Discover the Essentials: Redwood National and State Parks (U.S. National Park Service)

Discover the Incredible Diversity

Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) preserve one of the most awe-inspiring coast redwood ecosystems in the world, where a remarkable diversity of life exists. From majestic forests to banana slugs, gray whales, Douglas-fir, black bears, and sea anemones, this ancient wonderland is home to a plethora of species. Park personnel uphold the region's biological diversity by implementing various management and educational initiatives. Ensuring that natural processes and genetic diversity coexist fosters the continuity of the old-growth redwood forest's beauty and complexity for generations to come. Welcome to your personal classroom, where wonders abound.

Preserve and Safeguard

The 1800s marked the beginning of western expansion into the redwoods, leading to these majestic trees falling under the saw and ax. Redwood's vast forests offered early settlers an apparently limitless supply of lumber. However, in less than a century, these forests' enormous tracts had dwindled to a fraction of their previous range, endangering the old-growth redwood forest's survival in the early 1900s.

Thanks to the leadership of the Save-the-Redwoods League, the redwoods received the protection they needed. In the 1920s, the State of California established Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park to safeguard some of the most exceptional remaining examples of coast redwoods.

The United Nations acknowledged Redwood National Park's worldwide significance, designating it a World Heritage Site in 1980.

Collaborating Together

In 1968, Congress established Redwood National Park by safeguarding lands adjacent to the three California state parks. In 1994, the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the National Park Service joined forces to ensure the maximum protection of the four-park area's resources.

Today, visitors can marvel at not only the old-growth redwood groves but open prairie lands, two significant rivers, and 37 miles (60 km) of pristine California coastline. RNSP is also a testing ground for large-scale forest and stream restoration of severely impacted lands.

Native American tribes have made the North Coast* region their home since time immemorial, and their cultural presence endures today in areas surrounding RNSP. The parks' managers work to ensure that their cultural practices must continue through consultation with the tribes.

Today complex ecosystem restoration projects like Redwoods Rising requires the cooperation of agencies, tribes, and many organizations.

*Redwood National and State Parks are located in the loosely defined North Coast of California and Oregon region. Traveling south to north on Highway 101, you'll experience a distinct change in vegetation from California oak woodlands to the Douglas-fir/coast redwood forests and an exceedingly damp climate.