Redwood Country

A drive along the Avenue of the Giants north of Garberville takes you into the magical world of ancient redwood trees. Humboldt Redwoods State Park and the Rockefeller Forest contain the tallest living trees in the largest remaining stand of virgin redwoods in the world. Many of these awe-inspiring trees are thousands of years old. Park headquarters in Weott offers visitor information.

South from Garberville brings you to Richardson Grove State Park and Standish Hickey State Park, two havens for ancient redwoods. Both have hiking trails that lead you through hushed groves of giant redwood trees. Visitor information is available at Park headquarters in Piercy.

Benbow

The world-famous Benbow Inn sits prominently just south of Garberville. Here you'll find gracious lodging and a luxurious restaurant. Next door is the award-winner Benbow Valley RV Resort and Golf Course and Benbow Lake State Recreation Area. The lake, created each summer with a dam along the Eel River, provides swimming and boating opportunities.

 
Shelter Cove

Shelter Cove, a retirement and vacation community, is nestled on the coast 24 miles west of Garberville. Here you can find lodging, restaurants, shops, a golf course and airport. A marina with boat rental and concrete launching ramp lure fishermen all year.

 
The Lost Coast

King Range National Conservation Area, 60,000 acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management, was established in 1970. It's a vast, unspoiled area rich in wildlife and birds, with hiking trails, primitive campsites and developed campgrounds. A rare black sand beach stretching north 25 miles begins in Shelter Cove, passing by jagged mountains that rise sharply from sea level to the 4,087-foot-high King's Peak. The Lost Coast Trail, a National Recreation Trail, starts at the Mattole River mouth in Petrolia, heads south into Sinkyone Park and ends 52 miles later at Usal Beach.

Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, with 7,312 acres, offers hiking in rugged, pristine forestland, with ocean access for observing migrating whales and other sea mammals, and primitive campsites.

From Weott, the road to Honeydew and Petrolia leads you through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, into beautiful countryside lush with madrone and tanoak by the waters of the Mattole River, eventually taking you by cattle rangeland and beaches along the Pacific Ocean and into Ferndale.

East to Alderpoint