Parking
Marked trailhead off the west end of Howland Hill Road. Parking is limited; RVs and trailers are not advised.
Overview
About Nickerson Ranch Trail
Why go
- A short route reaches an old-growth redwood flat beside Mill Creek.
Heads up
- The historic ranch site is across the creek and is not reached by this hike.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Redwood map
Full mapElevation203–218 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
6 active Redwood alerts
- ClosureBald Hills Road, Mill Creek and 44 Creek restrictionsMentions Mill Creek, 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 Nickerson 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
Boy Scout Tree and Fern Falls0:00 / 0:28
“Up ahead is the Boy Scout Tree trailhead, the start of a half-day walk through changing redwood forest. Allow about four hours for the five-point-six-mile round trip, with roots, mud, and steep grades.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Redwood Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Grove of Titans
- Hollow and Still Growing
- A Banana Slug at Work
- Stout Memorial Grove
- 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 Nickerson Ranch Trail
A short creekside redwood walkNickerson Ranch Trail is a 1-mile out-and-back from the marked trailhead at the west end of…
Nickerson Ranch Trail is a 1-mile out-and-back from the marked trailhead at the west end of Howland Hill Road to Mill Creek. Walk in and return on the same corridor; the mile is the full round trip. It’s a good pick for a short forest walk that reaches the creek. The path is moderate, with some uneven grades.
Where the trail endsThe route passes through old-growth redwoods, then the vegetation changes as you get close to…
The route passes through old-growth redwoods, then the vegetation changes as you get close to Mill Creek. Along the creekside alluvial flat, fallen redwoods provide habitat for young fish in the stream. Turn around at Mill Creek. The old route reached the ranch site across the creek, but this hike does not cross to it.
The ranch behind the nameCornelius G.
Cornelius G. Nickerson had a late-19th-century homestead beside Mill Creek, with a cabin, garden and orchard. The cabin is gone. The trail is named for that history, but the ranch is not a destination at the end of the current walk.
Start and returnUse the marked Nickerson Ranch trailhead off the west end of Howland Hill Road.
Use the marked Nickerson Ranch trailhead off the west end of Howland Hill Road. Parking is limited, and RVs and trailers are not advised. Allow about 45 minutes at an unhurried pace, including time by the creek. Pets are not allowed on park trails; service animals are permitted.
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.
