Description

Established in 1929, this 10,000 acre predominately old growth coast redwoods park is bisected by the last major free flowing river in California Smith River. This is a World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve. Almost all of the park land is water shed for the Smith River and Mill Creek, a major tributary. Conifers other than redwoods include western hemlock, Sitka spruce, grand and Douglas fir, as well as the less common Port Orford cedar. Primary examples of the understory include tanoak, madrone, red alder, big l and vine maple, and California bay. Ground cover is dense with a wide range of species and varieties of shrubs, bushes, flowers, ferns, mosses and lichens common to the coast redwood environment.

Wildlife of the park is both abundant and varied including such animals as black bear, deer, coyote, bobcat, mountain lion, skunks, fox, beaver, river otter, squirrels, chipmunks and many others. Some of the rare or uncommon examples of bird life identified include the bald eagle, spotted owl, pileat woodpecker and marbled murrelet. The Smith River and Mill Creek are especially known for the king salmon and steelhead trout runs in the fall an winter. Mill Creek is a spawning ground for these fish.

The park is named after the intrepid explorer, Jedediah Stong Smith who was the first white man to explore the interior of northern California. His journey through the coast redwood belt was part of a remarkable two- year trapping expedition which began in 1826. Smith pioneered a trail southwest from the Great Salt Lake across the Mojave Desert through the San Bernadino Mountains into California.

Discovery of gold along the Sacramento and Trinity Rivers in the mid- 1800A?s drew many thousands to northern California. The need for a supply route to remote mining camps initiated a spurt of exploration that motivated settlement of Humboldt and Del Norte counties.

Park Kiosk Hours:

• Hi Season: 8am - 10pm
• Lo Season: Varies