The Tall Trees Grove trail is a great, shorter hike near Orick, California with access to some amazing Redwoods. The Tall Trees Grove is in a valley around Redwood Creek, so the trees there are surrounded by 4-5 foot tall ferns and a variety of smaller trees.
Part of Tall Trees Grove trail
The Redwood trees themselves were similar to other hikes, but what made the Tall Trees hike special was the need to apply for a pass to be one of the 50 parties allowed in the grove per day. We felt like we were headed to the VIP when we got the email with our special pass and the gate code for the locked gate to the trail.
Locked gate to the Tall Trees Grove trail
The Tall Trees Grove trail is very popular because it’s the home of Libbey Tree. The Libbey tree was once widely known as the tallest living thing in the world. Unfortunately, in the 90s the Libbey Tree suffered some deterioration of it’s upper branches and now is only the 34th tallest living thing in the world.
Tall tree marker
Fortunately though, the Tall Trees Grove is the home to a large number of very tall redwoods and is an amazing place to hike and enjoy the scenery.
Tree in Tall Trees Grove
To hike the Tall Trees Grove you have to request a permit on the US Parks Service website: Tall Trees Grove Permit site. The trailhead for Tall Trees Grove is down a 7-mile, winding and narrow dirt road. There is a locked gate at the top of the road to manage the traffic and to avoid overcrowding. You’ll get the gate code included with your permit when you schedule the hike. Including the dirt road, the trail head is about a 1-hour drive from the nearest visitor center. The parking lot is small, and doesn’t accommodate RVs over 21 feet or vehicles towing trailers. There are two vault toilets, a shelter, and information and interpretive panels located at the trailhead.
The trail is a 4.5-mile (6.5km) round trip back country hike with a total 1,600 feet (487 m) elevation change. The hike is basically downward to the grove which is next to Redwood Creek, and isn’t particularly challenging. The way back though is mostly uphill and fairly steep. The trail winds through some amazing scenery, and has several downed trees that are now part of the trail.
Tunnel through downed tree in Tall Trees Grove
