The stretch from Brookings, Oregon, to Crescent City and the northern redwoods packs a lot into a short drive: sea stacks, the California state line, harbor seals, giant trees, Paul Bunyan and wild elk. We did it in one day, December 27, 2020, in our Class C motorhome with a preschooler, a toddler, Grandma, our nephew and four dogs. It was one leg of our Pacific coast RV road trip with kids. The catch for RV families is that many of the famous redwood roads are too narrow for a motorhome, and dogs are not allowed on the trails. This guide covers what we did, and what to plan around before you go.
Brookings sea stacks
We started the morning on a beach in Brookings with sea stacks just offshore. Brookings is the last Oregon town before the California line, and the coast here is rocky and dramatic, a nice contrast to the long flat beaches farther north.
If you want a named stop, Harris Beach State Park near Brookings has a day-use area with views of the sea stacks and of Bird Island, a national wildlife sanctuary that Oregon State Parks calls the largest island off the Oregon coast. A day-use parking permit is required as of 2026, and you can buy a one-day permit on site. The south end of the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor is about three miles north of Harris Beach, so the two pair well.
The same Oregon beach safety rules apply here as on the rest of the coast: watch for sneaker waves, stay off logs and check the tide. We cover those in detail in our north Oregon coast with kids guide.
Welcome to California
A few minutes south, Highway 101 crosses into California. The Welcome to California sign is a quick photo stop, and it marked a milestone for us after coming all the way down from the Olympic Peninsula.
Harbor seals in Crescent City
In Crescent City we stopped to watch harbor seals resting. It is a working harbor town, and seals and sea lions are part of the scenery.
Seals haul out to rest, and every disturbance costs them energy. NOAA Fisheries asks visitors to keep themselves and their pets at least 100 yards from seals and sea lions, and to back off at the first sign of disturbance, like a seal staring at you or moving away. Keep dogs leashed on the beach. A seal pup alone on the sand is often normal, because mothers leave pups while they feed, so keep your distance and let the mother come back.
Crescent City’s other classic stop is Battery Point Lighthouse, which sits on a small tidal island. According to the Del Norte County Historical Society, you can only reach it at low tide, across about 200 feet of rock and sand, and tours run 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., tide permitting. Check the tide before you go and take care where waves can wash over the crossing.
A redwood trail near Crescent City
Near Crescent City we walked a redwood trail with wooden stairs climbing among the trees. We do not remember which trail it was, so here are trails the park service itself recommends, with an eye on what works with a motorhome.
Stout Grove. Stout Memorial Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park is a half-mile loop the park service describes as easy and flat after the first descent from the parking lot. The catch: the trailhead is on Howland Hill Road, which is narrow, winding and mostly unpaved, and the trailhead has no parking for RVs or trailers. In summer only, you can park any vehicle at the Jedediah Smith Redwoods campground day-use area for a fee ($8 as of 2026), walk about 0.8 miles to the campground, then follow the river trail upstream and cross the seasonal footbridge to the grove. In winter, that footbridge is not in place, so a motorhome family needs a smaller vehicle to reach Stout Grove.
Simpson-Reed Trail. A level, gravel, accessible trail of about a mile on Highway 199 east of Crescent City. It is easy walking, but there is no parking for RVs or vehicles with trailers.
Yurok Loop Trail. The NPS trail list for the northern parks calls this one-mile loop an excellent route for children and rates its parking as excellent for RVs and trailers. It has some grades but nothing steep. For a motorhome family, it is one of the easiest picks north of the Klamath River.
For what we pack for trail walks with little ones, see hiking with kids: the essential gear checklist.
Trees of mystery in Klamath
Trees of Mystery is a privately run redwood attraction on Highway 101 in Klamath, and you cannot miss it. A 49-foot Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe stand outside the entrance, and Paul waves and talks to people crossing the parking lot. The kids saw Paul and Babe and walked the Trail of Tall Tales, which is lined with carved figures from the Paul Bunyan stories. We did not ride the SkyTrail gondola.
As of 2026, according to Trees of Mystery’s pricing page, admission is $30 for ages 13 to 59, $25 for seniors 60 and over, $15 for kids 3 to 12, and free for kids 2 and under. One ticket covers everything all day: the SkyTrail gondola, the trails, the Trail of Tall Tales, the Redwood Canopy Trail and the End of the Trail Museum. The SkyTrail ride takes about nine minutes each way up to an observation deck called Ted’s Ridge, with views to the ocean on a clear day.
Hours as of 2026 are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the trail entrance and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the museum, every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas, with a half day on Christmas Eve. They ask you to call ahead to confirm. Leashed dogs are welcome everywhere except the Redwood Canopy Trail, and they can even ride the SkyTrail, which makes this one of the few redwood stops where dogs are not limited to the parking lot. RV parking is free across the street from the entrance, for day use only.
Prairie Creek and the roosevelt elk
South of Klamath, in the Prairie Creek area, we saw elk right by the road. Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is about 25 miles south of Crescent City on the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, a paved 10-mile road through old-growth redwoods. Herds of Roosevelt elk graze its open meadows. The state park lists a vehicle day-use fee of $8 as of 2026, with higher rates possible at busy times.
Elk are big and can be aggressive, especially males in the fall rut and females during spring calving. The park service asks you to stay at least 75 feet away. If an elk flicks its tongue, lowers its head or paws the ground, you are too close, so back away slowly. With kids, the easiest way to watch is from the vehicle or from the edge of the meadow.
For RV families, Prairie Creek is the friendliest part of the northern redwoods. The park service notes plenty of RV and trailer parking along the open-meadow section of the parkway east of the visitor center. From there you can reach the short, level Revelation Trail and the Cathedral Trees Trail, a 1.4-mile walk with a gentle grade that the park service calls great for children.
Fern Canyon: permits and road limits
Fern Canyon is a narrow canyon with walls covered in ferns near Gold Bluffs Beach in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. It is one of the most popular spots in the parks, and it has two hurdles.
Reservations in summer. As of 2026, California State Parks and the Redwood Parks Conservancy say a free reservation is required for the Gold Bluffs Beach day-use area and the Fern Canyon trailhead from May 15 to September 15. Reservations are made online only, through the Redwood Parks Conservancy, and cannot be made the same day. On top of that, there is a $12 day-use fee at the entrance, cash or check only, and you need a photo ID that matches the reservation. Interagency passes such as the America the Beautiful pass are accepted for the fee; see our national park pass guide. The NPS Fern Canyon reservation page has the current details.
Davison Road. The only road in is Davison Road, a single-lane gravel road of about seven to eight miles with two stream crossings that the park service says you will drive through pretty much year-round. RVs over 24 feet and all trailers are prohibited, and California State Parks also lists an 8-foot width limit. Many Class C motorhomes are longer than 24 feet, so measure yours before you plan on Fern Canyon. Ours is 23 to 24 feet, just inside the limit.
Dogs are not allowed in Fern Canyon. They can walk on Gold Bluffs Beach on a six-foot leash.
RV access on narrow redwood roads
The northern redwoods are full of roads that look short on a map and are a bad idea in a motorhome. Here is what the NPS scenic drives page says, as of 2026:
- Howland Hill Road (10 miles, mostly unpaved, through Jedediah Smith Redwoods): motorhomes, RVs and trailers will not fit.
- Davison Road (to Fern Canyon and Gold Bluffs Beach): RVs must be 24 feet or shorter, and trailers are prohibited.
- Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway (10 miles, paved): no RV restriction listed. Commercial vehicles are not permitted.
- Coastal Drive: the northern section beyond High Bluff Overlook is not suitable for RVs or trailers.
- Bald Hills Road: steep, with a 15 percent grade. RVs, motorhomes and trailers are not advised.
- Requa Road to the Klamath River Overlook: steep and narrow. RVs and trailers are not recommended.
In practice, the motorhome works for Highway 101, the Newton B. Drury Parkway, Prairie Creek, Trees of Mystery and Crescent City. For Stout Grove, Howland Hill Road and Fern Canyon, you need a smaller vehicle. More on how we run the motorhome with kids and dogs in RV camping with kids and dogs.
Dogs in Redwood National and State Parks
This is the rule that shapes a redwood day with dogs. According to the NPS pet rules for Redwood National and State Parks, as of 2026:
- Pets are not allowed on trails or at ranger-led programs.
- Pets are allowed in developed campgrounds, picnic areas and on roads, on a leash no longer than six feet.
- Leashed pets may visit the Fern Canyon, Lady Bird Johnson, Tall Trees Trail and Stout Grove parking lots, and the Klamath River and Redwood Creek overlooks.
- Leashed pets are allowed on Crescent Beach, Gold Bluffs Beach and Freshwater Beach.
- For a walk with your dog among the trees, the parks suggest Cal Barrel Road and Walker Road, two gravel roads.
Service animals are allowed on trails. Plan your trail walks in short loops and keep the dogs comfortable in the vehicle, with the windows and temperature in mind. Our guide to traveling with a dog has the packing list.
Next stop
From Prairie Creek we kept heading south toward the Avenue of the Giants, where the motorhome could drive right under the big trees. Read about that day in Avenue of the Giants with kids, or go back to the full Pacific coast RV road trip with kids.
