The Avenue of the Giants is the old highway through the redwoods: about 31 miles of California State Route 254 running beside US-101 between Phillipsville in the south and Pepperwood in the north. Where the freeway hurries past, the Avenue takes you in among the trees, through Humboldt Redwoods State Park and the largest remaining stand of old-growth coast redwood on earth. These are the tallest living things on the planet, and some of the trees beside the road were already old when Rome was an empire.
You can drive the Avenue straight through in under an hour, but almost nobody who does it right does it that way. This guide covers what you actually need to plan the day: which end to start from, the handful of stops that matter (and the one walk you shouldn’t skip), the fees, the rules for dogs, where to sleep and fill the tank, what each season is like, and how to hear the story of every grove narrated as you drive, so your eyes stay on a narrow road under a dark canopy.
- What it is
- The old US-101 alignment, now State Route 254, through Humboldt Redwoods State Park
- Length
- About 31 miles, Phillipsville (south) to Pepperwood (north), with exits to and from US-101 along the way
- Drive time
- Under an hour non-stop; plan a half day with Founders Grove and a couple of pull-outs, a full day with Rockefeller Forest
- Where
- About 20 miles north of Garberville and 45 miles south of Eureka on US-101; roughly 4 hours north of San Francisco
- Cost
- The Avenue and its roadside pull-outs are free. Developed day-use areas charge a vehicle fee ($8 per California State Parks, November 2026)
- Don’t-miss
- Founders Grove · the fallen Dyerville Giant · Rockefeller Forest · the Visitor Center near Weott
- Dogs
- Not allowed on trails (service animals excepted). Fine in the car on the drive itself
- Cell signal
- Patchy to none under the canopy; download maps and your audio tour before you arrive
Top things to see & do
Founders Grove
If you get out of the car once on the Avenue, make it here. The Founders Grove nature trail is a short, flat, easy loop through some of the biggest trees in the park, and it gives you what no car window can: the silence, the green light coming down through three hundred feet of canopy, and the scale of a trunk when there’s nothing between you and it.
The grove is named for the founders of the Save-the-Redwoods League, the people who started buying these flats out from under the saws in 1918. The Founders Tree itself stands roughly 340 feet tall, and lying across the forest floor nearby is the most astonishing sight in the park: the fallen Dyerville Giant.
Pro tip: Come early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Midday in summer the small lot fills and the trail gets busy; at the edges of the day you can have the grove nearly to yourself.
Read the full Founders Grove guide →The Dyerville Giant
In its life the Dyerville Giant stood about 362 feet tall and was reckoned the tallest known tree in the world. It was around 1,600 years old. In March 1991, after a month of heavy rain had turned the ground to soup, a neighboring tree came down and took the Giant with it. People a mile away said it sounded like a train wreck.
Rangers left it where it fell. In a redwood forest a fallen giant isn’t garbage, it’s a nursery that will feed seedlings, fungi and salamanders for centuries. You can stand at the great torn disc of its roots, two stories high with the soil still in its grip, and then walk along a trunk that goes on longer than a city block.
Pro tip: Start at the root wall and walk the full length of the trunk. The length is what lands, and most people turn back halfway.
Read the full The Dyerville Giant guide →
Rockefeller Forest & Bull Creek Flats
Just north of Founders Grove, Mattole Road turns west toward Bull Creek. Take it if you have an hour to spare. Rockefeller Forest, roughly 10,000 acres of redwoods that have never been cut, is the largest unbroken stand of old-growth coast redwood left anywhere on the planet.
It survived because John D. Rockefeller Jr. was brought out to see what was being lost and gave a fortune, matched by the state of California, to buy these flats from the lumber company in the late 1920s. The Bull Creek Flats area has easy walking among trees that rival anything in the redwood world.
Pro tip: Ask at the Visitor Center about the Rockefeller Loop and Mattole Road before you go. Both have closed in the past for storm damage and hazard-tree work, and current status changes.
Read the full Rockefeller Forest & Bull Creek Flats guide →
Humboldt Redwoods Visitor Center
Make this an early stop. The Humboldt Redwoods State Park Visitor Center has a small museum, maps, restrooms and rangers who can tell you which trails and side roads are open that week. It’s open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas: 9am to 5pm May through September, and 10am to 4pm October through April.
Nearby, look for the flood-height marker from December 1964, when warm rain on deep snow sent the Eel River over the rooftops of Weott. Look up, not at eye level. The water stood far higher than most people expect, and the old town moved uphill afterward.
Pro tip: This is the place to ask about Rockefeller Loop and Mattole Road conditions before you commit an hour to the detour.
Read the full Humboldt Redwoods Visitor Center guide →
Shrine Drive-Thru Tree
Yes, you can drive your car through a living redwood. The Shrine Drive-Thru Tree in Myers Flat is a privately run roadside attraction and a hundred-year-old piece of road-trip history, from the days when this was the only road north and the little towns along it competed to make you stop.
It is gloriously cheesy and it’s fun. There are only a handful of drive-through trees left in the world, all of them in this corner of Northern California.
Pro tip: Fold in your mirrors and check your vehicle width before you commit. Big trucks and RVs won’t fit.
Read the full Shrine Drive-Thru Tree guide →
The Immortal Tree
Near Redcrest, a small pull-out and marker mark the Immortal Tree, and it earned the name several times over. Loggers started cutting it and gave up, and you can still see the axe marks. It stood through the great flood of 1964. It survived fire. And a lightning strike blew the top clean off, which is why its crown looks blunt against the sky.
It isn’t the tallest or the biggest tree on the Avenue, but it’s around a thousand years old, it’s still growing, and it may be the most beloved.
The perfect one-day plan
- 9:00Leave the freeway at Phillipsville (south end)
Fill up in Garberville first; there’s little fuel on the Avenue. Headlights on, windows down for the first mile.
- 9:30Shrine Drive-Thru Tree, Myers Flat
Quick, fun, and best done before the mid-morning traffic.
- 10:00Visitor Center near Weott
Restrooms, maps, the flood marker, and current trail and road conditions.
- 10:45Founders Grove & the Dyerville Giant
Walk the whole loop and the full length of the fallen Giant.
- 11:45Rockefeller Forest via Mattole Road (if open)
An extra hour among the largest old-growth redwood stand on earth.
- 1:00Lunch in Redcrest or Myers Flat, then the Immortal Tree
Small-town cafés and general stores; the Immortal Tree is a quick roadside stop near Redcrest.
- 2:00North end at Pepperwood
Rejoin US-101 north toward Fortuna and Eureka, or turn around and drive it the other way.
Hidden gems most visitors miss
The memorial grove signs
Those small brown signs all along the road each mark a grove that someone paid to save, often in memory of a person they lost. Pull over and read a few. It is the strangest and most moving conservation story in America.
Williams Grove
A day-use area on the Eel River with picnic tables and a gravel river bar. In summer it’s a lovely spot to stop and put your feet in the water (vehicle day-use fee applies).
Old growth vs. second growth
Learn to tell them apart and the drive changes. Old growth is wildly uneven, with huge bare trunks and fallen logs everywhere. Second growth looks like a crop, all one size with old stumps showing springboard notches. The protected groves are islands between them.
Best time to visit
Spring
Trillium and fresh green, the river running high
Quieter than summer; trails can be muddy and some side roads close after storms.
Summer
Fog mornings, warm afternoons, the river bars open
Busiest season. Campgrounds book up and Founders Grove parking fills by midday.
Fall
Golden light, salmon and steelhead starting to run
Arguably the best time: fewer people, mild weather, and the first rains bring the forest back to life.
Winter
Moody, dripping, almost empty
Heavy rain is common and the Eel can flood. Check road conditions; Visitor Center hours are shorter.
Know before you go
What to pack
- ✓ A warm layer, even in August, because it’s cool and damp under the canopy
- ✓ Downloaded offline maps and your audio tour (no reliable signal)
- ✓ A full tank from Garberville or Fortuna
- ✓ Shoes that can handle damp, soft trails
- ✓ Snacks and water; services are small and spread out
- ✓ Cash, handy at small-town shops and roadside stops
Getting there & parking
From the south (San Francisco, about 4 hours): take US-101 north past Garberville and exit at Phillipsville for the south end of the Avenue (State Route 254).
From the north (Eureka, about 45 minutes): take US-101 south and exit at Pepperwood for the north end.
Either direction works. There are several exits along the way, so you can join or leave the Avenue partway through. The Ranger Tales audio tour starts from whichever end you arrive at.
Check Caltrans QuickMap for US-101 conditions in winter storms.
Accessibility
- ♿ The drive itself is fully accessible from the car, with many easy pull-outs.
- ♿ The Founders Grove loop is short and nearly flat; ask at the Visitor Center about current trail surface conditions.
- ♿ The Visitor Center has restrooms and is at road level.
With kids & dogs
- • Kids love the Drive-Thru Tree, the giant fallen Dyerville Giant and spotting banana slugs on the trails.
- • Dogs are not allowed on park trails (service animals excepted), so plan on drive-and-look stops if your dog is with you.
- • Never leave pets in a closed car, even in the shade on a cool day.
Official resources & permits
- Humboldt Redwoods State Park (California State Parks) ↗
Official alerts, hours, fees and park rules.
- ReserveCalifornia ↗
Campground reservations for Burlington, Hidden Springs and Albee Creek.
- Save the Redwoods League ↗
The group that started buying these groves in 1918, and still does.
- Caltrans QuickMap ↗
Live US-101 road conditions and closures.
Where to stay & eat
🛏 Where to stay
- Burlington Campground
Inside the park beside the Visitor Center. Reserve through ReserveCalifornia, up to six months ahead.
- Hidden Springs & Albee Creek campgrounds
Two more state-park campgrounds, near Myers Flat and out on Mattole Road. They book up in summer.
- Garberville (south)
The nearest town with a real choice of motels and inns, about 20 minutes south of the Avenue.
- Fortuna & Eureka (north)
The most lodging and dining options, 30 to 50 minutes north on US-101.
🍽 Where to eat
- Avenue towns
Myers Flat, Miranda and Redcrest have small cafés, general stores and the odd roadhouse. Hours are short off-season.
- Garberville
The best bet for a sit-down meal at the south end.
- Fortuna
Plenty of choice at the north end.
Frequently asked questions
- How long is the Avenue of the Giants?
- About 31 miles, along State Route 254 between Phillipsville at the south end and Pepperwood at the north end, running parallel to US-101 through Humboldt Redwoods State Park.
- How long does it take to drive the Avenue of the Giants?
- Under an hour without stops. Most visitors spend a half day with Founders Grove and a few pull-outs, or a full day if they add Rockefeller Forest and a longer walk.
- Is the Avenue of the Giants free?
- Yes, driving the Avenue and using the roadside pull-outs is free. Some developed day-use areas charge a vehicle day-use fee ($8 per California State Parks, November 2026), and the privately owned Drive-Thru Tree charges its own entry fee.
- Should I start at the north or south end?
- Start from whichever end you reach first on US-101: Phillipsville if you’re coming from San Francisco, Pepperwood if you’re coming from Eureka. The highlights are spread along the whole road, and the Ranger Tales audio tour works from either end.
- What is the best stop on the Avenue of the Giants?
- Founders Grove. It is a short, flat loop through huge old-growth redwoods and it includes the fallen Dyerville Giant. If you have extra time, add Rockefeller Forest on Mattole Road.
- Are dogs allowed on the Avenue of the Giants?
- Dogs can ride along on the drive, but they are not allowed on the park’s trails (service animals excepted).
- Is there cell service on the Avenue of the Giants?
- Coverage is patchy to nonexistent under the redwoods. Download maps, and the Ranger Tales audio tour, before you leave the freeway; the tour plays offline by GPS.
- Is the Avenue of the Giants the same as Redwood National Park?
- No. The Avenue runs through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, about two hours south of Redwood National and State Parks. Many people do both on the same trip up US-101.
