Northern California is home to forests of magnificent coastal redwoods, the world’s largest trees. Several parks protect these giants, including Redwood National and State parks, with 139,000 acres (560 km sq) of forest, and Humboldt Redwoods State Park, containing the largest remaining stand of virgin redwoods. A highlight of the area is Avenue of the Giants, pictured above, a scenic drive among massive the redwoods, with a short trail to the 1400-year-old Founder’s Tree.

From Fort Bragg, we headed north up the California Coast, detouring from Highway 101 to follow the Avenue of the Giants and a scenic drive through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The giant redwoods were spectacular, and we also took in the rugged California coast at Patrick’s Point State Park.

After a 225-mile (362 km) drive, we stopped for the night in Crescent City, CA and stayed in a waterfront hotel with a balcony overlooking the ocean. The day’s drive brought our total trip distance to 4,358 miles (7013 km) across 12 states (South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California).

Below are highlights from June 30th, 2021. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

Garden Position: 39°25.53’N, -123°48.17’W Another view to the beautiful and well-tended gardens at the Noyo Harbor Inn as we depart on a foggy morning. We really enjoyed our stay there.

Avenue of the Giants Position: 40°15.01’N, -123°49.38’W Driving along the Avenue of the Giants, a scenic drive through California’s Humboldt Redwoods State Park which has the world’s largest remaining stand of virgin redwoods.

Founder’s Tree Position: 40°21.16’N, -123°55.43’W The massive 1400-year-old Founder’s Tree in Humboldt Redwoods State Park is 346.1 ft (105.5 m) tall, 12.7ft (3.9m) in diameter and 40.0 (12.2m) ft in circumference.

Patrick’s Point State Park Position: 41°7.76’N, -124°9.81’W A picnic lunch overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Patrick’s Point State Park.

Seals Position: 41°7.77’N, -124°9.80’W Seals dozing on the rocks at Palmer Point in Patrick’s Point State Park as waves crash in around them.

Wedding Rock Position: 41°8.45’N, -124°9.69’W View north along the rugged California coast from Wedding Rock in Patrick’s Point State Park.

Elk Position: 41°19.62’N, -124°1.90’W Roosevelt Elk grazing in the grass at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Viewed from the scenic drive through the park.

Paul Bunyan Position: 41°33.47’N, -124°3.52’W Most of the attractions in this part of northern California area are natural, but there are a few decidedly less natural features. This is a giant statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox at the Trees of Mystery park on Highway 101. Many places in North America claim to be the birthplace of the legendary logger—we saw a similar statue of Bunyan in Bangor, Maine.

Road Closure Position: 41°37.91’N, -124°6.83’W This portion of Highway 101 just south of Crescent City is closed completely for most of the day while construction crews rebuild the road after a massive slide. We arrived on time for one of the scheduled openings, but it still took a good hour to get through.

Battery Point Position: 41°44.86’N, -124°12.19’W View to the Battery Point lighthouse from the deck of our room at the Oceanfront Lodge in Crescent City, CA.

SeaQuake Brewing Position: 41°44.98’N, -124°11.97’W Excellent microbrews over dinner at SeaQuake Brewing in Crescent City, CA.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.