Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

"Fun with the Family"

A World Heritage Site, featuring 12,000 acres of magnificent coastal redwoods, 70 miles of mountain-biking and hiking trails, herds of Roosevelt elk, a museum, Gold Bluff Beach, gorgeous campgrounds, and fabulous Fern Canyon, where lush ferns cover 50-foot rock walls. The visitor center is particularly interesting, with a museum, a natural history bookstore, displays of animals that live in the area—gray fox, great horned owl, elk, mountain beaver, raccoon, black bear—and a touch table and nature books.
For a drive-through, take the Newton B. Drury Parkway through the redwoods,past walls of ferns and magnificent trees. Many trails are accessed at the turnouts. Part of The Lost World: Jurassic Park was filmed here. If I were to camp and stay at only one redwood park, this would be the one, because of the almost surreal beauty and the variety of environments and wildlife. Best weather is fall and spring—both winter and summer can be cool and damp.