Parking
Use the marked Hatton Trailhead on the south side of Highway 199. Parking is limited, and RVs or trailers are not advised.
Overview
About Lohse Grove Trail
Why go
- A bright, open grove feels different from the darker forest approach.
Heads up
- Highway noise carries along part of the climb; the final spur is unmarked.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Redwood map
Full mapElevation295–538 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 Lohse Grove 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
Walker Road and Simpson-Reed Grove0:00 / 0:24
“You're approaching Walker Road, the access for Simpson-Reed Grove. The level, wheelchair-accessible loop is about eight-tenths of a mile; allow thirty to sixty minutes among redwoods, mossy hemlocks and ferns.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Redwood Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Redwood Found Alive
- Leiffer Loop's Redwoods and Old Road
- Hiouchi Trail
- Jedediah Smith River Day Use Area
- 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 Lohse Grove Trail
The walk to Lohse GroveThis is a 3.
This is a 3.6-mile out-and-back from the Hatton Trailhead to a small, open stand of redwoods on a ridge. The distance includes the Hatton approach and the Lohse spur there and back, but leaves out the separate Hatton Loop. Allow about 2½ hours. The payoff is the light and the straight, pale trunks, not a grove of record-size trees.
On the Hatton approachThe lower path starts in a lush redwood grove with moss, hanging lichen, and thick understory,…
The lower path starts in a lush redwood grove with moss, hanging lichen, and thick understory, then climbs around ravines lined with larger trunks and ferns. Higher up, the redwoods get smaller and paler among tanoak and huckleberry. Highway 199 runs close enough that truck noise carries along part of the hillside, and the road appears through the trees in places. Expect uneven ground and exposed roots on some sections.
Finding the groveAt the Hatton junction, turn right onto the unmarked Lohse spur.
At the Hatton junction, turn right onto the unmarked Lohse spur. It climbs farther up the hillside and narrows under huckleberry; wet leaves can soak you. The grove is airy, with straight, light-barked redwoods and a dedication marker at the reported end. The final tread is the uncertain part: older accounts describe heavy brush and fallen-tree debris, but current access to the marker hasn't been confirmed. If that endpoint matters, check with a ranger before you set out. For a photo, frame the marker with the straight trunks around it to show how open the grove is.
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.
