Stout Grove - Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

On our recent trip to Redwoods National and State Parks and Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, I think the favorite place for each of us, at least for tree viewing, was Stout Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, a 14.4 mile drive northeast of Crescent City which takes about 27 minutes to drive to. It is a .5 or .6 mile loop trail which is just off the Smith River.  

Redwoodhikes claims that it is the "world's most scenic stand of redwoods." We visited early in the morning with first light, but Redwoodhikes says that late afternoon in the summer, about 4:00 p.m. provides the best light. 

The under story is mostly ferns and Redwood sorrel so that the views of the coast redwoods are mostly unobstructed. The redwoods are large, straight and magnificent. The balance of this post is some of my photos.

This was my favorite spot, looking up into the heights of a circle of redwoods. 

Redwood sorrel, a prevalent ground cover. 

Sun cascading into the grove at an angle. 

Sam dwarfed by the surrounding redwoods. 

A redwood that has splintered. 

Judy at the impressive base of a large redwood. 

Sam is just about as tall as this log is in diameter. 

A bigleaf oak

Examining the rings in the cut trunk is fun. 

Western sword fern growing in the trunk of a fallen redwood. 

Western sword fern covers the floor. It is deceptively tall, going up to about my shoulders.