Easy to Moderate, 7.97 mi Out and Back
603 ft elevation gain
Hiked 3/8/25
Starting at the Hiouchi Visitors Center, this mostly flat trail follows the Smith River and Mill Creek on your way to the spectacular Grove of Titans. Route is a little less crowded on the way to the Grove, which a lot of people access from Howland Hills Rd and is great for adding extra mileage.
Wide shot of the trees within the Grove of Titans, with one fallen and wedged between others. In the lower distance to the left some other hikers may be seen for scale. Shot with Rokinon 14mm lens.
A hollowed out Redwood corpse that looks like giant splinters spiraling upwards, surrounded by still living trees basking in the light which filters through. Shot with Rokinon 14mm lens.
The trail takes you through a hollowed out Redwood that has a mostly intact outer core still. Really fun walking through this part of the trail. Shot with Rokinon 14mm lens.
These are beautiful. Redwoods are so hard to convey because they’re in scale to themselves. Like, my brain wants to stop at “you could maybe crawl through that hole” even though I’m sure they wouldn’t put the trail unless you could walk through it. Even when people are in the pictures it just makes the people look small. Everyone should get the chance to see the Redwoods or Sequoias in person, either kind, and just gasp.