Ancient forest where 1,000-year-old redwoods form a towering canopy over a mixture of hardwood trees, shrubs, and ferns
General Information
Some areas within Redwood National and State Parks may charge day-use fees
How to Get There
From Crescent City (5 mi): Take US-101 north, merge onto US-199 east toward Grants Pass, then turn onto Walker Road and continue a short distance to the trailhead parking area.
Overview
Enter an ancient forest where 1,000-year-old redwoods form a towering canopy over a mixture of hardwood trees, shrubs, and ferns. Every old-growth forest has its own distinctive characteristics. This grove includes a lush stream corridor where fallen trees lie randomly in the water, forming staircases and pools that support fish and insects. Other fallen giants nurse new life on the forest floor as hemlock trees, huckleberries, and ferns sprout among their decaying trunks and branches. The damp shade of the forest creates ideal conditions for red-legged frogs, rough-skinned newts, and other amphibians that depend on the tree to provide moisture through the dry summer, assuring a home for a class of animals that are in decline.If you are driving on HWY199 between Crescent City and Hiouchi, this easy and level walk is a good option for those short on time, or energy. The loop trail is 0.8 mile (1/2 km) long. Be aware that there is no parking for recreational vehicles or vehicles with trailers.
Located in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, this trail takes you around redwood groves, creeks, nurse logs, ferns, hemlocks, huckleberries and a wide variety of other forest features and creatures. Interpretive wayside panels on the trail provide information on the natural and cultural history of the area.
You can access the trailhead by taking the Walker Road exit off HWY 199 - this is a sharp turn to the north. There are yellow pedestrian crossing signs on HWY 199 going both ways before this turn off. For some drivers it is a sudden, hidden turn-off. After the turn-off, it is another 0.1 mile up Walker Road before you get to the trailhead on your right. The Simpson-Reed loop connects into a second, optional half-mile loop trail: The Peterson Memorial Trail.
In the mid-1960s, clear cut logging of old-growth redwood trees was occurring all over these hills. On October 2nd 1968, Redwood National Park was officially established. At that time, logging of redwoods came right up to the park boundary - which originally was just outside of this grove. The first park visitors saw miles of scarred and logged landscapes that dramatically ended at the edge of the remaining redwood groves.
This article uses material from nps.gov "Redwood National and State Parks"