Redwood National Forest

Redwood National Forest, home of the tallest trees in the world.  Redwood trees are part of the sequoia tree family and grow in northern California and all amongst the coastline.  The Redwood National Forest was established in 1968 after the gold rush ended, forcing the miners to become lumberman to help with the booming development of San Francisco.  By 1968, 90% of the original trees have been logged.  Now the national and three state parks protect the 45% of the remaining forest and wildlife.  The parks preserve 133,000 acres compared to the 2,000,000 acres that stood before.

           
I went to the Redwood National Forest as part as one of my road trips, though I didn’t get to spend as much time as I would have liked.  With trails to hike, horseback ride and bike on, places to fish and camp, thus making the Redwood National Forest a great place to visit.  Not to mention the drive, driving through parts of the lust forest, we saw waterfalls down cliffs, wildlife such as elk, and beautiful scenery around every turn.  It’s the perfect blend of mountains, forest, and ocean; the trees grow right up to the coastline.

           
The Redwood Forest has a rainy, not snowy, winter and a foggy summer. The temperatures are an average between 40 and 60 all year round.  This is due to a great influence of the Pacific Ocean, making the forest and cool and damp place.  This is the reason the forest is here, constant moisture and cool temperatures all year round is what helps the trees go so tall and massive.  The tallest tree is known as “Hyperion” and stands a whopping 379.3 feet tall.  One of the oldest, widest, and famous trees is “The General Sherman” who is roughly 25 feet in diameter above ground and 36 below and is an established 2,300 to 2,700 years old.  There are also around fifty known albino redwoods, which can’t produce chlorophyll.  Don’t take my or anyone else’s word for it, just come see these massive giants for yourself.