Parking
Use Lyons Ranch Trailhead on Bald Hills Road, about 17 miles east of Highway 101. The gravel lot holds roughly a dozen cars. The road is unsuitable for RVs, campers and vehicles towing trailers.
Overview
About Lyons Ranch Trail
Why go
- Open prairie and oak-grove views across Redwood Creek basin.
- The historic barn, bunkhouse and shed reward the downhill walk.
Heads up
- Much of the route is an exposed road walk rather than forest tread.
- The return climbs the same hill, with no water at the trailhead.
Lyons Ranch Trail is a four-mile out-and-back from Bald Hills Road to the historic Lyons Ranch Home Place and back. Allow about 2½ hours, including time at the ranch. This moderate walk follows dirt and gravel roads, dropping roughly 400 feet to the buildings before climbing the same hill on the return. Choose it for open Bald Hills scenery and ranch history. If you want a shaded redwood forest walk, pick another trail.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the right walk for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Redwood map
Full mapElevation2,093–2,621 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
6 active Redwood alerts
- ClosureBald Hills Road, Mill Creek and 44 Creek restrictionsMentions Bald Hills Road, referenced in this guideUse caution on damaged Bald Hills Road and plan around Mill Creek and 44 Creek access restrictions.Official details
- 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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Redwood Tour Guide
Your drive to Lyons Ranch 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
Lyons Ranch Home Place0:00 / 0:22
“You're nearing the Lyons Ranch trailhead, for a walk across open prairie to a redwood-plank barn and old orchard.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Redwood Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Condor's Return
- Why the Bald Hills Stay Open
- The Woodpeckers' Acorn Store
- Dolason Prairie Picnic 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 Lyons Ranch Trail
Follow the main road downhillThe route starts high in open prairie, with occasional oak groves along the descent.
The route starts high in open prairie, with occasional oak groves along the descent. At the weather-station fork, stay on the left-hand road toward the ranch. Views open over Long Ridge Sheep Shed, the Redwood Creek basin and Bridge Creek Ridge, where clearcuts sit beside the remaining redwood margins. The unmarked Ranch Road option to Long Ridge Sheep Shed is a separate detour, not part of the four-mile route; its added mileage is unclear.
The Home PlaceThe end of the road is a small cluster of the Home Place barn, bunkhouse and shed.
The end of the road is a small cluster of the Home Place barn, bunkhouse and shed. A short path beside the barn leads down to a small cemetery with one grave marker. The dark barn's steep shingled roof is the distinctive subject at the end; include some of the surrounding grass to show its setting.
The buildings are part of a 5,660-acre historic district listed on the National Register in 2018. Ranching here ran from 1868 to 1959. The family's early Merino sheep operation earned Jonathan and Amelia Lyons a gold medal for wool at the 1901 Paris Exposition.
A much older landscapeChilula, Hupa and Yurok people used these hillsides for thousands of years, including…
Chilula, Hupa and Yurok people used these hillsides for thousands of years, including deliberate burning that renewed oak, berry and grass resources. Amelia Lyons was Hupa, and the National Park Service describes the family as continuing Native practices alongside ranching. Hupa and Yurok building influences are also visible in the ranch structures.
Getting to the trailheadStart at Lyons Ranch Trailhead on Bald Hills Road, about 17 miles east of Highway 101.
Start at Lyons Ranch Trailhead on Bald Hills Road, about 17 miles east of Highway 101. The gravel lot holds roughly a dozen cars. There is no water or other facility at the trailhead, and pets are not allowed on park trails. The open hillside can be hot in summer; winter snow can make Bald Hills Road and the walk difficult. Cell coverage is very limited.
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.
