Virtual Guidebook to the Northern California Coast and Coast Ranges
Van Duzen River
Humboldt County California

The best known redwood groves are in Humboldt Redwoods State Park along Highway 101 on the Eel River, and in the state/national parks north of Eureka. But off on a side road that follows the Van Duzen River there are some just as beautiful, which also get more sunshine.

From Grizzly Creek Redwoods Highway 36 follows the river to Bridgeville, a hamlet surrounded by "giant knockers", the geologic term for huge pieces of solid rock eroding out of deeply weathered clay. These monoliths are characteristic of the North Coast Ranges, and include Squaw Rock on the Eel River. This highway eventually climbs over South Fork Mountain, traverses some very remote forest country, then descends to the Sacramento Valley.