Boy Scout Tree Trail
Jedediah Smith Redwoods SP · near Crescent City · North Coast
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 5.6 miles
- Elevation gain
- 630 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Year-round (Howland Hill Rd rough/muddy in winter); late spring for rhododendron
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit or fee. Access via unpaved Howland Hill Road (not for RVs/trailers).
- How hard the permit is to get
- 0 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Deep old-growth interior of Jedediah Smith · The double-trunked Boy Scout Tree at ~2.5 mi · Fern Falls cascade at the end · Rhododendron bloom in late spring
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- Drive the unpaved Howland Hill Road slowly and soak it in - the trailhead is on it. No fee, no permit, and far fewer people than the marquee groves. Late spring brings rhododendron bloom. No dogs.
The guide
The Boy Scout Tree Trail is the quintessential deep-redwoods walk - a gently rolling path into the primeval heart of Jedediah S…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Boy Scout Tree Trail — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 41.7689, -124.1103