Avenue of the Giants

Humboldt Redwoods State Park, CA

April 14, 2017

We know from a past trip (July 2014) that photos don't really capture the abundance or great size of the redwoods along one of the most beautiful drives (Avenue of the Giants) that we've ever experienced, so we decided to make an amateur attempt to capture a brief portion of the drive on video:

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Shrine Auto Park

Avenue of the Giants

California

July 2014

Along the beautiful Avenue of the Giants, we stopped at the touristy Shrine Auto Park that features a drive thru tree. Instead of driving thru like most, we parked and walked (wheeled) thru the tree. Laurel had a great time exploring the hollowed out trees that resembled caves. The park wasn't the most wheelchair friendly, but Kellisa was still able to enjoy herself. All things considered, I'm not sure how you could make a place like this more accessible without ruining the very features that make it interesting. I think the owners did the best that they could, so I would recommend a stop, but caution that wheelchairs can't do/see everything there is and the wheelchair user will probably require some help, especially for the steep road sections (if you decide to get out and explore like we did).

(More Shrine Auto Park Pictures)

Avenue of the Giants

Humboldt Redwoods State Park

California

July 20014

Our first stop on the Northern California Coast was Humboldt Redwoods State Park to drive the 31 mile, world famous Avenue of the Giants. We enjoyed the slow pace of the drive with the windows down. Laurel kept saying, "wow, those are huge trees!" and  asking, "are they real?" Kellisa kept shouting, "Ah" (her way of saying dad) as she pointed out her window to let me know that she was looking at the trees. We were in a special place and both girls knew it.

The entire road has two lanes that weave around the massive trees that cast deep shadows on the pavement.

It was late in the afternoon and we couldn't get a campsite among the redwoods, so we had to camp along the Eel River (below).