Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Rainy season probably isn’t the best time to check this place out. But it looks like I went on the worst day possible so far.

Hike the Miner’s ridge and James Irvine loop trail for an awesome trek through redwoods, beach, fern canyon and back through the woods. Also hike the prarie creek and west ridge trail for some more amazing redwoods. Elk can usually be seen on the beach. Amazing park.

Its simply one of the most amazing parks you will ever experience. Reserve site #19 at the prairie creek campground; private, off the road, near the bathrooms and behind these two big trees for lots of privacy. Get there before 8pm to get firewood from the camp host ($ 8/​bundle) and to sit in on a lecture/​presentation by camp staff on the flora and fauna of the area. A lovely, lovely place.

Beware of this campground — not all sites are created equal! I was in campsite #70, which was not in redwood forests. Neither are sites 1 – 7 (about — I forget exact numbers) or site 69. There may be a few others. See if you can check out the map better than I did before booking! The loops closest to the campground check in are not in forest, and therefore not as enjoyable of a camping experience.
The park itself is lovely and has a wide variety of hiking trails.

A fabulous place, great for hikers!
I did a 14mi-​loop, from the visiter center to the beach, along the beach, and back through fern canyon. A magical place. And not too busy at the end of June for a quiet hike – except in the canyon.

I took a trip here in early June for 3 nights. I stayed at the Prairie Creek campground. I reserved a tent only site that was just perfect. It was spot number 46 and had tons of privacy if that is what you are looking for. My spot was surrounded by trees and brush and just felt very private. I would totally recommend that spot. I walked around the campground a few times and there were also some other really nice spots, but there were also ones that had no privacy at all.
The campground was very clean as were the bathrooms. There were two shower stalls at each bathroom that were operated by quarters. It seemed like a very family friendly campground that got really quiet at night. There is a fair amount of bugs flying around in the evening, but it’s camping so that isn’t something you can really avoid. I did have a decent amount of bites on my legs, but oh well.
The weather was perfect while I was there. Sunny and warm during the day and cool at night.
There are tons of different hikes around in the area. I drove to Fern canyon one of the days. You go up this unpaved road through the forest and end up at Gold Bluffs beach and then you take that dirt road for awhile longer until you get to a parking area. From there you can enter the canyon and see where they shot part of Jurassic Park 2. It is very beautiful. I ventured from that hike and went on another trail that looked around back to the beach that might have been a total of 7 – 8 miles. It was a great hike and wasn’t very crowded at all!!! It’s amazing to hike through the Redwoods and then end up at the beach.
Overall this is a beautiful area that is a must stop for anybody driving through or looking to camp.

Loved this campground! It’s dense, thick, and full of beautiful redwoods! There’s plenty of hiking trails too! Just be aware that if your planning on hiking to Fern Canyon from this campground that it is about a 4 – 5 mile hike and once there it’s another 4 – 5 miles back! We hiked over 12 miles taking James trail to Fern Canyon and then went down to Miners Ridge trail… it was beautiful but by the last 3 miles it was a bit much. Anyways, be sure to check out the Elk grazing near the shore just past Fern Canyon. Beautiful place, I’m missing it already! Go!

My favorite redwood park. I’ve hiked through Prairie Creek since 1994. Generally the park is extremely quiet, because tourists cram into the beach end and wander into fern canyon, leaving the rest of the park lightly hiked. While I really miss the old creek bed pathway that the Irvine used to follow (it’s now more reminiscent of the more strenuous Miner’s Ridge trail), I do like that fern canyon isn’t laid out with paths, but rather is jumbled with logs and snags, meaning fewer people there, too, because you are pretty much going to get your boots wet now. I last hiked it this past Memorial Day, and even though it was a holiday, I passed only 4 pairs or small groups of hikers on the Irvine from HQ to fern canyon. It’s blissfully quiet, and stunningly beautiful.

This review is for the Elk Prairie Campground within Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. I stayed at a tent campsite here during the first week of November, 2014. There was no need for a reservation as only a handful of campers occupied campsites. I enjoyed a choice creekside site, #28, so as to fall asleep each night to the sound of a babbling brook. I was not disappointed.
The Positives: RV’s tended to situate themselves on the meadow to view the usually present herd of elk; the restrooms and showers were functioning and clean (Showers cost 50 cents per 5 minutes.); and there were many shy varied thrush in the open grasses between the giant redwoods.
The Negatives: the lock on the handicapped restroom/​shower would not function (so had there been more campers, they could have seen more than a giant bull elk); the price of $ 35 per night seemed a bit high to me; and while very nice, there was some «Wow Factor» missing that doesn’t allow me to join fellow Unilocalers and rate this state park all 5 stars.

This was one of the highlights of our summer trip. Gorgeous redwoods and not very crowded. We did a couple of short hikes off the road, including one that included a lot of blackberry picking! The number of blackberries we saw on this trip was quite amazing. Kids loved it (and so did I).
We topped off our day in the park by taking the wild road out to Fern Canyon. Completely unpaved road and this is before you even arrive at the Visitor’s entrance. It’s a slow drive but totally worth it to see the mix of redwoods and coast. When you get to the end there is a very nice hike up Fern Canyon (absolutely amazing place that the kids explored with relish). You can also walk out to the ocean. On that hike we came face to face with a massive bull elk. Who just let us stare at him for as long as we liked.
It doesn’t get better than that.

First off, you will see tons of Elk … you might even get peed on by one of the bulls. That’s how you know to back the hell up, just in case you were wondering.
A short walk takes you to what looks like Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest. Magnificent walls of green, babbling brooks, and the sound of Elk calling for each other. It’s a storybook come to life. If you don’t enjoy this place, you don’t enjoy the outdoors.

Yep… beautiful! Worth the trip!

I’ve been vacationing in the area for years and, in my opinion, this is the best state park and campground in the redwoods system. Great for camping and visiting for the day. Choose from campsites among the redwoods or on the prairie. Plenty of hiking trails and walking paths including a (long, difficult) trail that goes out to Fern Canyon. During the summer, the rangers lead «campfires» which include presentations about local ecology and history. The park also has a Junior Ranger program for kids. Lots to do here.
P. S. Can you see the people in the Revelation Trail pic?

The park ranger suggested we do James Irvine Trail to Fern Canyon and back. The trail head mentions the distance to be 4.6 miles one way. The end to end trail is about 10 miles.
The walk through the Redwoods is such a cathartic experience and getting to Fern Canyon is a sweet sweet reward.
This trail is a must do if you want to really experience the Redwoods.

First a note: Talk with the rangers before driving out to the coast and especially before taking the drive up to Fern Valley if it has been raining at all. The drive along the coast has a few streams that have to be forded with your car, I saw a Toyota Prius in one of the parking lots so it’s not that bad but I wouldn’t bring anything that was lowered along the road. My Passport had no problem even with the lake I had to drive though up at the parking lot (it was raining hard and that was fun, just take it slow and you will be fine).
Up near the main road there are some strips of grassland that are good viewing places for Elk. Asphalt parking lots and viewing areas make it a good are for people in large (think RV) vehicles or with mobility restrictions. Don’t take your RV out to the coast, I just wouldn’t recommend it.
Fern Valley wasn’t the spectacular view in November that I’ve seen in the pictures, but I’ll be back to check it out in its glory. The trails around the valley are still worth the walk but be sure to bring something you don’t mind getting wet, trails go right into streams some of which are medium deep in places and moving quickly (in November). This is another place that I could (and did) just bring out a chair and hang out a while drinking my coffee and watching the rain fall around me (rain gear is a wonderful thing).
I was so taken in by exploring the wetlands (best way for me to describe it, though I’m sure an ecologist will tell me it’s wrong) between the hills and the coast that I actually forgot to use my camera for half an hour or so and retraced my steps to go back to some shots I really liked.