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By Stu Marks

Eight stories above the red brick streets of old town Eureka, California, I was swaying slightly in a strong breeze as the studio weight camera, and the fireman up there with me in the fully extended ladder/bucket swung out over the large crowd at the annual Fireman’s Muster. I was operating camera three for PBS Channel 13 as the Fireman’s Muster parade made its way through the down town streets of the north coasts largest town.

photo by NorthCoastPhotos.com

I was usually facing somewhat in a northerly direction during this aerial shoot near the corner of 3rd and A streets. The sun was almost directly overhead and behind me, while the Pacific Ocean and Humboldt Bay were off to my left.

When the crowd below was somewhat subdued, and there was no high school band playing, the effect up there was awe-inspiring as the impact of the natural environment around me, and where I was, momentarily replaced the fanfare and excitement of the parade. I could clearly see and smell the bay, with its salt/fish tang in the crisp, coastal air. The ever present gulls were screeching their mournful cry; some gliding away from the beach and the dumpsters to get a closer look at me and the fireman floating up there in their domain.

The parade was a short one, only lasting about thirty minutes, but for almost an hour, I was floating above the world, where I could see my two favorite geographic elements on Earth; the Pacific Ocean, and the Coastal Redwoods to the north, towards Arcata.

Jedediah Smith SP

Listing my travels against most other adventuresome globe trotters some what pales by comparison. But, I have been many places around our hemisphere, shooting video and stills for various entities or for just my own collection; Canada, The Bahamas, many state and national parks including the awesomeness of Arches National Park in Utah. But to me, nothing compares to standing bare-footed on the beach of the Pacific Ocean; anywhere from Seaside, Oregon, to Santa Cruz, California or, standing at the base of a giant coastal redwood in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park on the Smith River in Northern California.

There are thirty-three coastal redwood parks in northern and central California, and this article will highlight just a few. For a complete interactive map of these parks, go here.

Uprooted Redwood at Humboldt Redwoods SP

Humboldt Redwoods State Park is the largest Redwood state park and is famous for The Avenue of the Giants, a stretch of old Hwy 101 that runs parallel to the new State Hwy 254 through the park. Many years ago, when I was last visiting the area, there were several privately operated attractions throughout the park, including a tribute to Hobbiton (The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien). Now that Humboldt Redwoods is a formal state park, I’m not sure exactly which private attractions are still operating. Take a drive down old 101 and find out for yourself as I will within the next couple of years.

Hendy Woods SP

Hendy Woods is a small state park hidden away on hwy 128 near Philo, California. Hwy 128 connects the famous Hwy 101 at Cloverdale to the coastal Hwy 1 near Albion, just south of Fort Bragg. Hendy was discovered by my 35mm k-frame Minolta when my car broke down in Philo back in 1978. I changed out a rear end on my 60s Dodge Dart over a day while the wife and kids played near the park. Fort Bragg might be the absolute best place on earth to get clam chowder. And, the scenery is awesome.

Standish-Hickey State Rec Area

Standish-Hickey State Recreational Area is a wonderful place to take a family or for couples to get away. Situated on the Eel River near Leggett on Hwy 101, there are a few amenities but, the big draw should be the awesome trees. This park contains one of the last standing virgin redwood forests on earth. I’ve driven though this park many times, stopping for lunch near the river.

Richardson Grove SP

Richardson Grove State Park is further north on 101 near Garberville, in bear country. While enjoying this sizeable forest of Redwoods, make sure your food is stored properly to avoid problems with local bears. Merely locking open food in your car is not good enough and might end up as a rather bizarre auto insurance claim. Richardson Grove has over nine miles of hiking trails, picnic area with ample parking, river access, and seasonal fishing. Also, AT&T Wi-Fi service has recently been added. Park visitors will be able to gain Wi-Fi access when they use a wireless device within about 150 to 200 feet of the Ranger Station located at the park entrance.

Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP

Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park. The redwoods in the Grizzly Creek area were what inspired Owen R. Cheatham, founder of Georgia-Pacific Corporation, to preserve this site in perpetuity. The Cheatham Grove is an exceptional stand of coast redwoods. The park is a quiet place to camp, hike, fish, swim and picnic. The Van Duzen River flows beside the campground. The park is 20 miles southeast of Eureka on HWY 101, then 17 miles east of HWY 36.

Redwood National and SP

On the federal side, there is the Redwood National and State Park on the North Coast. An amazing diversity of life exists at Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP). The ancient coast redwood ecosystem preserved in the parks contains some of the planet's most majestic forests. Here, banana slugs, gray whales, Douglas-fir, black bears, and sea anemones are equally at home with redwoods. Stand at the base of a coast redwood and the huckleberry bushes tower over you. Watch statuette Roosevelt elk grazing in the prairies. Observe the tail of a female Chinook salmon heave skyward as she makes a nest for her eggs. Whether a morning or night person, you can hear the endangered marbled murrelets' “keer” across the treetops as they fly from sea to mossy nest.

If this article made you thirst for more information about these awesome parks, and maybe even get you envisioning yourself actually walking through these majestic groves, then we were successful in our endeavor to bring more folks to experience a truly awesome place on this planet; California’s north coastal redwoods.