Redwood National and State Parks

* More than 60 short hikes in the Redwoods -- from half-hour to half-day -- with camping and park facilities information

* Handy quick-guide for selecting hikes by difficulty, mileage and features (flowers, water, views, etc.)

* Little-known Redwood Park gems as well as world-famous Founders Grove and Fern Canyon trails



A stand of towering old-growth redwoods, where sounds are dampened to near silence, where only the dimmest rays of light penetrate...or are you looking for redwood hikes with beaches? Redwood hikes known for wildflowers? You'll find those, too, in this guide devoted to the best hikes in Redwood National Park and the state parks-Prairie Creek, Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith and Humbolt Redwoods State Parks.



Most trailheads are adjacent to paved roads, accessible within five miles of Pacific Coast Highway 101. This guidebook includes many short hikes off Avenue of the Giants and Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. It will take you to the Boy Scout Tree and to the Tallest Tree, a 367.8-foot skyscraper. But it also includes trails for solitude even at the height of the tourist season. Background information on redwood biology rounds out your experience.

GISELA ROHDE and her husband Jerry bring to this project more than 20 years of experience hiking their local trails and a dozen years of background in researching the area's human and natural history. They have previously co-authored three guidebooks to West Coast state and national parks: Humboldt Redwoods State Park: The Complete Guide; Redwood National and State Parks: Tales, Trails & Auto Tours; and Mount Rainier National Park: Tales, Trails & Auto Tours.

Gisela works as the serials manager at the Humboldt State University Library. A Master Gardener, she helped develop a historic period garden at Fort Humboldt State Historic Park. She is also a two-time chairperson of the North Group, Sierra Club. In producing their guidebooks, Jerry and Gisela develop the trail information together, taking detailed notes and photographs while they hike. Jerry provides the human history information and writes; Gisela provides the natural history information and edits.

JERRY ROHDE and his wife Gisela bring to this project more than 20 years of experience hiking their local trails and a dozen years of background in researching the area's human and natural history. They have previously co-authored three guidebooks to West Coast state and national parks: Humboldt Redwoods State Park: The Complete Guide; Redwood National and State Parks: Tales, Trails & Auto Tours; and Mount Rainier National Park: Tales, Trails & Auto Tours.

Jerry also co-authored a guidebook to California's Highway 299, called Traveling the Trinity, also published by MountainHome Books. Jerry is a home & hospital teacher with the Eureka City Schools, and he is also an occasional intructor at Humboldt State University, teaching a course in "Humboldt Places" that is cross-listed in history, geography, and the Indian Teacher Education Program. He is a four-time president of the Humboldt County Historical Society, and he writes a quarterly column for its journal, the Humboldt Historian. In producing their guidebooks, Jerry and Gisela develop the trail information together, taking detailed notes and photographs while they hike. Jerry provides the human history information and writes; Gisela provides the natural history information and edits.

For the past 10 years, Jerry and Gisela have frequently conducted lectures, slideshows, guided hikes, and tours related to human and natural history in the redwoods country, including presentations for the following organizations: Humboldt State University Natural History Museum, Humboldt State University Elderhostel, Humboldt Redwoods Interpretive Association, Humboldt County Historical Society, Humboldt County Library, California Native Plant Society, Sierra Club, Humboldt Botanical Garden Foundation, and the Center for Indian Community Development.