Parking
Use the signed Brown Creek pullout on Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. Parking is limited; follow the marked access toward South Fork and Brown Creek.
Overview
About Brown Creek Trail
Why go
- A ferny creekside path beneath old-growth redwoods
Heads up
- The out-and-back repeats the same corridor
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Redwood map
Full mapElevation273–440 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Redwood Tour Guide
Your drive to Brown Creek Trail, 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 tourRecorded for this trailhead
Brown Creek Trail0:00 / 0:24
“The Brown Creek trailhead is coming up, a good choice for a creekside redwood walk without a steep ridge climb. The two-and-a-half-mile out-and-back takes about an hour to an hour and a half, with modest, uneven grades.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Redwood Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Corkscrew Tree
- Big Tree Wayside
- Find the Wren by Ear
- Cal Barrel Road and Foothill Trail
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Brown Creek Trail
A creekside redwood walkBrown Creek Trail is a 2.5-mile round-trip out-and-back from the signed pullout on Newton B.
Brown Creek Trail is a 2.5-mile round-trip out-and-back from the signed pullout on Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. Follow the short marked South Fork access to the Brown Creek footpath, continue to the Rhododendron Trail junction, then retrace your steps. Allow about 1 to 1.5 hours. The one-way route climbs roughly 170 feet from the road; the grades are uneven but not steep. Come for a close walk beside a forest stream and among old-growth redwoods.
Under the redwoodsThe access leaves the parkway beneath large redwoods, on a broad path carpeted with needles.
The access leaves the parkway beneath large redwoods, on a broad path carpeted with needles. Brown Creek Trail follows the water through a shaded grove; the trees grow larger along the creek, and ferns and redwood sorrel cover much of the forest floor. The footing stays on natural dirt and needles. Turn around at the Rhododendron junction to keep to this route.
Two forest edgesThis walk makes it easy to notice the change from streamside vegetation to old-growth redwood…
This walk makes it easy to notice the change from streamside vegetation to old-growth redwood and Douglas-fir forest. Brown Creek feeds Prairie Creek, whose waters provide habitat for native salmon and trout. Some redwood trunks have paler downstream sides than upstream sides, a subtle detail to look for as you pass.
Continue only for the longer loopBrown Creek Trail connects South Fork and Rhododendron.
Brown Creek Trail connects South Fork and Rhododendron. If you continue on those trails instead of turning back, you are taking the longer Brown Creek Loop, about 3.4 to 3.5 miles depending on the route map. It adds steeper hillside sections and more varied forest; the short out-and-back keeps the focus on the creek.
Access and petsParking at the signed Brown Creek pullout is limited.
Parking at the signed Brown Creek pullout is limited. Pets are prohibited on park trails; service animals are allowed.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Redwood
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.
