Parking
Use the small roadside pull-off beside the large Moorman Grove sign on Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, about 3.9 miles north of Prairie Creek Visitor Center. Watch for the turn-in; it is easy to miss.
Overview
About Moorman-Pond Trail
Why go
- Sweet Creek and broad redwood-canyon views in a short walk
- Simple out-and-back from a roadside trailhead
Heads up
- The trail ends at fallen trees rather than continuing through
- Small pull-off is easy to miss
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Redwood map
Full mapElevation436–558 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 Moorman-Pond 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
Moorman-Pond Trail0:00 / 0:25
“You're nearing the Moorman-Pond trailhead, a good choice for a short redwood walk above Sweet Creek.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Redwood Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Rhododendron Trail North
- Hope Creek and Ten Taypo Loop
- Brown Creek Trail
- Fern Canyon
- 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 Moorman-Pond Trail
What this short walk offersMoorman-Pond Trail is a short out-and-back on a dirt tread through the redwoods beside Sweet…
Moorman-Pond Trail is a short out-and-back on a dirt tread through the redwoods beside Sweet Creek. The full walk is about 0.7 miles round trip, with one brief climb and views across the forested canyon; allow 30 to 45 minutes. Choose it for a quick look into the redwoods rather than a long destination hike.
How the trail runsThe path starts nearly flat for about 0.1 mile, then makes one switchback up the canyon side.
The path starts nearly flat for about 0.1 mile, then makes one switchback up the canyon side. It follows the hillside through redwoods, with Sweet Creek below and occasional views across the broad canyon to the opposite forested wall. The open tread is wide and maintained.
Turn around at the fallen treesThe mapped corridor is about 0.34 mile one way; return along the same path.
The mapped corridor is about 0.34 mile one way; return along the same path. The maintained route is currently described as stopping at fallen-tree debris, with no verified continuation beyond it. Older maps show a longer line and small spurs, but current descriptions do not establish them as walkable.
The memorials behind the nameThere is no pond: “Pond” refers to Chauncey P. Pond Jr. Memorial Grove.
There is no pond: “Pond” refers to Chauncey P. Pond Jr. Memorial Grove. A separate Moorman grove memorializes Charles and Morris Moorman; a stone at the trailhead is reported to honor the brothers, who were killed in France in 1944. The two names explain the trail’s hyphenated name.
Start and accessUse the small roadside pull-off beside the large Moorman Grove sign on Newton B.
Use the small roadside pull-off beside the large Moorman Grove sign on Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, about four miles north of Prairie Creek Visitor Center. It is easy to miss. Dogs are not allowed on park trails except service animals.
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.
