Redwood National Park

Redwood National Park is managed cooperatively by the National Park Service and the California Department of Parks and Recreation, along with Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. 

The three state parks pre-date the formation of the national park. When National Geographic scientists discovered the tallest known tree in the world at the time in Tall Trees Grove, the federal government began to buy up interstitial land between the existing state parks and declared the area a national park in order to protect the land for the future. There is now, confusingly, a campus called Redwood National Park in that interstitial land, but the four parks lumped together are also called Redwood National and State Parks.

The 379-foot Hyperion Tree, currently the tallest known tree in the world, is in the  Redwood Creek basin located on the federally owned lands of Redwood National Park. Unfortunately, its exact location has to be kept a secret because even slight root damage from visitors would likely result in its top dying off.

Lady Bird Johnson Grove

Map courtesy of redwoodhikes.com

This lovely hike in Redwood National Park is one of the most popular hikes in the park. It's easy, flat, and short. But what really makes it special is that it's an old-growth redwood grove on a ridge top instead of valley floor along a creek. The hill below the ridge was clear-cut in the 1960s, so light floods into the forest creating a spectacular, airy feel to the forest. The rhododendron grows really well at this higher elevation, which is a real treat! I was delighted to see it bloom even into mid-June.

See this link for a more detailed description of the hike at Lady Bird Johnson Grove.