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Fern Falls in Redwood National Park

Sight · Redwood National Park

Fern Falls

A small cascade caps a half-day walk through old-growth redwoods.

Photo: Flickr
Type
Sight
Nearest trail
1.9 mi
Audio stories
5 nearby
  • Trailhead
  • Parking
  • Restrooms
  • Scenic viewpoint
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Boy Scout Tree and Fern Falls

Overview

About Fern Falls

Why stop

  • The route passes through several distinct redwood-forest settings.

Heads up

  • The small cascade is a modest payoff after a half-day hike.

Map

Where it is

Loading the Redwood map
Full map
SightFern Falls41.78424, -124.13969
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 Boy Scout, referenced in this guidePlan 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 Fern Falls, 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 Fern Falls in the Parkwolf Redwood Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • The Whale That Stops for Summer
  • Hollow and Still Growing
  • A Banana Slug at Work
  • The Redwood Found Alive
  • 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!!!!”
JMJamesApp Store review
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4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Guide

More about Fern Falls

Go for the forest as much as the fallsFern Falls is a small cascade at the end of the Boy Scout Tree Trail, in the old-growth…

Fern Falls is a small cascade at the end of the Boy Scout Tree Trail, in the old-growth redwoods of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. It makes a clear destination for a longer walk, but the waterfall itself is modest; the forest route is the stronger reason to go.

Allow a half-dayPlan for the 5.5-mile round trip. The trailhead is reached from Elk Valley Road by driving 3.

Plan for the 5.5-mile round trip. The trailhead is reached from Elk Valley Road by driving 3.5 miles east on Howland Hill Road, a narrow, winding dirt road that isn't suitable for trailers or motor homes. Parking can be limited, and there's a vault/composting toilet at the trailhead. Check road conditions before setting out, and leave pets behind because park trails don't allow them.

At the end of the trailThe trail finishes at the base of Fern Falls, a small cascade at the redwood grove's edge.

The trail finishes at the base of Fern Falls, a small cascade at the redwood grove's edge. Stay on the developed trail: the park asks visitors not to climb on or near any waterfall. For a photo, include some of the ferns and dark rock around the falls from the trail rather than trying to get beside the water.

Changing forest along the wayThe setting shifts as you walk: a ferny lowland redwood grove gives way to a hillside and…

The setting shifts as you walk: a ferny lowland redwood grove gives way to a hillside and ridge, then mixed woodland and a valley of large, more widely spaced redwoods. Jordan Creek crosses the route near the falls, so the destination comes after several different forest settings.

Two redwood groves, two datesFern Falls and the Boy Scout Tree are part of Jesse H.

Fern Falls and the Boy Scout Tree are part of Jesse H. Metcalf Grove, donated to the park in 1939. Much of the rest of the trail crosses National Tribute Grove, dedicated in 1949.

waterfallredwoodhikingforest

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 Fern Falls

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

ModerateBoy Scout Tree Trail5.6 mi · 4 hr · 1.9 mi awayA double-trunk giant and Fern Falls reward the longer walkModerateNickerson Ranch Trail1 mi · 45 min · 1.9 mi awayA short redwood walk to Mill Creek and back.ChallengingMill Creek Horse Trail10 mi · 5.5 hr · 1.9 mi awayA long, steep redwood loop with two seasonal creek crossings.EasyGrove of Titans Trail1.8 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayA raised boardwalk brings you among giants without trampling their roots.ModerateMill Creek Trail2.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.2 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.EasyMetcalf-Huntington Grove Trail0.8 mi · 30 min · 2.5 mi awayA short, unmarked redwood walk ends at two memorial benches.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 awayBoy Scout TreeA double redwood landmark beyond 2.5 miles of forest trail.Sight · 2.1 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 · 2.8 mi awayJedediah Smith Redwoods Day Use AreaA cobbled Smith River shore with a summer footbridge to Stout Grove.Visitor center · 2.9 mi awayJedediah Smith Visitor CenterFriendly staff help you pick a grove, trail, or quiet redwood road.Campground · 2.9 mi awayJedediah Smith CampgroundStay among old-growth redwoods beside the Smith River.Sight · 3 mi awayStout Memorial GroveStand beneath redwoods that rise about 300 feet.Visitor center · 3.1 mi awayHiouchi Visitor CenterPick up maps and ranger advice, then see Tolowa and redwood exhibits.

Parkwolf’s Redwood ranking

Top sights in Redwood

All 48 places
  1. 1Fern CanyonSight
  2. 2Stout Memorial GroveSight
  3. 3Big Tree WaysideSight
  4. 4Lady Bird Johnson GroveSight
  5. 5Grove of TitansSight
  6. 6Tall Trees GroveSight

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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