Redwoods … rivers … beaches. There’s a magical place where they all converge, and it’s located in Northern California. If magical sounds like an overstatement, you’d be wrong. After all, how many places can you wander into a redwood grove, filled with ancient giants? Or float down the river in a hand carved redwood canoe? Or see underwater boulder gardens in one of the world’s cleanest rivers? Or ride a horse down a beach at sunset? I’ll let you in on a little secret, you can do all of that and more in Del Norte County, California.
Del Norte County is located on the Pacific Coast. It’s the last stop in California, before crossing the Oregon state line. You can easily get here from several West Coast cities. We hit the road from Portland. My crew included my 13-year-old daughter and my 8-year-old son; and grandma (my mother-in-law) came along for the adventure, too! This is an ideal multi-generational road trip destination.
We picked activities that fit a range of interests and activity levels. Here’s how we spent an action packed three days in Del Norte County.
Day One in Del Norte County
There was a lot we wanted to do here, but our time was short, so we got up early to kick off our first full day in the area.
We hopped in the car and headed south down the Redwood Highway (Highway 101). The highway hugs the coastline and passes by some of the tallest trees you’ll ever see.
Tour-Thru Tree
With redwoods on our mind, we drove just past Klamath to the Tour-Thru Tree (430 CA-169). You can drive your car through the trunk of an 800-year-old tree. This is one of the few remaining redwoods that tourists can drive through in California, so it’s a popular roadside attraction.
We’ve visited twice now. Both times, there were other cars when we pulled up. I hear it can get busy here, but we didn’t experience that when we came. The road from the highway to the tree is short, but narrow. Once you get to the tree, you’ll line up behind any other cars. You’ll want to fold in your side-view mirrors and take it real slow as you drive inside the tree. It’s a tight fit for most vehicles! You can go through more than once. Just be patient. Most cars stop just inside the tree for photos. We did the same so we didn’t mind waiting for others!
It costs $5 per vehicle. The tree is open year-round. If no one’s working at the entrance booth, you can drop your money into a box and continue on. The Tour-Thru Tree is located just off Highway 101 near Klamath. You’ll see signs for it on the highway as you approach the area.
Redwood Yurok Canoe Tour
We drove back to Klamath to the Yurok Country Visitor Center (101 Klamath Blvd), the meeting place for our scheduled Redwood Yurok Canoe Tour.
Once we connected with our guides, we headed to the river. After a brief safety chat, we got on life vests, them climbed aboard the canoe. The canoe, we learned, was carved from a redwood, a Yurok tradition dating back generations. The Yurok people used these dugout canoes to transport goods and people up and down the ocean and rivers. The canoe is carved with a heart, lung and kidneys. Even the oars are carved from redwood.
Each canoe holds up to six people, two of them being the guides. Passengers sit in the middle on the floor of the vessel. During the 2-hour tour, the canoe glides down the Klamath River while the guides tell stories of past and present. They share knowledge from a lifetime spent on the river, and information about the geography and native wildlife.
Although not necessary, my 8-year-old was eager to help paddle the canoe. The river was glassy and calm. The morning started out overcast, but the sun appeared during our tour. I recommend dressing in layers as it may be chilly on the water.
The cost of a guided tour is $125 per person and it can be booked online. Not only did we learn a lot, but we found this to be a very peaceful way to spend the morning. Our guides recommended doing a morning tour for the best river conditions. It’s a little muddy getting onto the boat, but we didn’t get wet during this trip. Life vests are provided.
KidTripster Tip: If the canoe ride sounds too mellow for your family, take it up a notch with a Klamath Jet Boat Tour. The 45-mile journey lasts two hours. Like the canoe tour, you’ll learn about the history of the area and the people, but at a faster clip. You may also see wildlife along the river banks. Bears, cougars, bald eagles and osprey are commonly seen on these tours (from a safe distance, of course!). The cost is $47 for adults, $32 for teens, $27 for children, and kids under 3 are free.
Trees of Mystery
After a relaxing morning on the water, we got back in the car and headed up the highway to the Trees of Mystery (15500 US 101). This classic roadside attraction opened in 1946. You’ll see brochures for this place on tourism display racks up and down the West Coast. It’s hard to miss this place, as giant Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues stand tall in the parking lot. Another curiosity worth mentioning is that Paul talks! Well, sort of. An announcer chats with guests over a microphone, making jokes, telling them about what to expect inside the park and even offering lunch recommendations for the cafe across the street. You better believe that the kids below are trying to figure out if the voice is coming from the statue itself or somewhere else.
The Paul Bunyan theme spills over to the inside of Trees of Mystery. The “Trail of Tall Tales” tells the story of Paul Bunyan. His tale is told through several large (and quirky!) wood carvings along the trail.
A signature experience of Trees of Mystery is taking the SkyTrail gondola ride. The 1,570 foot, or 1/3 mile, journey to the top of the mountain takes about ten minutes. From the gondola, you get to peer down over the redwood trees. Pretty cool! Once you arrive at the top, there’s an observation deck with mountain top and ocean vistas. You’ll probably just spend a few minutes here taking in the view, then board the car for a ride back down the mountain. Experienced hikers may prefer to walk down the Wilderness Trail. Signs warn that it’s quite steep and that appropriate footwear is necessary. Visitors can ride the SkyTrail as much as they want during their visit, although you might encounter a line to board it, as there are just eight gondolas. Each car holds up to six passengers and is wheelchair accessible.
While much of the attraction is preserved in time, there are some other recent additions. The Redwood Canopy Trail opened in 2020. Netted suspension bridges hang between the old-growth redwoods, some as high as a 100 feet. There are ten platforms and eight suspension bridges. It’s an amazing feeling to be walking amongst the giant redwoods. Although the experience is perfectly safe, if someone in your party is uneasy about heights, keep them on the ground. My son hates heights. He was brave and tried it, but he didn’t like the Redwood Canopy Trail, at all! My daughter, on the other hand, is a natural thrill seeker and went through it twice. I tell you this because there aren’t any exit points between the start and finish so once you’ve started the course, you’ll have to complete it.
The real stars at the Trees of Mystery are, of course, the redwood trees. At one time, these ancient trees covered the earth, but today their natural forest is limited to a small section of foggy, coastal Northern California. Some of the trees here are almost 400 feet tall. The “Brotherhood Tree” is one of the largest living things in the world, and it’s old, too! The tree is 2,000 years old, 300 feet tall and 60 feet in circumference. Then there’s the “Cathedral Tree,” a group of nine trees growing together as one. You’ll encounter lots of incredible trees as you walk through the attraction.
KidTripster Tip: There’s no charge for pulling into the parking lot. If you don’t have time to walk through the Trees of Mystery you can still stop here for a selfie with Paul Bunyan. The restrooms are located on the outside of the attraction and they’re free to use. Admission isn’t required to enter the huge gift shop. Be sure to explore the large collection of Native American artifacts at the End of the Trail museum that’s housed inside the gift shop.
We ate lunch at the Forest Cafe just across the highway from Trees of Mystery. There aren’t a lot of dining choices in this area so you may find yourself in a line stretching out the door. The menu includes a variety of burgers and sandwiches. The food’s ok. During our visit, everything came out quickly and the wait staff was really nice. The cafe’s open Thursday through Monday. For dessert, we’d recommend getting ice cream inside the Trees of Mystery gift shop. They have a good selection of treats!
Admission into the Trees of Mystery is $20 for ages 13-59, $16 for 60+, $11 for ages 6-12 and kids under 5 are free. Expect to spend 2-4 hours here.
KidTripster Tip: A construction project in 2021 is significantly impacting traffic in this area. Repairs to a landslide mean the road is closed for several hours at a time, creating significant back-ups and delays. The hours may vary during your visit so be sure to check the with Caltrans for the latest. We found that there was very limited signage in this area to inform drivers of the closures. The backups were brutal. The work is expected to wrap up 8/31/21.
Crescent Trail Rides
There are a lot of ways to explore Del Norte County … by foot, by boat, by bike … and even by horse! Our next stop during our day of adventure was at Crescent Trail Rides. It leads horseback rides into the redwoods and onto the beach.
We opted for a beach ride. We arrived at a meeting point next to Tolowa Dunes State Park. We got saddled up and headed out on our guided trail ride. We rode through meadows and sand dunes before making our way to Kellogg Beach. The ride was smooth and easy, the only tricky part was the short downhill ride to the beach.
Once on the beach. we followed the ocean for a stretch. We had the beach entirely to ourselves, well almost. There was a curious sea lion that followed us down the coastline. The sea lion kept pace with our group, and periodically popped its head out the water to say “hi.”
Our guide Lorie took the lead and Sara brought up the rear. Our family rode in-between. They made sure the horses kept pace and stayed the course. They also took some great group photos. Turns out that taking photos while horseback riding is a bit of an art.
None of us are experienced riders, but thanks to Lorie and Sara, we all felt perfectly comfortable and confident on our horses. Riders must be age 6 and up. Adults should be able to mount/dismount a horse, but there’s a two-step mounting block to give riders a boost up. The climate can be cool so wear layers. Long pants and closed toed shoes are required.
Beach rides start at $80 for 90-minutes. Redwood rides start at $90 for 90-minutes.
After a busy day of exploring, we were ready to turn in for the night. We made a take-and-bake pizza in the oven of our rental house and turned in early in anticipation of another busy day.
Click below to read about our adventures on Day 2 which included whale watching and a visit to a unique lighthouse.
