Sight · Redwood National Park
A road walk through redwood restoration in the Mill Creek watershed.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Redwood Tour Guide
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 tourRecorded for this place
Mill Creek Watershed via Hamilton Road“You're nearing Hamilton Road, the access to Mill Creek Day Use Area.”
Plays as you drive up to Mill Creek Day Use Area in the Parkwolf Redwood Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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!!!!”
Guide
Mill Creek Day Use Area is the starting point for a self-guided walk through forest and stream restoration in the Mill Creek watershed, within Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. The road-based outing is about 2.4 miles round trip and shows how the former timber landscape is being restored.
From the parking area, walk up to the stop sign. Old Rellim Redwood Company mill buildings are visible in the distance but are off limits. Continue along Hamilton Road to compare dense control plots with brighter stands thinned from 800 or more trees per acre to 75 or 150. At the fork about 1.2 miles in, turn right onto Rock Creek Road; a bridge over East Fork Mill Creek is about 100 yards farther. Logs placed in the creek create more varied habitat for coho salmon and other aquatic life.
California acquired the 25,000-acre Mill Creek Watershed Addition in 2002, after intensive timber management from 1954 to 2000. Restoration work is intended to move young replanted stands toward mature forest structure. The walk offers a close look at that larger project without entering the closed mill buildings.
Wildlife
256 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
2,389 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
62 sightingsCalifornia CondorMost seen around 1 PMSighting map
60 sightingsCalifornia Sea LionMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
216 sightingsHarbor SealMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
13 sightingsMountain LionMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Redwood. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingCrossover Road Loop14.8 mi · 8.5 hr · 0.2 mi awayA quiet all-day loop through a redwood watershed of old logging roads
ModerateAlder Basin Trail0.6 mi · 30 min · 2 mi awayA short, steep climb through ferny second-growth redwoods
EasyTrestle Loop Trail1.3 mi · 54 min · 2.1 mi awayA short railroad loop beside Mill Creek.
ModerateRellim Ridge Trail4.3 mi · 2.8 hr · 2.1 mi awayA steep forest climb rewards occasional views over Crescent City Harbor.
ModerateHobbs-Wall Trail3.8 mi · 2 hr · 2.3 mi awayA wall of redwood trunks on a hilly forest loop.
ModerateSaddler Skyline Trail1.5 mi · 1 hr · 2.4 mi awayA short climb through young redwoods and berry thickets.
ModerateNickerson Ranch Trail1 mi · 45 min · 2.5 mi awayA short redwood walk to Mill Creek and back.
ModerateBoy Scout Tree Trail5.6 mi · 4 hr · 2.7 mi awayA double-trunk giant and Fern Falls reward the longer walk
Campground · 2.2 mi awayMill Creek CampgroundA creekside campground with woods and walks beyond your campsite.
Beach · 2.9 mi awayCrescent Beach Day Use AreaA picnic, a long sandy walk and the Pacific all start here.
Sight · 3 mi awayCrescent Beach OverlookA brief deck stop for Crescent City's beaches and harbor.
Sight · 3.2 mi awayGrove of TitansGet close to giants on a protected metal-mesh walkway.
Beach · 3.3 mi awayEnderts BeachLow-tide pools beneath coastal cliffs, reached by a steep beach trail.
Campground · 3.6 mi awayLittle Bald Hills Backcountry CampA trail-access camp where grassy meadow meets fir forest.
Sight · 4 mi awayBoy Scout TreeA double redwood landmark beyond 2.5 miles of forest trail.
Sight · 4.1 mi awayStout Memorial GroveStand beneath redwoods that rise about 300 feet.Parkwolf’s Redwood ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
