Clintonia Loop

Clintonia Loop is a 6.5-mile moderate circuit from Prairie Creek Visitor Center, linking James Irvine, Clintonia and Miners Ridge before returning on James Irvine. Allow about four hours. Nearly the whole walk stays in redwood forest. Choose it for a long forest day without adding Fern Canyon and Gold Bluffs Beach; Clintonia itself is only one connector within the larger loop.

Start by the visitor center, cross Prairie Creek on its footbridge, and follow James Irvine into old-growth forest. The path climbs by switchbacks toward more open upland woods, where tall trunks and fern-covered slopes show between the trees. It later drops into a narrower valley. The valley-floor tread is rough in places, with exposed roots and short muddy patches, so this stretch can take longer than it looks on the map.

Turn onto Clintonia at the signed junction. The trail climbs through a dense stand of smaller, pale-trunked redwoods, a striking change from the larger lowland trees. Ferns and shrubs crowd the secluded valley. Clintonia takes its name from a seasonal fuchsia bloom; the flowers are a bonus when they are out, not a year-round feature.

At the far end of Clintonia, turn onto Miners Ridge. It climbs along a ridge among larger redwoods, with the biggest trees near the crest, then descends to James Irvine for the return to the visitor center. This ridge route follows a path used by gold miners in the mid-1800s. Watch the signs at each junction: continuing on James Irvine in the other direction leads toward Fern Canyon and the coast, outside this loop.

Use the Prairie Creek Visitor Center / Elk Prairie access off Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. Parking is along the open-meadow section east of the visitor center, with space for larger vehicles. Pets are not permitted on park trails; service animals are allowed.