Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Celebrating the Coast Redwoods for Belated Earth Day
To celebrate Earth Day, we traveled to one of our favorite places last week to enjoy the tallest trees on earth, the Coast Redwoods of Northern California.
Thanks to the efforts of the Save the Redwoods League, formed in 1918, there were many ancient groves for us to enjoy, in the national park and California state parks.
“When logging began in the mid-19th century, roughly two million acres of ancient old-growth redwood forest mantled the coastal mountains of California and southernmost Oregon. Today, just about 5 percent remains. These parks preserve 35% of all remaining, protected old-growth coast redwood forests in California.” Signboard from the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway
We visited many ancient stands of redwoods and because it was the off-season, we often had the trails to ourselves, mostly without any rain.
In addition to the giant trees, there’s much to enjoy in the rich understory of the forest,
along with herds of Roosevelt Elk.
But there’s no doubt, the Redwoods take center stage.
Living up to 2,000 years, growing up to 380 feet tall, the Redwoods are resilient, resistant to insects, fire and rot, determined to keep on living, no matter the obstacles to be overcome. Maybe we could learn something from them.
Yes, #Earth Day was last week, but we just returned from our trip last night, so I’m sharing belatedly with #Sunday Stills, Earth.
-Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
I so love the redwoods 😀
Me too! I never get tired of visiting them! 🙂
So majestic! Great photos. And you both look so tiny by them.
Thank you! Yes, we were dwarfed by the giants!
Beautiful photos of these magnificent giants! May dad and I visited them years ago in the 80s. ❤️
Thank you! They are still marvelous!
You’re welcome, I’m they are still beautiful!
Wow, Susanne, what incredible beauty these ancient redwoods give us. I might have seen these as a kid but don’t remember much. A good reason to go back some day. Looks like your weather cooperated with you and you got to see so much of the area. The elk are a bonus for sure! Great to see you and your hubby in the shots for shock value as to the immense scale of their height and girth. So glad there are protections in place. I used to work with an Olmstead at Sacramento State Univ years ago who is direct descendent of Frederick Olmstead.
Thanks so much, Terri! You have to put yourself in the picture to understand the magnitude of the size of these giants! Truly enormous! What a tragedy it would have been if they all had been logged! We had our best weather the three days we spent in the Redwoods. We weren’t as lucky driving back up the Oregon Coast, but still managed to appreciate the rugged beauty. And I was so happy to see the elk.
My favorite trees, truly sacred, IMO. 🌳💚
They are truly magnificent, along with their giant cousins, the Sequoias.
Thanks for the dose of redwoods – Medicine for the soul!
Glad you enjoyed it! 😊
What a great post for Earth Day! We did this trip about a year ago. Those trees are so old, but looking at them never gets old.
Thank you! I never get tired of basking in the beauty and walking among those giants!
A wonderful way to celebrate Earth Day! I’m looking forward to seeing these magnificent trees for myself later this year – your photos have certainly whetted my appetite for that trip even further 😀
I’m so glad to hear you’re visiting! There are so many wonderful groves scattered through the region, full of giant trees, but each unique in their own way! 🙂
Wonderful! I love all trees, and those ancient redwoods are the kings of the tree kingdom.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks, Pete. 🙂 I love all trees too! And none are finer than the Coast Redwoods!
The Redwoods are such a humbling place. A great way to celebrate this Earth. Great photos, Susanne.
Thank you so much. “Humbling’ describes the experience of standing in the presence of these giants, perfectly. 🙂
Great photos!!
Thank you!
They are such amazing trees – apparently the UK now has more specimens than California thanks to Victorian and Edwardian plant hunters. Ours though have yet to reach these majestic heights
Wow, that’s amazing! Early conservation efforts paid off, whatever the motive. It looks like they’re including the Giant Sequoias found mainly in the Sierras together with the Coast Redwoods found in a narrow strip on the coast. Same family, both types of redwoods. Sequoias are massive, largest tree on earth, Coast Redwoods grow taller.
Seeing your pictures has brought back so many memories of seeing them with Robert, and also a failed visit to see them with my parents. They are extraordinary trees
I’m so glad you got to see them with Robert. Walking in a grove of those giants is wonderful.
It was an incredible experience. He didn’t really want to leave!
I would love to see a redwood in person some day.
It’s worth a trip to walk among those giants!
Amazing! I read that a few of the trees might be up to 4000 years old. Imagine some of these trees were alive alive when Paris kidnapped Helen of Troy and kicked off the Odyssey.
The Redwoods are ancient indeed! Some of the Coast Redwoods are thought to be over 2,000 years old, while I believe some of the Giant Sequoias may he close to 4,000. They’re further inland and even larger than the Coast Redwoods, though the Coast Redwoods are taller.