Parking
Use the Prairie Creek Visitor Center parking area, just off Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. Restrooms, exhibits, park information, and a bookstore are at the center.
Overview
About Prairie Creek Nature Trail
Why go
- Old-growth redwoods at both ends
- A real hillside climb in a short loop
Heads up
- Steeper than the mileage suggests
- The seasonal crossing and return junctions need planning
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Redwood map
Full mapElevation126–224 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 Prairie Creek Nature 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
Prairie Creek Visitor Center and Elk Prairie0:00 / 0:35
“You're coming up on Prairie Creek Visitor Center and Elk Prairie, a good stop for forest history and a chance to see Roosevelt elk grazing in the meadow.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Redwood Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Cal Barrel Road and Foothill Trail
- Big Tree Wayside
- Corkscrew Tree
- Find the Wren by Ear
- 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 Prairie Creek Nature Trail
The full loop is short, but it climbsPrairie Creek Nature Trail is a 0.9-mile loop from Prairie Creek Visitor Center.
Prairie Creek Nature Trail is a 0.9-mile loop from Prairie Creek Visitor Center. The complete circuit includes the approach over the larger bridge, a steep wooded hillside above Prairie Creek, the seasonal footbridge back across the creek, and the east-bank return. Allow 45 to 60 minutes. The climb is sustained for such a short walk, so choose it for a varied redwood walk rather than a flat stroll. The distance here includes the approach and return to the Visitor Center.
Where the redwoods areThe first and last parts of the walk pass through some of Prairie Creek's largest redwoods.
The first and last parts of the walk pass through some of Prairie Creek's largest redwoods. Between them, the trail briefly opens beside streamside plants, then climbs away from the creek; the trees get smaller as you gain height. On the descent you return to the big-tree lowlands, with about 200 yards through a particularly scenic redwood grove.
Keep an eye on the returnThe south crossing is a seasonal footbridge, so this is generally a summer loop; check current…
The south crossing is a seasonal footbridge, so this is generally a summer loop; check current park conditions before setting out. After the bridge, the east-bank paths form a confusing maze. Take the left-hand path at each junction to return to the Visitor Center. Do not count on an alternate creek crossing when the footbridge is out.
An old campground under the treesPart of the east-bank return follows the loop road of the former Prairie Creek campground.
Part of the east-bank return follows the loop road of the former Prairie Creek campground. From 1935 until about 1970, the redwood grove held 39 campsites, with cottages around the Visitor Center parking loop. The campground was removed after a safety study identified the risk of falling branches and trees.
Start at the Visitor CenterPark at Prairie Creek Visitor Center, just off Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway.
Park at Prairie Creek Visitor Center, just off Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. The center has restrooms, redwood exhibits, visitor information, and a bookstore. Pets are not allowed on park trails.
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.
