male cloaca. The tail is one of two distinctive anatomical features adapting the species to life in fast-flowing...
and several species of salmon.
A visitor center is provided with displays, wall maps and bookstore. It is along the same driveway as the campground and some day use parking. There is also parking along part of the parkway where elk may be seen; no day use fee is required to park and leave vehicles in that area during daylight hours.
Restrooms are located near the visitor center and also nearby at the Big Tree parking lot.
History
Some of the first Euro-Americans to the area arrived in 1851 with the discovery of gold in the area that would become known as Gold Bluffs. Gold Bluffs had at one-time been a substantial mining camp although little remains today.With the end of the Civil War and a fall in the price of gold, operations at the Gold Bluffs were shut down. In 1872 Captain Taylor of New York visited the Gold Bluffs to obtain the mine and exploit the rich sands supposedly deposited offshore. In the spring of 1873, over 100 tons of sand were raised from an area from one-half mile to within 40 feet (12.2 m) of the bluffs, and in depths of from eight to four fathoms of water. However, by the 1880s activities at the Gold Bluffs again began to slump.
But perhaps the most interesting story of the region comes from the area of Gold Bluffs. In a newspaper article from 1984, Thelma Hufford recorded this fascinating tale:
At Upper Bluffs, imported miners from CornwallCornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, who were expert tunnel builders and who know how to set up timbers in a tunnel (were employed)...Arthur Davison said it was opened in 1898. The tunnel was through to the coast. It was 600 feet long and six feet square. The tunnel was built to bring water from Prairie Creek to the headwaters of Butler Creek. A reservoir was built on the west-side of the creek. It was used for five years...The opening, Fay Aldrich said, was on the Prairie Creek side of Joe Stockel's place near the apple tree on Highway 101.
By 1920 mining operations at the Gold Bluffs had been closed down.
The park was created in the early 1920s by the forethought of the people of California and the generosity of the Save-the-Redwoods League
Save-the-Redwoods League
The Save the Redwoods League is an organization dedicated to the protection of the remaining Coast Redwood trees in the state of California. It was founded in 1918 by Frederick Russell Burnham, Madison Grant, John C. Merriam, and Henry Fairfield Osborn....
as is a sanctuary of old growth coast redwood.
Trees
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is home to Atlas Grove, researched by Stephen C. SillettStephen C. Sillett
Stephen C. Sillett is a botanist specializing in old growth forest canopies. As the first scientist to enter the redwood forest canopy, he pioneered new methods for climbing, exploring, and studying tall trees...
. Atlas Grove (location undisclosed) includes Iluvatar
Iluvatar (tree)
Iluvatar is a redwood tree in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Northern California that has been confirmed to be at least in diameter at breast height, and in height. Measured by Stephen C. Sillett, it is the world's third-largest coast redwood, the largest being Lost Monarch.Iluvatar is...
, the 3rd largest Coast Redwood. The location of Atlas Grove's Iluvatar is undisclosed to protect its sensitive ecosystem. Other notable trees in disclosed to visitors are Big Tree, Corkscrew Redwood and the Cathedral Trees. Besides Coast Redwood, other tall coniferous tree species in the park's forests include Coast Douglas-fir
Coast Douglas-fir
Pseudotsuga menziesii, known as Douglas-fir, Oregon Pine, or Douglas spruce, is an evergreen conifer species native to western North America. Its variety Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii, also known as coast Douglas-fir grows in the coastal regions, from west-central British Columbia, Canada...
, Sitka Spruce
Sitka Spruce
Picea sitchensis, the Sitka Spruce, is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50–70 m tall, exceptionally to 95 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m, exceptionally to 6–7 m diameter...
and Western Hemlock
Western Hemlock
Tsuga heterophylla. the Western Hemlock, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma County, California.-Habitat:...
.
Plenty of redwoods in this park have reached 300 feet (91.4 m) tall. Some like Godwood Creek Giant and Gemini, are over 340 feet (103.6 m) high.
Trails
Trails in the park include:- Miners Ridge and James Irvine - 11.6 miles (18.7 km)
- Brown Creek Loop - 3.5 miles (5.6 km)
- Big Tree Loop - 3.2 miles (5.1 km)
- Ten Taypo Trail - 3.5 miles (5.6 km)
- Rhododendron and Cal Barrel - 5.1 miles (8.2 km)
- West Ridge and Prairie Creek South - 5.8 miles (9.3 km)
- West Ridge and Rhododendron North - 7.7 miles (12.4 km)
- The Friendship Ridge Trail - 8 miles (12.9 km)
- The Ah Pah Trail - 0.6 mile (0.965604 km)
- The Nature Trail - 1 miles (1.6 km)