Top Trails: Northern California's Redwood Coast Must-Do Hikes for Everyone

At last there is a definitive guidebook for the magnificent and beautifully mysterious hikers' paradise known as the Redwood Coast of Northern California. In this new title in the Top Trails series, veteran outdoors author Mike White leads day-trippers and backpackers into some of the most awe-inspiring terrain on earth. Step-by-step in his trail-worn boots, the author created a menu of 57 diverse routes, from a gentle half-mile morning loop to a 29-mile backpacking adventure. Winding through Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte counties, he guides readers into this landscape of lush, old-growth redwoods; picture-postcard vistas to Pacific Ocean sea stacks; winding descents to undisturbed beaches and mesmerizing tide-pool life; pathways to inland canyons; and untamed wilderness shy on humans but boisterous with herds of Roosevelt elk. For readers ready to hit the trail, this is the can't-do-without guide and for armchair travelers, it's 57 journeys into wonderland.

Mike White grew up in Portland, OR, where his adventures in the Cascade Range spawned his interest in the outdoors. He became a full-time writer, eventually writing or contributing to numerous outdoor guides. A featured speaker for outdoors and conservation organizations, he lives in Reno, NV.

CONTENTS
LocatorsRedwoods MapRedwoods Trail TableUsing Top Trails
Organization of Top Trails
Choosing a TrailIntroduction to Redwoods
Geography and Topography
Flora
Fauna
When to Go
Trail Selection
Key Features
Multiple Uses
Trail Safety
Camping and PermitsOn the Trail
Have a Plan
Carry the Essentials
Food
Less Than Essential, But Useful Items
Trail EttiquetteChapter 1
Mendocino County
1 Hendy Woods State Park: North Loop
2 Montgomery Woods State Reserve: Montgomery Woods Trail
3 Van Damme State Park: Fern Canyon Loop
4 Chapman Point & Spring Ranch Headlands
5 Mendocino Headlands State Park-Big River Unit: Big River Haul Road
6 Mendocino Headlands State Park: Mendocino Headlands
7 Jackson State Demonstration Forest: Forest History Trail
8 Russian Gulch State Park: Russian Gulch Trail
9 Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park
10 Jughandle State Reserve & Jackson State Demonstration Forest: Ecological Staircase Trail
11 Jackson State Demonstration Forest: Chamberlain Creek Falls
12 MacKerricher State Park: Ten Mile Beach Trail
Chapter 2
Kings Range Conservation Area & Sinkyone Wilderness State Park
13 Lost Coast Trail: Mattole River to Shelter Cove (North Section)
14 Lightning Trail to Kings Peak
15 Lost Coast Trail: Hidden Valley to Usal Beach (South Section)
Chapter 3
Humboldt Redwoods State Park & Humboldt County
16 F.K. Lane Loop Trail
17 Stephens Grove Loop
18 Nature Trail
19 Founders’ Grove
20 Rockefeller Loop
21 Big Tree Area
22 Homestead and Big Tree Loop
23 Bull Creek Flats and Big Tree Loop
24 Allens Trail
25 High Rock River Trail
26 Grieg-French-Bell Loop
27 Drury-Chaney Loop
28 Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park: Cheatham Grove
29 Headwaters Forest Reserve: Elk River Trail
Chapter 4
Redwood National Park & Vicinity
30 Trinidad Head Loop—Trinidad State Beach
31 Patrick Point State Park Trails
32 Stone Lagoon—Humboldt Lagoons State Park
33 Redwood Creek
34 Lady Bird Johnson Grove
35 Tall Trees Grove
36 Emerald Ridge Loop
37 Dolason Prairie Trail
38 Lyons Ranch Trail
39 Coastal Trail: Skunk Cabbage Section
40 Trillium Falls Loop
Chapter 5
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
41 Fern Canyon Loop
42 Big Tree Loop
43 Brown Creek-Rhododendron-South Fork Loop
44 West Ridge-Prairie Creek Loop
45 James Irvine-Miners Ridge-Coastal Trail Loop
46 Hope Creek-Ten Taypo Loop
47 Ossagon Trail
Chapter 6
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
48 Yurok Loop and Hidden Beach
49 Klamath Overlook
50 Damnation Creek Trail
51 Coastal Trail: Enderts Beach
52 Coastal Trail: Crescent Beach
Chapter 7
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park & Vicinity
53 Boy Scout Tree Trail
54 Stout Grove
55 Simpson Reed Grove and Peterson Memorial Trails
56 Lieffer and Ellsworth Loops
57 Myrtle Creek Trail
Appendices
1 Top Rated Trails
2 Campgrounds and RV Parks
3 Hotels, Lodges, Motels, and Resorts
4 Major Organizations
5 Useful Resources
Index
Author and Series Creator