Ben A.
Yelp
In COVID times, many of us have had to redefine time-tested traditions and the manner in which we celebrate holidays. For 2020, our usual 30+ person Thanksgiving gathering in my childhood Pasadena home was changed to a Thanksgiving camping trip at Patrick's Point State Park, a solid 700 miles north of our usual Turkey day location.
The greater Redwoods National Park area in NorCal has always been one of my favorite places, however, and with our immediate family of five having made reservations to camp and plans to cook a complete Thanksgiving meal under the trees, we loaded the truck, hitched the pop-up camper, and headed north, Miss Tessmacher.
This stare park just north of Trinidad, CA is one of the more beautiful spots on earth: a vast canopy of trees allows dappled light to the ground supporting all sorts of ferns, shrubs, flowering plants, and dozens of mushroom species to flourish. Amidst the cool undergrowth, all sorts of critters live happily: frogs, salamanders, garter snakes, raccoons, rabbits, foxes, and of course, black bears.
The park is large enough to enjoy several days of different trail hikes that range from dense forest walks to rugged overlooks of the rocky coastline. Wedding Rock and Agate Beach should not be missed, here... and some of the hikes involve some pretty big steps on uneven muddy ground (although they are shorter hikes) so check with the ranger on conditions and difficulty before you head out. We also were here during a "High Surf Advisory" -- which means we got to see 25 foot waves crashing against the rocks and on Agate Beach.... beautiful, but lethal if you're not careful or act stupid. Respect nature, or she will eat you alive.
Nota bene: this whole area is a temperate rain forest, which means you should expect cool, wet conditions pretty much any time of year. In November, days were cool and clear, and nights were cold. In six days of camping we had three nights of rain... hard camping if you're a tent family or used to some kind of glamping adventure.
Still, the natural beauty of this place cannot be denied, relatively untouched by human intervention. This is also a great central location to visit Jedediah Smith, Humboldt, Avenue of the Giants, Fern Canyon, or any number of beautiful places up here.
Make reservations early-- California state parks fill up months in advance.
Sure it's off the beaten path, and it's not the kind of place you blast a radio, throw horseshoes, and drink beer in the sun. But this is an outstanding and gorgeous place to find the kind of peace and quiet everyone could use to refresh their souls these days.