Parking
Use the small roadside pull-off on Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway near mile marker 128.0; the trail entrance is easy to miss.
Overview
About Corkscrew Tree Trail
Why go
- A distinctive fairy-ring redwood reached by a very short path.
Heads up
- The small roadside trail sign is easy to miss.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Redwood map
Full mapElevation227–240 ft
TrailheadCorkscrew Tree Trail roadside access, Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway mile marker 128.041.38042, -124.01467
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 Corkscrew Tree 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
Corkscrew Tree0:00 / 0:21
“Corkscrew Tree is coming up, a ten-minute stop for a redwood whose stems twist around one another. A short dirt path from the parkway pullout takes you to it.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Redwood Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Big Tree Wayside
- Brown Creek Trail
- 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 Corkscrew Tree Trail
A quick stop for the treeCorkscrew Tree Trail is an easy dirt out-and-back from a roadside pull-off on Newton B.
Corkscrew Tree Trail is an easy dirt out-and-back from a roadside pull-off on Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway to an unusual redwood. The walk is about 0.1 mile each way, or 0.2 mile round trip; allow around 10 minutes to walk in, look around, and return. This is a brief parkway stop, with a connection to the longer Karl Knapp Trail if you want to keep walking.
One redwood, many stemsThe Corkscrew Tree is a single redwood with numerous trunk reiterations, forming the fairy-ring…
The Corkscrew Tree is a single redwood with numerous trunk reiterations, forming the fairy-ring shape visitors come to see. Walk around it for a couple of angles: the trunks overlap in a different way as you move, and the overall form is easier to see. For a photo, step back enough to include the dirt path at its base.
Find the roadside accessStart near mile marker 128.0 on Newton B.
Start near mile marker 128.0 on Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway and look for the small trail sign by the pull-off; it can be easy to miss. Follow the dirt path to the tree and return the same way for the short visit. Dogs are not allowed on park trails; service animals are exempt.
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.
