Stout Grove Trailhead — Attraction in Crescent City

To get to the trail head from Crescent City, it’s about 14 miles but it takes about 30 minutes to get there. Partly because you backtrack and partly because Howland Hill Road is dirt/gravel and narrow. Yes, the car will get dusty! There are pullouts along the way in case you meet another vehicle going in the opposite direction. The parking area holds maybe a dozen cars but I imagine people park on the road as well. We were there on a Tuesday afternoon and were able to find a parking spot in the lot. There are pit toilets available. The first (short) part of the trail is a small hill. It is paved so I think it would be handicap accessible. The rest of the trail is mostly debris from the trees so it is spongy and easy to walk on. What an awesome walk among these wonders of nature! They are surrounded by ferns and other greenery. It is beautiful beyond description and sooo quiet. We kept waiting for a hobbit to jump out. A neck brace would be handy because you spend most of the time looking up :) The signage is not the best. We took one trail thinking it went down to the river but it didn’t. Oddly enough, we found out later it’s called the River Trail !?!?. About ¾ of the way around the Stout trail (if you start from the right), there is a spur that goes down to a rocky beach area, and the unbelievably clear Smith River. We could have stayed for hours just staring at the water and combing the through the rocks. What a great way to spend...

Stunning and majestic redwoods in a little grove along the Smith River, inland from Crescent City. Took a while for us to find the turnoff from the highway, inland from Hiouchi. The road to the grove gets noticably more narrow just past the residential area. We had small delay waiting for some guy who either ignored or didn't read the sign which said "No Trailers or RVs". He had to navigate a short driveway attempting to turn his rig around while about six cars waited. The road is narrow enough for one car with small turnouts for one vehicle to tuck into to allow another to pass.

That aside, we were lucky to find a parking space. I want to say there are perhaps 10-12 parking spots. Oh, and there is a vault toilet adjacent to the parking area. Once on the trail, we passed maybe two other couples. The forest is stunningly quiet and peaceful, with majestic trees in all forms of life and decay to view. Ferns, thimbleberries, and other plants covered the ground and grew out of downed trees. The peacefulness of the forest is calming and awe inspiring. We also walked along the river trail, which cuts through part of the grove trail, to the Smith River where a small creek joins in. The river levels are low this year, something like 270 cfs. The famously clear water was tinted with a bit of algae growth, but still allowed a view to the...

Stout Grove is a must see if you are in the area. If you want to climb on some down redwoods or get pictures with monster living ones that are over 1200 years old you must do this Trail Park at the Jedediah Smith National Park Campground day use area if you have a large motorhome as you cannot take I motorhome down the narrow winding dirt road that leads to the stock quote real you must walk across a bridge from campground to the Stout Grove This is something you really should see as it is better than the Redwood Forest locations that are further south.... and the trees are bigger and more plentiful here..

If you come in from the Campground site over the bridge go directly straight ahead on the trail at is not marked well at all that one is amazing then come back towards the bridge after that trail and go on the Stout Grove Trail ( a lot more people here and you can tell it's been visited like 100 times more than that other secret path that is straight from the bridge) It's a pretty magical place so I'll make sure to...