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Elk Prairie Day Use Area in Redwood National Park

Picnic area · Redwood National Park

Elk Prairie Day Use Area

A picnic under old-growth redwoods at the prairie edge.

Photo: National Park Service
Type
Picnic area
Nearest trail
0.3 mi
Audio stories
7 nearby
  • Parking
  • Picnic tables
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Prairie Creek Visitor Center and Elk Prairie

Overview

About Elk Prairie Day Use Area

Why stop

  • Grills and potable water make a picnic easy.

Heads up

  • Restroom access for day-use visitors is unconfirmed.

Map

Where it is

Loading the Redwood map
Full map
Picnic areaElk Prairie Day Use Area41.35974, -124.02757
Keep this map with you offline in the Parkwolf app

Plan your stop

Before you go

6 active Redwood alerts

  • 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
  • CautionU.S. 199 construction traffic controlsExpect 24/7 one-way controlled traffic on three U.S. 199 segments because of construction. - 6–6.2 miles north of Gasquet: through 6:00 p.m. December 15, 2026; delays up to 10 minutes. - 9.6–9.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 Elk Prairie Day Use Area, 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

Prairie Creek Visitor Center and Elk Prairie
0:00 / 0:35
“You're coming up on Prairie Creek Visitor Center and Elk Prairie, a good stop for forest history and a chance to see Roosevelt elk grazing in the meadow.”

Plays as you drive up to Elk Prairie Day Use Area in the Parkwolf Redwood Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • Cal Barrel Road and Foothill Trail
  • Big Tree Wayside
  • The Ants That Move Trilliums
  • Corkscrew Tree
  • 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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4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Guide

More about Elk Prairie Day Use Area

Picnic under the treesElk Prairie Day Use Area is a small roadside picnic spot beside Elk Prairie Campground, with…

Elk Prairie Day Use Area is a small roadside picnic spot beside Elk Prairie Campground, with about half a dozen tables where open prairie meets old-growth redwoods. It’s a handy lunch stop about ten minutes north of Orick; the appeal is a meal under the trees, not a hike or a viewpoint.

Set up a simple mealThe site has picnic tables, grills, potable water, and parking for cars and buses or RVs.

The site has picnic tables, grills, potable water, and parking for cars and buses or RVs. Bring a meal if you want to eat here; food service isn’t listed at the picnic area. Restroom access for day-use visitors isn’t confirmed, so don’t count on the campground facilities next door without checking.

Elk on the prairieRoosevelt elk and black-tailed deer use the broader prairie, though you may not see them from…

Roosevelt elk and black-tailed deer use the broader prairie, though you may not see them from the picnic tables. Roosevelt elk are the largest of North America’s six recognized elk subspecies. If an elk is nearby, stay at least 25 yards back, and give it more room in spring and fall.

picnicredwoodsprairiewildlife

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 Elk Prairie Day Use Area

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

EasyRevelation Trail0.3 mi · 15 min · 0.3 mi awayTouch bark, hear the creek and smell California bay among redwoods.ModerateRhododendron and Foothill Loop9 mi · 5 hr · 0.4 mi awayRedwoods, creek groves, and a hollow tree reward this long loop.ModerateWest Ridge Trail7 mi · 4.5 hr · 0.4 mi awaySeven miles of redwood ridge, steep climbs, and a Coastal Trail finish.EasyRedwood Access Trail0.5 mi · 20 min · 0.4 mi awayA short accessible redwood walk to Elk Prairie's Campfire Center.EasyKarl Knapp Trail2.4 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.4 mi awayA gentle creek walk with a tunnel through a fallen redwood.ChallengingMiners Ridge and James Irvine Loop12 mi · 6 hr · 0.4 mi awayA long loop joining old-growth redwoods, Fern Canyon, and the coast.ModerateBig Tree Loop3 mi · 1.8 hr · 0.4 mi awayCreekside old growth leads to Big Tree and a rooty Cathedral return.ModerateClintonia Loop6.5 mi · 4 hr · 0.4 mi awayA 6.5-mile loop through redwoods, without the coast detour.

More stops nearby

Campground · 0.1 mi awayElk Prairie CampgroundA leafy base near elk meadow and old-growth trailsVisitor center · 0.4 mi awayPrairie Creek Visitor CenterA CCC cabin with redwood exhibits and trail advice.Sight · 1.2 mi awayBig Tree WaysideA 1,500-year-old redwood with a platform and short grove walksSight · 1.6 mi awayCorkscrew TreeOne redwood, several trunks, and a remarkably twisted form.Picnic area · 2.3 mi awayLost Man Creek Picnic AreaA simple picnic stop with an easy first mile by the creek.Beach · 2.5 mi awayGold Bluffs Beach Day Use AreaA long gray-sand beach below orange bluffs and coastal forest.Picnic area · 2.7 mi awayElk Meadow Day Use AreaA picnic meadow where elk sometimes graze beside the trails.Campground · 2.8 mi awayGold Bluffs Beach CampgroundSleep beside the Pacific, with Fern Canyon up the road.

Parkwolf’s Redwood ranking

Top sights in Redwood

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  3. 3Big Tree WaysideSight
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Take Parkwolf to Redwood.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

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