Fern Canyon — Local services in Crescent City

A beautiful hike, but I think the foliage color varies by time of year. The ferns we saw in early January definitely weren't as green as those in the photos you usually see, but the hike was still very enjoyable and beautiful. The drive is about 6 miles on a dirt/gravel road that is well-maintained through the forest but then is full of potholes once you arrive on the coastal portion, you have to pay a lot of attention to avoid them. There is also a stream crossing, the ranger at the booth informed us of the approximate current depth (1 foot) and that there is a parking lot just before it if we decide to not drive through it. Our 4 wheel drive car handled it and the 2ish other streams just fine.

Once you get to the hike from the parking lot the mud starts immediately and doesn't let up, the hike itself is up a stream so if you don't wear tall rainboots be prepared to have soaked shoes, socks, and pants because walking through the water is unavoidable. Less than half the people we saw had waterproof boots on, one guy was even barefoot and said he couldn't feel his toes. So if you don't want to be miserable wear rainboots.

The hike goes upstream, wading through various water depths, ducking under trees, and climbing over some other trees. At the end is a staircase you can take up to walk back along the rim of the canyon, there's really only one view of it and that's near the beach end of it. I would recommend walking back through the water to enjoy it more. If you want that view from up top, go back to the main stream entrance and walk a hundred feet up the James Irvine Trail that is well-labeled...

Entry: you need to pay to enter, or have a state park pass.

Drive: the drive to get there is fairly dangerous. Before you even enter the park there's a long windy, one lane road, you have to watch for potholes and oncoming traffic. You need to drive slowly and manage space for the other car in the other direction and deal with drivers behind you wanting you to drive faster. Once you get in the state park, the roads gets wider but WORSE with pot holes galore. It's possible in a sedan but NOT recommended. Some of these pot holes are enormous and not visible in low profile cars, people have damaged their front ends going to Fern Canyon. In addition, in parts of the year there are streams of water you have to drive through. It's doable in a sedan/compact car but NOT advised. My car got some damage when a huge pot hole was hidden from the angle driven near the end when it wason the other side of a bump. These pot holes are no joke. The road is ideal for a jeep.

If you're not comfortable driving in pot holes and in water, people driving close up next to you, risking damaging your car, it might not be worth the risk.

Hike: once you get to the fern Canyon parking lot, the hike to the canyon is straightforward and simple. Parks of the Canyon are difficult to pass through, requiring some climbing, jumping, balancing, and good water proof shoes. I did the hike from one side of the canyon to the other in 10 minutes. I saw a number of people give up half way through because of the gaps, climbing and water.

It's a nice canyon but honestly, the pay off is questionable for all the effort...

This post is for those who are wondering if their minivans can make the drive to Fern Canyon.

Our 2006 Sienna made it just fine. The drive is a twisty gravel road (20-25 mins, 6-8 miles, I think? ... not sure) through a redwood grove. (I've attached a few pics showing some of the narrower sections of the drive.) The road can be steep-ish at times and have blind corners, but it's not crazy steep, there are no serious drop-offs, and nothing about the drive was really scary. There are some narrow sections of the road that only one car could pass at a time--and there's a 2-3ft dirt gutter on either side--but the road is plenty wide in plenty of places to accommodate vehicles meeting face-to-face in narrow sections (adequate space to pull off to the side to let other vehicles pass). Just stay alert and you'll be fine. The stream crossings were not stressful, either. In other words, don't let the drive scare you and your family away from a breathtaking and delightful hike through an otherworldly, verdant, refreshing canyon.

Go early. We pulled into the parking lot at 10am on a Friday and found plenty of parking. When we were leaving around 11am, lots of other cars were arriving.

Final advice: If possible, stop by the restrooms at the Gold Bluffs Beach campground (to the west, a few hundred feet before entering the Fern Canyon parking area) rather than depending on the restrooms at Fern Canyon. The Gold Bluffs restrooms...