Day 59-60 (September 27-28)
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, California
The Damnation Creek Trail is a magical trail, treating the hiker to mammoth ancient Redwood trees, lush fern groves, an incredibly biodiverse forest, and a fog shrouded rocky coast. The caveat? You really have to work for it.
Hiking the Damnation Creek Trail
Following our morning of wildlife watching at Klamath Beach and lunchtime search for Roosevelt Elk in Prairie Coast Redwoods, we head north to Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park to hike the Damnation Creek Trail.
The Damnation Creek trailhead is just off Hwy 101, and it’s easy to miss the small dirt parking lot at mile marker 16. Although we are aware that the this trail is closed just shy of the Pacific Ocean, we are already missing Gold Bluffs and Fern Canyon due to closure, and do not wish to miss out on yet another must-hike trail in the Redwoods park system. So we set out anyway with hope that there is a work-around to get to the beach.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it: This trail is steep! An 1170 foot elevation loss in the trail’s 2.1 mile descent to the coast means you will have to climb that 1170 feet back up to the trailhead. The first half mile of hiking is not terribly steep and leads one through an ancient Redwood forest, treating the hiker to mammoth trees and lush fern groves. With trekking poles in hand while descending the steep trail, I do most of my photo snapping on the return hike.
Looking back from whence we came, a double-trunk redwood (below) caught my eye, and from this point I did set the trekking poles down every so often to take a picture on the way down…down…down…
When we come to the trail closure .1 mile from shore, we find the closure is caused by a worn wooden footbridge that crosses a small canyon and wet-season creek. The bridge appears to have been closed for a long time, and many hikers before us have made an alternate path into the canyon and across the creek bed, which is almost completely dry this time of year. The crossing requires a somewhat challenging but not technical 10-foot scramble down into and then back out of the creek bed.
Soon after our creek crossing, we reach the dramatic windswept rock cliffs, and overlook a pebble beach. Robert scrambles down to the beach while I am lost in my surroundings: the diverse selection of plants growing at my feet and around me, views to the north, south, seaward, and of the windswept forest behind me. This is an awe-inspiring place.
We sit for a spell on the boulder-strewn beach taking it all in, and just enjoying being in this wild place.
Before beginning the steep trek back to the trailhead, I walk around a bit to take pictures of the many little plants and wildflowers growing on the sides and top of the rocky cliffs.
With my trekking poles lashed to my pack for our ascent, I have hands free for some picture taking. The fog clears not far from shore, and we enjoy the return hike under blue skies, the late afternoon sunshine streaming through the forest.
Although I have read that this is a popular trail, we passed only a handful of other hikers, and were fortunate to enjoy this gorgeous forest and coastline in almost complete solitude.
Craving Mexican food, we happen upon Toreros Famosos, an old-school place in Crescent City that hits the spot. Just look at that rad retro interior: Sunset beach murals, a carved wooden eagle sculpture, 70’s lighting and booths, and even a separate lounge (bar). Outstanding!
After a great night of sleep, we awake in the morning to this view. It’s like a mirror image! I mentioned in a prior post that these woods are a bit spooky, and this just kind of amps that weirdness up a little. We never meet our new neighbors in the twin white Subaru Outback, but they are the only other campers in the empty Redwood forest loops at the KOA. So yeah, weird.
Continuing our route south on Hwy 101, we will wander through Arcata and Eureka Springs before a stop in Redwoods National Park for the night.
Click on a park name below to read about our wanderings through more Redwoods parks:
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Westward We Wander 
What a beautiful place and aren’t those trees just amazing. We look so dwarfed next to them and Mother Nature is pretty amazing. Enjoy your travels, you are getting closer to me.
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They truly are amazing! Hopefully within a year I will find myself living in the southwest, a much more convenient home base for exploring the west coast than Tennessee!! XO
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Oh that sounds wonderful and you already know you have many more possibilities here. Keeping my fingers crossed and sending best wishes for the future. It will happen. Hugs
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What an awesome hike in a truly magical landscape! Thanks for sharing, Marsi. I’m missing the PNW already and I’m not even gone a day….
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It is a wonderful forest for wandering, Marcus! If you have not been to the Redwoods yet, I hope you get a chance to take a little side trip from Portland soon. Thanks for dropping in! I always enjoy your visits and comments 🙂
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You are so welcome!
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All I can say is WOW. I’m not sure I could handle the steepness coming back up, but what a hike. Beautiful!!!
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It was definitely a challenging hike, though the stops for rest were quite enjoyable because every inch of the trail is pretty. I would not attempt to hike it in the rain or soon after, because I imagine that trail can be slick! The funny thing is that in my memory the hike down was harder than the hike up (because of my old knee injuries), though I’m sure that isn’t actually the case. I think that on our return hike I was just in some wonderful sort of state of hypnosis!
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What a gorgeous landscape, and you weren’t joking about how steep it is. You can just tell from the beach pics. (On a side note, I just bought a ‘Ru. You’ll catch a glimpse of it in a post soon.) Thanks for sharing those beautiful pictures and a great post.
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Yay! I’m so excited for you about your new Subie! I love mine so much. I got to pop it in X-mode a couple of times on rough roads in New Mexico that perhaps I shouldn’t have even driven. It made me feel so darn rugged 😉
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Ha ha! Yes, the husband is eager to drive it in both x-mode and manual. Looks like we need to head out west soon. 😉
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I loved the redwoods last time i was there we stayed at the Emerald Forest Campground and it was so awesome! Check it out if you ever go through again!
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Just checked out their website. Emerald Forest looks sweet! We made a quick half hour stop in tiny Trinidad and thought it was one of the prettiest coastal towns we’d ever been to. We will be back one day, and now thanks to you we know where to stay 🙂
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Isnt it awesome? I will be writing about it, i feel i got the best campsite in the entire campground. I woould have no problem staying there again one day! It is a very cool coastal town! i loved it!
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Did this hike in 2106 and loved it!
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It’s such a unique experience, isn’t it? Hiking through towering old growth redwoods with a Pacific Coast pebble beach reward at the end is pretty awesome!
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Is the bridge still “out”?
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It is. But the creek was dry, so a not-too-difficult scramble down and back up to cross.
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