Redwood National Park, CA
Creek crossings and ferny redwoods make this a full-day loop.
Overview
McArthur Creek Loop is a 14-mile circuit from the Orick Rodeo Grounds access, beginning beside Redwood Creek before climbing through redwoods and mixed woodland. The route swings across a logged plateau and McArthur Creek, then returns along an old roadbed and the Ridge Loop junction. Plan on about eight hours; a brisk outing can take around seven. It is a full-day walk with several memorable redwood groves, but old growth comes in pockets rather than continuing for the whole loop. This is also a horse trail, and one important turn is easy to miss.
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Redwood Tour Guide
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 area
When Redwood Creek Opens to the Sea“Redwood Creek's mouth can close without the creek running dry. In summer, when its flow is low, a sandbar can build across the outlet to the Pacific. Water collects behind that barrier.”
Plays on the road 0.2 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Redwood Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
From the dirt lot near Drydens Road, a short path reaches the Redwood Creek levee. Follow the levee toward the Rodeo Grounds, with pasture and wooded hills on one side and the creek on the other. Beyond the woods, a broad, horse-used trail climbs through mossy alders into redwoods, then opens into fern-covered groves with tall, straight trunks.
About 1.7 miles in, take the right-hand branch at the unsigned split. This less-used section leaves the redwood stand for mixed woodland, with much of the neighboring old growth screened by brush. Older markers may call this the Six Hour Loop. Later the route descends to a dirt-road junction, crosses a small channel of McArthur Creek by culvert, and climbs again; stay with the McArthur circuit rather than following the separate Ridge or Elam Creek loops.
The plateau is a change from the redwood groves: dense young spruce and large stumps show the effects of past logging. Near the Elam Camp spur, a stand of old-growth trees sits back from the trail rather than forming a close tunnel. The route then descends to a footbridge over McArthur Creek. Mossy maple and alder line the creekside slope, with rhododendron and spring flowers often showing around mid-May.
After the creek, the climb follows an old logging roadbed through a series of short zigzags. At the Ridge Loop junction, take time for the brief open grove of old-growth trees and its dense salal understory; the canopy is a distinct payoff after the logged plateau. Continue on the McArthur return and turn right where the Ridge Trail junction leads downhill toward the starting access. The nearby Ridge Loop is a separate, shorter seven-mile option and passes through more of this area's old growth.
Allow a full day and expect a long route with mixed forest, roadbed and trail surfaces. Wet winter and spring stretches can be muddy. Day-use self-pay parking is required at the Orick Horse Trails trailhead; horses are allowed with a free horse-trail permit available from park visitor centers. Pets are prohibited on park trails.
Wildlife
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.
Keep exploring
ModerateRidge Loop7 mi · 4 hr · At the trailheadA forested seven-mile loop with a few old-growth redwood groves.
ChallengingElam Creek Loop20 mi · 10.5 hr · 0.7 mi awayA long ridge walk to Elam Camp and its streamside forest.
ModerateCoastal Trail: Skunk Cabbage Section5.3 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.4 mi awayA creekside redwood climb opens onto grassy coastal bluffs.
ChallengingRedwood Creek Trail16 mi · 7.5 hr · 1.4 mi awayA long creek valley hike to Tall Trees Grove’s towering redwoods.
EasyLady Bird Johnson Grove Trail1.5 mi · 1 hr · 2.3 mi awaySee redwoods and a historic clearing on an easy 1.5 mile loop.
EasyTrillium Falls Trail2.7 mi · 1.8 hr · 2.5 mi awayThe redwoods make this loop; the waterfall is a bonus.
ChallengingBerry Glen Trail7 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.5 mi awayA steep redwood climb to Lady Bird Johnson Grove.
EasyDavison Trail3 mi · 1.8 hr · 2.7 mi awayA gentle gravel road puts the logging history in plain view.
Visitor center · 1.8 mi awayThomas H. Kuchel Visitor CenterGet your bearings, then step straight onto Freshwater Beach.
Picnic area · 1.9 mi awayRedwood Creek / Freshwater Beach Day Use AreaA picnic stop with shelter and a short walk to Freshwater Beach.
Sight · 2 mi awayFreshwater LagoonA calm-water lagoon for kayaking, swimming, and fishing.
Campground · 2.3 mi awayElam Backcountry CampA small trail-side camp; creek levels shape the approach.
Sight · 2.3 mi awayLady Bird Johnson GroveAn easy loop through old-growth redwoods with a conservation story.
Sight · 2.3 mi awayTrillium FallsA ferny redwood walk ends at a close-up view of the falls.
Picnic area · 2.5 mi awayElk Meadow Day Use AreaA picnic meadow where elk sometimes graze beside the trails.
Picnic area · 3.5 mi awayLost Man Creek Picnic AreaA simple picnic stop with an easy first mile by the creek.Parkwolf’s Redwood ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
