We started the day in the Redwood National Park with a very peaceful walk through the Lady Bird Johnson Grove. We went early and had almost the whole trail to ourselves – I think we saw two or three other people the whole time. Richard Nixon dedicated this grove to the former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, in recognition of her conservation and environmental work. This is one of the few groves that has never been logged – in 1968, the Redwood National Park was established. Up until that point, redwoods all around this area were being logged, so many of the forests in this area of California are a second growth forest. For most of our walk, we just heard faint sounds of chirping birds and our gentle footsteps on the dirt path. Other than that, it was just silent. We found a bench on the trail and decided to just sit for a bit and enjoy the quiet solitude of this grove.

After we finished our hike, we continued down the road to the Redwood Creek Overlook, which provided an amazing view of the redwood forest all the way to the Pacific Ocean. It’s easy to forget that these forests are right next to the ocean until you get to a viewpoint like this one!

We drove back down to our hotel and decided to try Elk Meadow again and it delivered! We stayed a safe distance away from them while I snapped away with my camera. This group was mostly resting, so it was easier to take pictures of them!

At this point, we had finished our planned activities for the day and on our drive home, we saw a sign for a river overlook drive. We decided to check it out and it was incredible! I have no idea why it didn’t pop up on any lists when we were looking at things to do in this area. It was a road that drove right along the cliffs of the Pacific where on one side of the road is the ocean and the other side of the road is a forest of redwoods! The views were unbelievable and the route ended at the Klamath River Overlook, which is where the Klamath River meets the Pacific Ocean. Definitely worth the detour and we had some great views of the Klamath River on the second half of the drive!

Lady Bird Johnson Grove:

Redwood Creek Overlook:

Elk Meadow: