This week I’m going to be looking into Redwood National Park in California. This park is home to nearly half of the remaining old growth redwood trees in the world. It is no wonder that people flock to the park year round as these trees are a sight to see. They can be taller than 350 feet and some are as old as 2,000 years old. These towering trees are a great reminder of the amazing beauty of nature.

At the park, you may think all there is to do is look at trees, but this is not completely true! There are many hikes of varying difficulty and you can also do other activities such as bike riding, horse back riding, and camping. You can make a day trip to the park to take in the amazing scenery if you are in the area, or you can take a longer stay and camp for the week or weekend. As usual, there are many hikes through this National Park and there are options available for people of all ability levels. The park covers 131,983 acres so there are plenty of different areas to hike through that offer different experiences. 

One trail that is available to hikers that just want a quick, easy walk that will allow them to see the famous Redwood trees is the Lady Bird Johnson Trail. This one mile, flat trail weaves through the gigantic trees and provides an up-close view of them. Anyone can access this trail and it is a great option for families with children or older people. If you want something more challenging, there are options for that too. The Tall Trees Grove hike is one that many people choose to camp overnight in order to complete. You can get a permit to backpack and camp on this hike, which breaks up the 16 mile hike into two more manageable chunks. This allows you to relax on your hike and enjoy the views. The trail is 8 miles one way and leads to the Tall Trees Grove. You can hike one way, camp overnight, and then hike back out in the morning. This is a great opportunity to be immersed in nature and really admire the amazing size of the trees. 

Originally, the land was used by Native Americans who used fallen trees to build shelter. They respected nature and thought of their houses as an extension of nature and therefore a “living being” (National Park Service). When settlers began flocking to California in the 1800s during the gold rush, they pushed Natives off of their land and the initial contact was very violent. These new occupants of the land did not treat the land or trees with the same respect that the Natives had given them. In 1968 the park was established in order to preserve the trees and avoid any destruction of the beautiful land. This beautiful area is now being preserved so that people can continue to see these amazing trees for generations. 

Citations: 

“Redwood Area History.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/historyculture/area-history.htm. 

This week I’m transitioning back to my National Parks topic. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a really cool park that doesn’t require a trip out West like many of the parks I have touched on do. Located in Tennessee, it would require about a nine hour drive to get there from State College, but you could also fly into a closer city if that’s an option for you. It could also be a great option for a visit if you are ever in the area for another reason!

The National Park is one of the most visited in the country. It boasts great hiking trails and views. There are many different hikes available for visitors of all abilities and with all interests. You can pick which trail to take based on what you want to experience on your hike. The Rainbow Falls Hike is one of the most popular during all seasons. It is a 2.7 mile hike out to the waterfall making for a 5.4 mile round trip. The hike is a bit strenuous but when you get to the waterfall, I think it would be well worth it. The waterfall is 80 feet tall, and surrounded by nature, it makes for a great scene. If you go to the park in the winter, it is even possible that the waterfall will freeze into an hourglass shape. This would be super cool to see! If you are feeling adventurous, you can continue on the hike up to the summit of Mt. Le Conte. This is a long hike up a mountain so be prepared for a long day with strenuous conditions if you choose to take the longer route!

Another hike that seems super cool is the Charlies Bunion Hike. This is on the Appalachian Trail, and is a four mile hike one way to the rock formation known as Charlies Bunion. While the name may make it seem unappealing, it is actually a very interesting thing to see. This hike includes some exposed cliffs and navigating rocky terrain, so be ready for some involved hiking on this trail.

One of the most popular hikes in the park is the Chimney Tops Trail. You have to climb a steep incline, but then you get to hike along a ridge on the top where you get amazing views of Mount Le Conte and some rock structures that represent the “chimneys.” This hike seems like a lot of fun, and is yet another one that requires some hiking skills due to the steep, rocky terrain. It is important to wear shoes with good traction and to bring a lot of water if you choose to take on this hike. If I ever go Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this will definitely be on the top of my list.

The forests in the park are made up of very large, old trees that provide some of the country’s the best colors in the fall. People often visit the park during the peak color months. This makes the already amazing views on any of these hikes even more beautiful. I hope you enjoyed learning about some of the different hiking options at Great Smoky Mountain National Park!

Sources:

“Chimney Tops.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/chimney-tops.htm.

“Great Smoky Mountains National Park.” National Park Foundation, https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/explore-parks/great-smoky-mountains-national-park.

Another State Park in the area that is important to my family is Cooks Forest State Park (and campground). We spent many weekends over the summer as kids camping in the Cooks Forest Campground. We had a popup camper and our family friends had a big tent, and both families would go enjoy nature, campfires, good food, and much more.

Camping was a huge part of my childhood, and it was quite the process. My mom would spend hours getting all of the food and supplies ready for these trips. Since there are four young kids with not very many chances to go to a big store, it took a lot of planning and packing. The when we were finally ready to go, we would pile into the big white suburban, stocked with all 6 bikes, board games, yard games, lots of food, and any camping equipment you could think of. When we got to a campsite, it was always so exciting. We would all help set up and get our campsite ready for the weekend, popping up the camper, getting our beds set up, starting the first campfire, and most importantly, exploring the surrounding camp area.

One of our favorite things to do as kids was bike around the campground, going to the playground, and finding other kids to play with. We also loved to play games with the other kids in the family we always went with. We would teach each other the games each of our families played, and run around throwing frisbees and footballs, and kicking around soccer balls.

There were two big activities that we did every time we went camping. First, we always biked across the street back the long dirt road the the trails that led to rock cliffs. The area is called Seneca Point, but when we were kids, it was just the place with the cool rocks. We would spend hours climbing in the rocks, finding caves and spaces to run around in. This was always the highlight of the trip for me, and it seemed like we found something new every time. Going back when I was older, it was not nearly as big as I remembered, but it is still a place that always makes me excited and happy. Another attraction back these trails is the old fire tower. It was originally used to watch the  forest for fires, but is now just a fun thing to climb up. My oldest brother was always scared of heights, and sometimes couldn’t make it to the top which was always funny!

The other big activity of our camping trips to Cooks Forest was our float down the river. The parents would rent canoes, but all of the kids would get tubes and float down the river. This was always so much fun. We could link up together, tie up to the canoes, or have races in the river. It may seem boring but we got very creative with different activities to do on these floats down the river. Sometimes we even found a rock we could jump off of into the river. As we got older and got our kayaks and paddle boards, we would use those on the river. The most recent time we even brought Moose along! (Which he hated even though he absolutely loves the water and swimming) But it was still really fun!