Visiting The Redwoods And Eureka, California

If you are looking for a side trip on your visit to the Redwoods, we would like to recommend the city of Eureka, California.

If you are making this trip in your RV, read this post before you start packing - 10 Items You Should Have On Your Camping List.

2022 Cross Country Road Trip Stop 13

We took a side trip to Eureka, California when we visited the Redwoods making it a 2 in 1 road trip stop. But before we spent a couple of days in Eureka, we hiked among the biggest trees we have ever seen in our lives. They were breathtaking and awe inspiring and we couldn't believe we were really here.

Me and Sandie have been wanting to come here for so long. We knew the Redwoods would be huge and beautiful from pictures we have seen but we found out the pictures didn't do these trees justice. 

Three state parks and Redwood National Park make up Redwoods. We were closest to Prairie 

Creek Redwoods State Park. 

We hiked a couple of nice trails here. The first trail was Circle Tree to see the Big Tree. Apparently, there was a really Big Tree at the end of this trail and we had to see it. 

Good To Know: This is a very easy loop. It is kid friendly and wheelchair accessible if you have all-terrain tires on yours.

Well, it kind of looked like all the other big trees in the park but we were really impressed how well it looked for it's age of 1,500 years.

Our next hike was another easy and beautiful trail, Prairie Creek Redwoods Walk.

These trees are truly magnificent and we were so grateful that we had a chance to see them for ourselves.

               

The next morning we headed to Eureka. Going to Eureka became our plan for our Redwoods stop after my daughter, Lisa, asked me if we would be near this city at any time during our cross country road trip. I went through our cross country itinerary and discovered that our campground near the Redwoods was only 40 minutes away.

She asked if we would like to explore the city as writers for Drugstore Divas. We said we would love to. So on our second day of our Redwoods stop we headed to Eureka. It was Sunday so our first stop was St. Bernard Church for mass. Being able to attend mass in a church we've never been to, especially in a state or country we've never been in, is one of our favorite things to do on vacation.

It was a little too early to meet with Dan Pambianco, Lisa's contact in Eureka, so we killed some time checking out the city. Lisa gave us some suggestions of where we should go. One thing she suggested was to see the Pacific Outfitters mural. She had heard that it was worth a trip to see.

As we roamed around the town, we spotted more amazing murals. We have seen murals on our travels but the ones we saw in Eureka have got to be some of the most impressive we have ever seen.

Cafe Nooner was a suggestion from Lisa to go to as this was a restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives. We would have loved to eat here but we already had lunch reservations.

We got to Woodley Island Marina early enough to look around before our lunch date with Dan. The marina was a really nice place to walk around on a gorgeous day.

Then it was time to meet Dan Pambianco, who does marketing for the city of Eureka. We were joining him for lunch at the marina's restaurant, Cafe Marina and Woodley Bar. 

We enjoyed delicious fresh seafood sitting at a table on the outdoor patio with a great view of Humboldt Bay. We got so excited when we spotted the seals swimming around in the bay! We would definitely eat here again if we ever have the chance to come back to visit.

We had a relaxing lunch and a fun conversation with Dan who was telling us all about town's history and things to do in Eureka. One thing he told us about was the Redwood Sky Walk at the Sequoia Park Zoo. Then he joined us there and gave us a guided tour.

There are a total of ten suspended bridges that weave themselves around the giant Redwoods. 

Being 100 feet above the forest floor we got a new view of the beautiful trees in a thrilling, but totally safe, way. It was really so much fun and a "must-do" if you ever have a chance to visit Eureka.

And if that wasn't enough fun, the bridge is located in the 5 acre Sequoia Park Zoo. We were there for the red panda feeding. The zookeepers told us all about the red pandas as they were feeding them.

The Sequoia Park Zoo is the oldest certified zoo in California and is home to many native animals of the Redwood Coast as well as rare species from around the world.

After a long and fun day, it was time to check into our accommodations for the night at Best Western Plus Humboldt Bay Inn. We thanked Dan for a wonderful afternoon and headed to the hotel.

Good To Know: The hotel has a complimentary limousine service that will get you to your dinner reservation in style at one of the many local restaurants in Eureka. Just give them a call when you are ready to return to the hotel and they will come back to get you.

We were the given the Grand Oasis Suite for the night.

After dropping off our luggage, we went to check out the Oasis Spa Area, which was conveniently located only steps away from our suite. This outdoor space was gorgeous and very relaxing. JT took a dip in one of the two pools.

Sandie and Soko challenged each other to a game of pool. 

We even took some time to relax here.

Me and Soko checked out the gym and used some of the equipment but after Soko found this massage chair he had no desire to leave it to use any more of the other exercise machines.

We decided that since we had a full kitchen in our suite, we would get takeout and bring it back to eat here. We ended up at Mod Pizza, somewhere none of us had ever been to. We weren't expecting to have so many decisions to make about how we wanted our pizzas made but once we were eating them, we were happy with the choices we made.

The next morning, after we reluctantly checked out of our cozy suite, we met Savannah and Georgiana, from Pacific Outfitters, for a kayaking tour of Humboldt Bay.

Savannah and Georgiana were amazing tour guides and pointed out different buildings in Eureka's Old Town and Waterfront that we could see from the bay.

We also got a good look at Soko's boat. But, alas, the only thing that was Soko's on this boat was the name.

We had a great time on our 2 hour kayaking adventure and saw some things we wanted to take a closer look at before we left Eureka. So after saying good-bye to Savannah and Georgiana, we went to look for the Carson Mansion. This mansion is "considered the most grand Victorian home in America."

And right across the street you will find the Pinc Lady Mansion which was a wedding gift from William Carson to his son J. Milton Carson and wife Mary Amelia.

Eureka's historic Old Town is one of the last well-preserved downtown areas in California. There are over 150 buildings that have been here since the Victorian era like Cafe Waterfront which was built in 1892.

We saw the boardwalk along the Waterfront from our kayaks. It looked so nice that we had to take a walk along it before we left Eureka.

Our kayak guides suggested two stops for us to make on our way back to the campground. One was Lighthouse Grill, in Trinidad, to get the savory and delicious Mashed Potato Cone stuffed with brisket, bacon and cheese and topped with gravy. Yum!

Thank goodness the second stop would be a hike. We needed to burn off a few calories. It was a beautiful hike on the 1.7 mile Trinidad Head Trail Loop where we had an amazing view of Trinidad State Beach and the Pacific Ocean.

After another long and fun day, it was time to head back to relax at the campground for a little while before packing up in preparation for moving on to our next stop in the morning. Did I mention the name of the campground? We stayed at Elk Country RV Resort & Campground. This has to be one of the most aptly named campgrounds we've ever stayed in. 

Read more about this campground in our State By State Guide To State And National Park Campgrounds.

 Also, you can read about Stop 12 of our cross-country road trip here.

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

This post was featured:

April J. Harris

Have you visited the Redwoods? Did you visit Eureka or any other city on that same trip? Please tell us all about your adventure in comments. We would love to read about it!