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Fern Canyon Loop Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

In Fern Canyon, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (bobcat)
The entrance to Fern Canyon, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (bobcat)
Northern maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum), Fern Canyon (bobcat)
Entering Fern Canyon, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (bobcat)
The loop hike through Fern Canyon (not a GPS track) (bobcat) Courtesy: Caltopo

Contents

Hike Description

The Fern Canyon Hike is one of the most popular and overcrowded hikes in the northern California redwoods. This sheer-walled fantasy ravine has become an Instagram star, so be prepared for large numbers of people most of the year. Part of the fame stems from its choice as a filming location for a scene from Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World. Savvy hikers who want to experience the magic of the canyon will come in the winter months and perhaps make it part of a longer multi-faceted hike (see the Miners Ridge-James Irvine Loop Hike). The creek waters are deeper at that time of year, but you may actually experience some solitude. Bring sandals or water shoes and a small towel if you don't like to get your boots wet. There’s a chance of encountering elk near the trailhead: keep your distance, especially from females with their young! Never hike the canyon during or after a heavy rain: you may become trapped by rapidly rising water or injured by shifting debris. Note that you'll need to pay a day use fee to park at the Fern Canyon Trailhead.

First, you'll take a section of the California Coastal Trail, which proceeds behind a colorful interpretive display (signs also warn you not to antagonize the local elk). The Coastal Trail has been rerouted inland here to avoid the dunes where snowy plovers like to nest. The trail is wide flat gravel here, and you’ll soon reach the cobbled wash from Home Creek. Keep walking until you find an old sign displaying some of the fern species in the ravine. Turn off the Coastal Trail and up the creek, noting the James Irvine Trail, your return route, dropping down to the stream on your left.

Now you’re entering Fern Canyon, where the sheer 30-foot walls literally drip through a patina of moss and five-finger maidenhair ferns. Several other fern species, including sword fern, lady fern, wood fern, chain fern, deer fern, and California polypody also adorn the vicinity of the canyon. A lone dipper might be seen bobbing on a rock. Pacific giant salamanders and cutthroat trout lurk in watery grottoes - they will make themselves scarce when hikers are sloshing through. In winter, you’ll be wading in the creek itself more often than not as you make your way up the canyon. In summer, you'll still probably get your feet wet unless the parks service has installed their footbridges at the creek crossings. Higher up, a tangled logjam forces a little scrambling. One cobbled bar sprouts a dense colony of coltsfoot. As the canyon widens, you’ll notice steps leading up to the left. The Fern Canyon Trail switchbacks up to the upper junction with the James Irvine Trail, where you’ll turn left into a Sitka spruce forest with a few younger redwoods. (A lot of visitors simply retrace their steps back down the canyon to experience the magic of the place one more time.)

If you're returning on the James Irvine Trail, you'll pass a spur that leads to a small meadow and a view down into Fern Canyon. This meadows was a camp for 19th century gold miners who attempted to glean flecks of the shiny stuff from Gold Bluffs Beach and the neighboring slopes. Their backbreaking endeavors never turned a profit, and efforts were abandoned. The trail rises a little on the slope and then switchbacks down a stepped passage that descends to the bottom of the canyon at the mouth of Home Creek, thus completing the loop.


Maps

Fees, Regulations, etc.

  • $8 per vehicle day use fee (National Parks Pass, America the Beautiful Pass accepted)
  • Restrooms, picnic area
  • No pets permitted
  • Nearby campground (no drinking water)
  • Don't hike Fern Canyon during or after a heavy rain!
  • Do not approach the elk!

Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

Guidebooks that cover this hike

  • Northern California: The Creaky Knees Guide by Ann Marie Brown
  • Hiking Waterfalls in Northern California by Tracy Salcedo-Chourré
  • Hike the Parks: Redwood National & State Parks by John Soares
  • Best Short Hikes in Redwood National & State Parks by Jerry & Gisela Rohde
  • Hiking Northern California by Bubba Suess
  • Hike America: Northern California by Dan Brett
  • Hiking the Redwood Coast by Dan Brett
  • Best Easy Day Hikes: Redwood National and State Parks by Dan Brett
  • 100 Hikes: Oregon Coast by William L. Sullivan
  • 100 Classic Hikes in Northern California by John R. Soares and Marc J. Soares
  • 101 Hikes in Northern California by Matt Heid
  • Northern California Hiking by Tom Stienstra & Ann Marie Brown
  • Marin to Crescent City to Mt. Shasta: Northwest California’s Best Day-Hikes by Art Bernstein
  • The National Parks Coast to Coast: 100 Best Hikes by Backpacker Magazine

More Links


Contributors

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Oregon Hikers Field Guide is built as a collaborative effort by its user community. While we make every effort to fact-check, information found here should be considered anecdotal. You should cross-check against other references before planning a hike. Trail routing and conditions are subject to change. Please contact us if you notice errors on this page.

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