If you have never been to a redwood forest, you should add it to your bucket list. It is impossible to capture the scale of these old growth trees in a photo....you really need to see them in person, stand at the base, put your tiny hands on the massive folds of rugged bark, and look up into the sky as high as you can.
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park is at the northwest corner of California. We stopped in Crescent City to provision for two nights of camping before heading west along State Route 199.
This is the view from the car.
We had made reservations for a specific site several months ago because we wanted to make sure that we snagged a location close to the Smith River.
We think we picked the best spot! The trees in the background are on the other side of the river.
View looking west from our camp site.
The park is well maintained.
Our site came with a food locker, running water nearby, picnic table, and fire pit.
We didn't see any bears, but we did see lots of chipmunks. I was really hoping that this one would jump up into the locker. Daisy loved the elevated view from the bear box...and eventually she did see the chipmunk.
The park is named after Jedediah Strong Smith. He pioneered a trail through the area in 1826 as part of an exploration of the interior of northern California.
This is the Middle Fork of the Smith River. We learned that the Smith River is the last free-flowing river in the entire state of California.
The white rocks and emerald water was very striking.
Although there weren't any runs happening while we were there, the river is regarded as the best place to fish in the entire state. Free flowing is an obvious advantage over its dammed counterparts.
King Salmon and Steelhead runs happen in the fall and winter. Click here for more info.
The forecast for our camping adventure was 100% chance of rain the first night and following day and then reducing to a 90% chance the second day.
Sounds bad, right? That's what we thought too. We bought 2 tarps so that we could create a rain-free area outside for cooking and hanging out.
We hardly got any rain. It did mist on and off our after our first night, but it wouldn't be long before we would see blue sky and sunshine again.
We would take walks along the water when it was nice.
Where we were camping the Smith River is wide and slow, with beautiful clarity.
The stones were colorful.
Daisy loved to go wading.
In the evenings we would put Jonah to bed and then hang out by the fire. At night the low was 55°. Keeping Jonah warm was definitely the hardest part of camping.
These next photos are kind of blurry because they were taken around 6am when the light was dim (the redwoods really shade out the dawn).
Jonah slept in his fleece footie pajamas, sleep sack, three blankets and a hat.
He still would wake up at 6 with icicle fingers and so we would bring him into bed with us for the last hour.
A few of you have asked how we camp with a baby. Answer: Car Camp with a Bigger Tent.
As you can see, we have plenty of space for the portable crib, our bags, double bed, and still have room for a play area.
After using our 2.5 person tent when Jonah was a newborn last year, we decided to get a bigger one on sale in the autumn and scored this 6 person tent by The North Face for under $100. We love it!
The weather broke our last day in the redwoods so while Jesse packed up, I walked through the trees and admired them.
Good-bye to site #53.....best one in the whole park!
