Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park is part of Redwood National and State Parks.

The thing that sets Jed Smith apart from all of the other parks is the beautiful Smith River; its unusual blue-green color lends beauty to the lands surrounding it.

Photo comparison of the Smith River

The painting featured here was painted by my mother, who embarked on this road trip with me. She painted the Smith River from the boat landing in Jed Smith campground.

Hiouchi Trail to Stout Grove

Map courtesy of redwoodhikes.com

This moderate, 5-mile hike follows along the banks of the Smith River, crossing Mill Creek into the gorgeous Stout Memorial Grove. There are ways to drive to Stout Grove, but both routes to it were closed on the day that I was in the park. The only way to access the grove that day was the Hiouchi Trail.

Although Dave Baselt (at redwoodhikes.com) does not much care for the Hiouchi Trail, I thought that it made a lovely entrance into Stout Grove, which is really special. (See also his description of Stout Grove.) I loved entering into Stout Grove from the hike along the river, and because the roads were closed to the Grove, I had the whole place to myself for a long time before the other hikers started to arrive.

The only thing to add was that the seasonal bridges don't go up until July, so I had to take off my shoes and wade across Mill Creek to enter into Stout Grove. Totally worth it!

Simpson Reed-Peterson Loop

Map courtesy of redwoodhikes.com

This easy, one-mile loop through the Simpson-Reed and Peterson Memorial Groves makes for a memorable hike for the whole family. This is a flat, quiet hike for all ages and abilities, and it features some lush forest. See here for a lovely description of the trail and the forest. There are some truly impressive trees in this grove, which will inspire the imagination.