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Boy Scout Tree in Redwood National Park

Sight · Redwood National Park

Boy Scout Tree

A double redwood landmark beyond 2.5 miles of forest trail.

Photo: CC BY 2.0
Type
Sight
Nearest trail
1.5 mi
Audio stories
5 nearby
  • Trailhead
  • Parking
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Boy Scout Tree and Fern Falls

Overview

About Boy Scout Tree

Why stop

  • The intertwined trunks make a memorable payoff in old-growth forest.

Heads up

  • It takes a roughly five-mile, half-day hike to reach one landmark.

Map

Where it is

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Full map
SightBoy Scout Tree41.78179, -124.13453
Keep this map with you offline in the Parkwolf app

Plan your stop

Before you go

6 active Redwood alerts

  • ClosureBoy Scout, Alder Basin and Lyon’s Ranch trail restrictionsMentions this placePlan around closures and blocked sections on Boy Scout Tree, Alder Basin and Lyon’s Ranch trails. - Boy Scout Tree Trail is partially open; a fallen tree blocks the trail 1.Official details
  • CautionU.S. 101 construction traffic controlsExpect construction-related traffic stops and one-way controlled traffic on U.S. 101; allow extra time and drive cautiously. - NPS reports multiple stops between Orick and Crescent City; delays vary.Official details
See all 6 alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Redwood Tour Guide

Your drive to Boy Scout Tree, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Redwood National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

See the Redwood audio tour

Recorded for this place

Boy Scout Tree and Fern Falls
0:00 / 0:28
“Up ahead is the Boy Scout Tree trailhead, the start of a half-day walk through changing redwood forest. Allow about four hours for the five-point-six-mile round trip, with roots, mud, and steep grades.”

Plays as you drive up to Boy Scout Tree in the Parkwolf Redwood Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • Hollow and Still Growing
  • The Whale That Stops for Summer
  • A Banana Slug at Work
  • Grove of Titans
  • 85 audio storiesacross Redwood’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Elk, California Condor, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 83 trails, 48 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
★★★★★
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
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Guide

More about Boy Scout Tree

A landmark that takes a hikeBoy Scout Tree is a named double-trunk coast redwood in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.

Boy Scout Tree is a named double-trunk coast redwood in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. You reach it from Boy Scout Tree Trail, not from a roadside pullout: an unmarked but well-used spur branches about 2.5 miles from the trailhead. Plan on roughly five miles round trip and at least half a day. Keep it for a day when the old-growth forest walk is part of the point; it is a long way for a quick tree stop.

Watch for the spurLook for the side path around the 2.5-mile point; it is not signed.

Look for the side path around the 2.5-mile point; it is not signed. The main trail continues to Fern Falls, a small cascade, so the tree is a spur visit rather than the route's endpoint. The approach is moderate, with steep grades and switchbacks. The trail is 4 to 6 feet wide and is not ADA accessible.

Take in the double formThe landmark is two intertwined redwoods.

The landmark is two intertwined redwoods. Try to keep both trunks in the same photo; a close crop of one loses the double shape that makes this tree distinctive.

A story from the local ScoutsThe tree was named for a local troop leader who found it.

The tree was named for a local troop leader who found it. A Scouting history identifies him as Jack Breen, and says Crescent City Boy Scouts built the trail in the 1930s. The tree and Fern Falls are in Jesse H. Metcalf Grove, donated to the park in 1939; farther along, the trail enters National Tribute Grove, dedicated in 1949.

Make the drive workFrom Highway 101 in Crescent City, take Elk Valley Road for 1.

From Highway 101 in Crescent City, take Elk Valley Road for 1.5 miles, turn right onto Howland Hill Road, then continue about four miles to the signed trail turnoff. Parking at the trailhead is limited, and RVs and trailers are not advised on Howland Hill Road. Winter storms or fallen trees can make the road impassable, so check park conditions before you drive out. Bring water for the half-day hike.

redwoodoldgrowthforesthikinglandmark

Wildlife

Wildlife in Redwood

All Redwood wildlife maps
Black Bear256 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapElk2,389 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapCalifornia Condor62 sightingsCalifornia CondorMost seen around 1 PMSighting mapCalifornia Sea Lion60 sightingsCalifornia Sea LionMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapHarbor Seal216 sightingsHarbor SealMost seen around 10 AMSighting mapMountain Lion13 sightingsMountain LionMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Redwood. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near Boy Scout Tree

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

ModerateBoy Scout Tree Trail5.6 mi · 4 hr · 1.5 mi awayA double-trunk giant and Fern Falls reward the longer walkModerateNickerson Ranch Trail1 mi · 45 min · 1.6 mi awayA short redwood walk to Mill Creek and back.ChallengingMill Creek Horse Trail10 mi · 5.5 hr · 1.8 mi awayA long, steep redwood loop with two seasonal creek crossings.EasyGrove of Titans Trail1.8 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.9 mi awayA raised boardwalk brings you among giants without trampling their roots.ModerateMill Creek Trail2.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.9 mi awayCreekside redwoods lead to a raised Grove of Titans boardwalk.EasySimpson-Reed Trail0.8 mi · 45 min · 2.5 mi awayFallen giants shape stream pools beneath the old-growth redwoods.ModerateHatton-Hiouchi Trail1.2 mi · 45 min · 2.5 mi awayA redwood ridge climb linking Hatton access to the Hiouchi Trail.EasyHatton Loop Trail0.3 mi · 20 min · 2.5 mi awayA tiny loop trades a short climb for a lush redwood hollow.

More stops nearby

Sight · 0.3 mi awayFern FallsA small cascade caps a half-day walk through old-growth redwoods.Sight · 1.8 mi awayGrove of TitansGet close to giants on a protected metal-mesh walkway.Sight · 2.6 mi awaySimpson-Reed GroveAn easy, flat walk through lush old-growth redwoods and ferns.Picnic area · 2.6 mi awayJedediah Smith Redwoods Day Use AreaA cobbled Smith River shore with a summer footbridge to Stout Grove.Visitor center · 2.7 mi awayJedediah Smith Visitor CenterFriendly staff help you pick a grove, trail, or quiet redwood road.Campground · 2.7 mi awayJedediah Smith CampgroundStay among old-growth redwoods beside the Smith River.Sight · 2.7 mi awayStout Memorial GroveStand beneath redwoods that rise about 300 feet.Visitor center · 2.9 mi awayHiouchi Visitor CenterPick up maps and ranger advice, then see Tolowa and redwood exhibits.

Parkwolf’s Redwood ranking

Top sights in Redwood

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  1. 1Fern CanyonSight
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  3. 3Big Tree WaysideSight
  4. 4Lady Bird Johnson GroveSight
  5. 5Grove of TitansSight
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