Elk Meadow Day Use Area

Elk Meadow Day Use Area is a picnic area and trail hub on Davison Road, about three miles north of Orick and half a mile off U.S. 101. It is an easy place to picnic or look for Roosevelt elk. Stay longer if you want a hike: the 2.5-mile Trillium Falls loop and the 3-mile Davison Hike/Bike Trail both start here. If you mainly want a walk among old-growth redwoods, take the Trillium Falls loop rather than treating the meadow as a grove.

Elk Meadow is one of the Roosevelt elk herd areas in the parks, and visitors often see elk grazing in or beside the meadow, sometimes from the parking area. Some people have had luck near dusk, but there is no reliable viewing time and the animals may not appear. Keep at least 25 yards away, and give them more room during calving season in late May and June and the rut from late August through October.

The Trillium Falls Trail makes a 2.5-mile moderate loop with some steep grades. It winds through old-growth redwoods to a 10-foot waterfall over moss-covered rocks. In spring, look for trilliums; ferns and banana slugs are other details along the way. This is the better choice when you want a forest walk with a clear destination, not just a quick meadow stop.

The 3-mile Davison Hike/Bike Trail follows a former logging road through wetlands, streams, redwoods and alder groves. It gives you a different kind of walk from Trillium Falls, with the landscape and waterways taking the lead. Salmon may be visible by Prairie Creek in autumn, and herons or migrating songbirds are possible along the route.

The day-use area sits on the site of a redwood logging mill that operated for decades in the 20th century. Some surrounding forest was logged until the day before Redwood National Park was established in 1968. The interpretive panels show the place in the early 1990s and explain the restoration work; large pieces of logging machinery remain in nearby meadows. The Davison trail follows another former mill road, on land acquired for restoration in 1996.

The developed area has picnic tables, potable water, flush restrooms including an accessible restroom, parking for buses and RVs, and a wheelchair-accessible viewing area. Bring what you want to eat if you are planning lunch. From the viewing platform, frame the open meadow against the forest edge; that shows the shape of the place better than a close crop of trees.