Redwood National and State Parks

Redwood Redwood forest ALL PHOTOS NPS EXCEPT AS NOTED World’s tallest living tree—monarch of the North Coast—living link to the Age of Dino­ saurs. Redwoods grow from seeds the size of a tomato seed yet can weigh 500 tons and stand taller than the Statue of Liberty. Its foot­thick bark makes the tree all but impervious to fire and insects. Archibald National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Redwood National Park Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park California Split Rock along the Coastal Trail Menzies first noted the coast redwood for western science in 1794. Its scientific name, Sequoia sempervirens (ever living), proba­ bly honors Cherokee leader Sequoyah. In 1918 paleontologists wanting to save this living link to our evolutionary past cam­ paigned nationally to protect the trees. Three California redwoods state parks resulted: Prairie Creek (1923), Del Norte (1925), and Jedediah Smith (1929). To pre­ serve the trees’ natural Coast Range setting and associated plants and animals, Red­ wood National Park was created in 1968 and expanded in 1978. The national park Department of Parks and Recreation State of California Rough-skinned newt Bald Hills prairie and oak woodlands boundary encircled the three state parks to better protect superlative ancient redwood forests. In 1994 the National Park Service and California Department of Parks and Recreation began managing the parklands cooperatively, aiming to manage the parks the same. That’s why you see rangers in state and national park uniforms anywhere in the parks, working for the same mission. The parks’ designation as a World Heritage Site and part of the California Coast Ranges Biosphere Reserve reflects their worldwide recognition as irreplaceable treasures. Here, the diversity of life is protected for you and for future generations. Help us safeguard this special place by treating it with care and respect. From Exploration to Preservation NPS Jedediah Strong Smith Lacking good deep harbors, the redwood coast drew little attention until fur trapper Jed Smith arrived overland in 1828. Smith sought a better route between the Rockies and Pacific. Gold miners opened this area to settlement in the 1850s. Gold mining began after 1848 strikes on the Trin­ ity River. KANSAS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY The Coast Redwood Coast redwoods tower over all other trees in the world. Trees over 370 feet tall have been recorded across the region. Redwood forests develop the world’s greatest reported volume of living matter per unit of land surface. Giant sequoias grow to larger diameters and bulk but do not grow as tall. Coast redwoods can live to about 2,000 years old; they average 500 to 700 years old. They have no known killing diseases and do not suffer significant insect damage. Merely to stand in a redwood grove inspires many visitors to champion these trees’ preservation. Logging began in redwood country in 1851. At first small logs were floated to small mills or dragged by oxen on skid roads. Railroads were used in the 1870s, then the steam donkey in 1882 and bull donkey (above left) 10 years later. Bulldozers were used by the 1920s, trucks by the 1940s. Redwood lumber built some of San Francisco’s great Victorian homes. ILLUSTRATION NPS Coast redwoods grow in a narrow strip along the Pacific Coast of Cali­ fornia and southwestern Oregon. Giant sequoias grow only on the Sierra Nevada’s western slope. Coast Redwood range O Moving logs with steam power ushered in the in­ dustrial logging era. California’s northern coast was largely ignored by non-Indians until gold was discovered on Gold Bluffs Beach in 1850. Mining profits were marginal. Revived during the Civil War, the mines closed at the war’s end. Various methods were tried later, but operations ceased by 1920. A few remains of mining operations still exist on Gold Bluffs Beach. F The 1978 park expansion provided a buffer zone between the park and logging up­ stream on private lands and a watershed restoration program to remove logging roads and rehabilitate thousands of acres of cut­over land. Redwood National and State Parks protect nearly 40,000 acres of ancient forest, almost half of all that remain. Mining and Logging I C A L In 1800 redwood forests probably covered two million acres. As mid­1800s gold fever subsided here, redwood fever replaced it. Seeming endless at first, the trees soon fell to determined logging. The State of Cali­ fornia preserved some key groves in the 1920s. Congress created Redwood National Park in 1968 to protect the world’s tallest trees and Redwood Creek’s salmon fishery. R Giant Sequoia range N I A Coast redwoods reproduce by seed and by stump and basal sprouting. Seeds slightly bigger than a pinhead are Redwoods have no taproot; their roots penetrate only 10 to 13 feet deep but spread out 60 to 80 feet. Cambium layer Sapwood A backdrop of redwoods dwarfs hikers. Coast Redwood Facts Giant Sequoia Facts Heartwood Height: To nearly 380 ft. Age: To 2,000 years Bark: To 12 in. thick Base: To 22 ft. diam. Height: To 311 ft. Age: To 3,200 years Bark: To 31 in. thick Base: To 40 ft. diameter Burl with sprout Reproduce: By seed or sprout Seed size: Like a tomato seed Cone size: Like a large olive Reproduce: By seed only Seed size: Like an oat flake Cone size: Like a chicken egg Watershed Protection favor return of natural vegetation. Congress also created a 30,000acre protection zone upstream from the park in Redwood Creek’s watershed. This limits effects of the timber harvesting there on the park downstream. Annual ring TREE ILLUSTRATIONS NPS / JOHN DAWSON Mature seed Germinating Sheds seed coat By one week Indians of the Redwood Coast From sea level to 3,200 feet in elevation in the Coast Range, a mild, moist climate as­ sures the parks an abundant diversity of wildlife. Elusive to visitors, many mam­ mals, birds, amphibians, and insects live in the mature redwood forest. They depend on it for food and for shelter. Prairies form natural islands of grasslands, where wild­ life abounds. Prairies and Waterways Prairies and rivers reflect the changing of seasons far better than redwood groves do. In springtime, prairie wildflowers burst with color that gives way in the dry summer to the grasslands’ amber glow. Prairies are the realm of raptors, the predatory red-tailed hawk, kestrel, and great horned owl, and their prey of gophers and meadow mice. Park streams offer swimming and floating. Steel­ head, cutthroat trout (the speckled fish pictured center below), and Chinook salmon (center below) inhabit these streams. Much bigger antlers distinguish them from black­tailed deer. Good places to see Roosevelt elk are Elk Prairie camp­ ground and Gold Bluffs Beach. Look for them along the Bald Hills and Davison roads, too. Be alert for elk crossing highways. released from mature cones that ripen in August and September. If a redwood is felled or is badly burned, a ring of new trees often sprouts from burls around the trunk’s base. These socalled ”family groups” are common. Saplings use the parent tree’s root system. Bark Treasures of Nature and Culture Roosevelt elk favor prai­ rie and other open lands but seek forests for cov­ er and shade. The parks’ largest land mammals, elk may exceed 1,000 pounds. From Seed and Sprout Redwood-like trees grew over much of the Northern Hemisphere in the Age of Dinosaurs. Later climate change reduced redwood habitat to this narrow, fog-bound coastal corridor. (See “The Role of Fog” at lower right.) NPS / DAN FEASER Mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, elk, and black-tailed deer frequent prairies kept free of trees by prescribed fire and grazing elk. Acorn-bearing Oregon white oaks edge prairies at the higher elevations. Oaks provided proteinrich food for Indians, who cleared the understory with fire. Prairies make good birding spots. There you may see the goldfinch, junco, quail, or raven. The parks’ rivers are world-renowned for fishing and loved for recreation and their sheer beauty. The Smith River, named for Jedediah Smith, arises in the Siskiyou Mountains and then flows through the parks’ northern section. It is now California’s last major free-flowing river and is famous for salmon and steelhead. Congress expanded the national park in 1978 and directed the National Park Service to rehabilitate loggedover lands. Bulldozers recontoured hillsides and stream channels to restore conditions that The Klamath River, also a salmon and steelhead stream, crosses the midsection of the parks. American Indians have lived along the redwood coast for thousands of years. Belonging to several different groups, they speak different languages, despite living in a relatively small area. Before non-Indian people arrived in the 1850s, Indian villages, with their split-plank structures (above top), dotted the coast and lined major rivers. Redwood Creek flows through the parks’ southern part. Salmon and steelhead populations were severely diminished by past logging in the Redwood Creek watershed. USFWS / DUANE RAVER Black Bears Seldom seen, black bears roam these parks. Most haven’t lost their fear of humans. Fond of acorns, bears travel far to harvest them. To pre­ vent wild bears from be­ coming problem bears we must keep human food away from them. Use sound food storage practices. Counter­bal­ ance all food, scented items—soap, tooth­ paste, lotion—and gar­ bage in a tree 200 feet from camp; 12 feet up and 10 feet out from the trunk; and five feet down from the branch. Ask a park ranger about how to store your food. Travel was by redwood dugout canoes (above) on waterways and by foot on an elaborate trail system. Foods varied with the seasons. They fished ocean and rivers, hunted land and marine mammals, and gathered nuts, seeds, Listen to the excavator’s rumble and the bulldozer’s roar. The same equipment that was used to build the logging roads (above) now takes the roads out! Be sure to visit one of the rehabilitated sites during your stay in these parks. and berries. American Indians today live on and off reservation lands and represent five to 10 percent of the local population. Groups are represented by sovereign governments and many traditions continue. Some members still speak the languages. Traditional ceremonies are held, hunting and fishing are still important, and the traditional arts and crafts are kept alive. CANOE NPS / MICHAEL HAMPSHIRE; DWELLING AND BASKET NPS Remember: A bear seek­ ing food from human camps can be aggressive and may have to be de­ stroyed. Please keep wildlife wild. Redwood National and State Parks lie in tradi­ tional territories of three Indian groups. Yurok and Tolowa groups still exist; the Chilula have assimi­ lated into the inland Hupa culture. ✩GPO:20xx—xxx-xxx/xxxxx Reprint 20xx Printed on recycled paper. BEAR NPS / GEORGE FOUNDS Life Along the Seacoast Even apart from the Coast Range and its lofty forests, the coastline here would justi­ fy national or state park status. Rugged and largely unaltered by humans, the coastline features stretches of steep and rocky cliffs broken by rolling slopes. Generally rocky, its tidal zone can be tough to traverse. Gold Bluffs Beach is an exception, with its seven­ mile stretch of dunes and sandy beach. On the coastline you may discover a rich mix of forms of life that live in the distinct habitats illustrated below. Many of the parks’ animal species thrive along the coast. Brown pelicans are summer visitors. Cormorants take to lagoon or river and shore waters. Willets and sanderlings work the beach. Offshore may be Pacific gray whales in migration, seals, sea lions, dolphins, porpoises, and orca whales. In the intertidal areas the cycle of rising and fall­ ing tides have produced tightly zoned lay­ ers of life. To help protect these animals, the national park boundary extends one­ quarter mile offshore. Offshore Between shore and the deep ocean here an average surface acre is as productive as an acre of fertilized agricultural land. The basic wealth lies in phytoplankton, single-celled plants. Sea lions feed beyond the surf and haul out on shore or on sea stacks. Harbor seals swim in the surf and haul out in sheltered coves. Sea birds nest offshore on rocks. The California Current flows south. It works with offshore winds to draw nutrients up from deep waters, providing food for many coastal creatures. Moisture-laden air off the California Current condenses as low clouds over cold water near shore. Intertidal Zone Tides rise and fall twice daily on a 25-hour lunar cycle. In the zone between high and low tide, life forms arrange themselves vertically based on tolerance for exposure to air and/or water and to heat and wave shock. Other biological limits are predators and competition for food and space. A splash zone above high tide is home for periwinkle snails and beach hoppers that can withstand episodic wetting and wave shock. Splash zone species are transitional but more attuned to life on land than in the sea. Mussels cling to rocks in the high-tide zone, covered by water only at high tide. Shells let them tolerate temporary exposure to air and direct sunlight. Seaweeds provide oxygen, food, and shelter for intertidal zone residents. Some kelp, anchored in deep water, with built-in floats, are tall as redwood trees. Tidepools shelter life in rocky beach outcroppings. Tidepool dwellers cope with great changes in water temperature, salinity, and oxygen content. Here are barnacles, limpets, nudibranchs, ochre sea stars, sea urchins, and erect sea palms anchored by rootlike hold-fasts. Beaches Life on sandy beaches observes wet and dry zones, too, because of tides and waves. The lower beach is often wetted while upper beaches are like deserts between sea and lush coastal forest. Clams and mole crabs burrow in wet lower beaches. Sanderlings follow retreating wave lines to forage on washedup organisms. Brown pelican From Ocean to Forest A marbled murrelet is a robin-sized seabird that flies deep into the oldgrowth forest to lay its egg high in tree tops on a large moss-covered limb. Unfortunately, its ancient habitat has been greatly reduced by forest fragmentation. Most murrelets left in California nest in Redwood National and State Parks, but predators like ravens, jays, and crows are eating murrelet eggs and chicks. While circling the forest looking for food scraps at campgrounds, they find the murrelet’s nest instead. Please help protect this rare bird— keep a clean campsite and avoid feeding any wildlife. Sea Cliffs Northern park beaches tend to be rocky and backed by sea cliffs. Southern beaches tend to be backed by bluffs. Over half of the parks’ birds are marine species. Some nest—often as crowds—in sea cliffs: murres, cormorants, puffins, auklets, gulls, and pigeon guillemots. The Role of Fog As air warmed by inland heat passes over the cold, near-shore waters, fog forms—in summer almost daily. Fog helps to approximate the mild, moist climate that prevailed during the Age of Dinosaurs, when redwoodlike species grew over much of North America. through leaf surfaces. Fog collects on trees and then its precious moisture drops to the forest floor. Fog is not essential to redwoods, but its absence would reduce their range. Woodlands The Coast Range’s west slope forests benefit from being close to the ocean—for fog, rainfall, and moderated climate. Redwoods favor the moist, north-facing slopes where sunlight’s effects are less drying. Rivers near sea level also provide hospitable flats for these big trees. Fog brings the redwood forests relief from the dry summer, too. It reduces the loss of water Marbled murrelet US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Periwinkle snail Giant green anemone SEACOAST, TIDEPOOL CRITTERS, AND PELICAN ILLUSTRATIONS NPS / ROB WOOD Ochre sea star A park interpreter shares natural lore of the rocky tidepools with visitors to the parks’ Pacific shore. Redwood National Park is one of over 390 parks in the National Park System. To learn more about national parks and National Park Service programs in America’s communities visit www.nps.gov. Exploring the Redwood Coast Redwood National and State Parks represent a cooperative management effort of the National Park Service and the California Department of Parks and Recreation. This includes Redwood National Park, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Together these parks are a World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve that protect resources cherished by citizens of many nations. Information in this brochure can help you decide what to see and do during the time you have to visit the parks. Services and facilities are also listed or described. 24-hr. recorded information 707-464-6101 24-hr. dispatch 916-358-1300 Call area code 707 and these numbers for: Crescent City Information Center 465-7335 Kuchel Visitor Center 465-7765 Prairie Creek Visitor Center 488-2171 Hiouchi Information Center (seasonal) 458-3294 Jedediah Smith Visitor Center (seasonal) 458-3496 More Information National Park Service: www.nps.gov California State Parks: www.parks.ca.gov Redwood National and State Parks 1111 Second Street Crescent City, CA 95531-4198 www.nps.gov/redw Accessibility We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all; call or check our website. Emergencies call 911 Hiouchi Area Hiouchi Information Center The information center is open in the summer season. It offers a good place to begin your visit to the national and state parks if you are ap­ proaching the north end of the parks on US 199. Exhibits and interpretive publications tell about the parks, their trees and coastline, and other related topics. Trail maps are available. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park Here you can camp, picnic, hike, fish, swim, and float the Smith River. There are no life­ guards. Interpretive exhibits and publications are available at the visitor center. Interpretive walks and talks are offered in summer. Howland Hill Road, an alternate route to Cres­ cent City, is an unpaved, narrow, scenic drive through the redwood forest. It provides entry to Stout Grove, hiking trails, and a horseback riding trail as well as to the Howland Hill Out­ door School. Motor homes and trailers are not advised on this road. Walker Road, an unpaved scenic road through redwood forest, provides entry to the Smith River and to short hiking trails. Crescent City Area Park Headquarters The headquarters for Redwood National and State Parks is at 1111 Second Street in Crescent City. Information and interpretive publications are available here year­round. For 24­hour infor­ mation about the parks, call 707­464­6101. Near­ by attractions are the Battery Point Lighthouse, Del Norte County Historical Museum, and the harbor at Citizens Dock. You can get information about commercial attractions and private camp­ grounds at the Chamber of Commerce on Front Street, across the street from park headquarters. Crescent Beach Picnicking and walking on the beach are popu­ lar activities at Crescent Beach, just two miles south of Crescent City off Enderts Beach Road. Enderts Beach Road The road leads to Crescent Beach Overlook, a good place to watch whales, have a picnic, or just take in the scenery. A section of the Coastal Trail (1.2 miles round­trip) follows tall bluffs, then drops to the sandy Enderts Beach. The hike­in Nickel Creek backcountry camp (0.5 mile) just above the beach offers five sites with beach access. Free permits required, available year­round from Crescent City Information Cen­ ter and Kuchel Visitor Center. Picnic tables, grills, and a pit toilet are provided. There is no water. In summer 2­ to 2.5­hour tidepool or seashore walks are conducted, tides permitting. They begin at the parking area, descend to the beach, and explore rocky tidepools at its south­ ern end. Coastal Trail Multiple sections of the Coastal Trail (see map) explore beaches, bluffs, grasslands, former farm land, and redwood and other forests. With sub­ stantial road links and other trails, the Coastal Trail enables you to backpack nearly the length of the parks, from Enderts Beach Road in the north to the Tall Trees Grove in the south. Back­ country camps are provided at (north to south) Nickel Creek, DeMartin, and Flint Ridge. There is a campground at Gold Bluffs Beach. Free back­ country permits are required for all backcountry campsites. They are available from Kuchel Visitor Center and Crescent City Information Center. For more information on the Coastal Trail, ask at park information centers for maps and publica­ tions. Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park Here you can camp, hike, and backpack. Inter­ pretive walks and talks are offered in summer. Mill Creek campground is open in summer. Klamath Area False Klamath Cove False Klamath Cove lies five miles north of the Klamath River. A protected beach and picnic area are located at the mouth of Wilson Creek. Lagoon Creek Picnic and enjoy the beach. The Yurok Loop Trail (one mile, one hour) gradually climbs to the top of the sea bluffs for panoramic ocean views. Look for wildflowers in season and, perhaps, views of sea mammals. Requa Road Requa Road leads from US 101 up to the Klamath River Overlook, some 600 feet above the estuary at the Klamath River’s mouth. There the Coastal Trail leads down to a spur trail lead­ ing to another overlook some 200 feet above the ocean. Whale­watching can be good in this area. Coastal Drive This narrow, scenic, partially paved drive (con­ nect with Alder Camp Road for an eight­mile, 30­minute, loop drive) winds through stands of redwood, offering close looks at the Klamath River and breathtaking views of crashing surf and the expansive Pacific Ocean. Don’t miss the World War II radar station. It looks like a farm­ house and barn—that was its disguise in the 1940s. The smaller structure housed the power supply. The operations building housed an oscil­ loscope and radar technicians. Near the junction with Alder Camp Road the High Bluff picnic area provides panoramic views of the coast from its location atop the bluff. Another point of interest is the old Douglas Memorial Bridge that was destroyed by flooding in 1964. Access sections of the Coastal Trail from Coastal Drive or Alder Camp Road; find camping at Flint Ridge backcountry camp. The Coastal Drive is a narrow and mostly unpaved road with steep grades and sharp curves. Vehicles with trailers and motor homes are prohibited. Prairie Creek Area Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park From US 101 you can reach the park via the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, an eight­mile stretch of the original Redwood Highway that provides one of the parks’ most scenic drives through old­growth redwood forest. You will find park information, exhibits, and interpretive publications at the Prairie Creek Visitor Center. Camping is available at Elk Prairie campground. Cal­Barrel Road is an unpaved scenic drive through the redwood forest (trailers prohibited). Davison Road provides entry to the Elk Meadow Day Use Area and Gold Bluffs Beach. Elk Mead­ ow Day Use Area has picnicking, mountain bik­ ing, and hiking, including the 2.5­mile loop (1.5 hours) Trillium Falls Trail. Beyond Elk Meadow, Davison Road is narrow and unpaved. Trailers and trailer-vehicle combinations longer than 24 feet or wider than 8 feet are prohibited. Gold Bluffs Beach offers wildlife viewing, hiking, pic­ nicking, camping, and entry to the beach and Fern Canyon. Watch out for elk herds. Danger: Elk are wild and unpredictable. Do not approach them on foot. Lost Man Creek Take the short, unpaved, scenic drive through the redwood forest. Trailers are not advised. This area offers hiking and mountain biking trails and picnicking facilities. Lost Man Creek Trail leads past the World Heritage Site dedication area and on to a cascade on Lost Man Creek. Continue past old­growth forest and into second­growth habitat, 11 miles one­way. four hours round­trip from US 101 for driving to the trailhead and then hiking down to the grove (3.4 miles total: 1.3 miles down; an 0.8­mile loop at the bottom; 1.3 miles back up). The trail is steep, descending 726 feet into the grove where some of the world’s tallest trees grow. tion. Camping is allowed only on gravel bars along Redwood Creek, and only upstream from the confluence of McArthur Creek, 1.5 miles from the Redwood Creek trailhead. Camping is not permitted within 0.25 mile of the Tall Trees Grove. Free permits are required for camping along Redwood Creek. They are available from Kuchel Visitor Center and Crescent City Informa­ tion Center. Orick Area Bald Hills Road Do not take trailers or motor homes on the steep—15 percent—grade here. Parking for trail­ ers is available at the Redwood Creek trailhead and Kuchel Visitor Center. Walk the Lady Bird Johnson Grove self­guiding loop trail (1.5 miles, one hour), reached from Bald Hills Road. It threads through mature forest to the grove and site at which Lady Bird Johnson dedicated the national park in 1968. A limited number of permits for private vehicles are issued on a first­come, first­served basis to reach the trailhead for the Tall Trees Grove. The free permits are available at Kuchel Visitor Cen­ ter and Crescent City Information Center. Allow Redwood Creek Trail The first 1.5 miles are accessible. Here you can combine hiking and backcountry camping. Take an eight­mile hike to Tall Trees Grove, where some of the world’s tallest trees grow on the flats of Redwood Creek. This involves two creek crossings. Caution: Bridges are provided in sum­ mer only. During the rainy season high waters make stream crossings dangerous. For current in­ formation on getting to Tall Trees Grove via this route, ask a park ranger at an information sta­ Kuchel Visitor Center If you are approaching the parks from the south, make this your first stop. View the exhibits and browse publications that tell about the area, its trees, coastline, and related topics. Trail maps are available. General Information Camping Facilities Developed campgrounds in Jedediah Smith Redwoods and Del Norte Coast Redwoods state parks have hot showers, restrooms, and disposal stations. Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park campgrounds provide heated showers and restrooms, but no disposal stations. Trailers up to 24 feet long and motor homes up to 27 feet are allowed, except at Gold Bluffs Beach where trailers are prohibited and motor homes up to 24 feet long are allowed. There are no trailer hookups in the parks. There are several primitive backcountry campgrounds for backpackers; some can also accommodate bicyclists, horses, and/or pack animals. For camping reservations call 1-800-444-7275 at least 48 hours in advance of your stay. Reservations are usually necessary in summer. The nearest group campgrounds are at Jedediah Smith Redwoods and Patrick’s Point state parks. Other public campgrounds are located in Six Rivers National Forest: Grassy Flat, Big Flat, and Patrick Creek are closed in winter. Reservations can be made at some national forest campgrounds by calling 1-877-444-6777. Outdoor Education Outdoor education is available at two sites in the parks. Howland Hill Outdoor School and Wolf Creek Education Center are available for educational programming and conferences on a reservation system only. Please see their phone numbers at the top of this page next to the map. Bike Trails Several trails are designated for bicycle use. Check at any information center. Pick up the bicycle handout. Look closely at trailhead signage. Safety and Management Tips On the beach be aware of tidal fluctuations. Swimming is hazardous because of cold water and strong rip currents. • Be cautious while climbing or walking near edges of high, rocky bluffs. • Watch for poison oak and deer ticks (which carry Lyme disease), particularly in coastal areas. • Roosevelt elk are wild and unpredictable—do not approach them on foot. • Do not feed bears or wild animals. Follow park regulations regarding bears and food storage; all food and scented personal care items should be secured and hidden from view in vehicles, placed in bear-proof lockers, or hung from trees. Garbage should be properly disposed of in bear-proof garbage cans. • Mountain lions may also be found in the parks. Check at park information centers for brochures and updates on mountain lion behavior. • Water from natural sources must be treated before drinking. If you are not familiar with proper water treatment techniques, ask a ranger for help. Road Conditions Watch for trucks and other heavy vehicles. Use turnouts to let faster traffic pass. Drive cautiously in fog. Do not take trailers or motor homes on roads other than main highways without first finding out whether those roads can handle them. Park Regulations Redwood National and State Parks are managed under special regulations to protect park resources and you. • All plants and animals are protected; mushroom gathering is prohibited. You may gather fruits and berries for your personal consumption. • California fishing licenses are required for freshwater and ocean fishing. California Department of Fish and Game fishing regulations apply to all waters within the parks. • Tidepools are fragile environments, and collecting is not permitted. • Do not hunt, trap, or carry loaded firearms on park lands; for firearms regulations check the park website. • Keep pets restrained at all times; pets are prohibited on all park trails. • Camp and build fires only in areas designated for such uses. • Damaging or removing any government structure, sign, or marker is prohibited. • Help keep the park clean and litterfree; take out what you bring in. • Horseback riding and mountain biking are allowed only on certain designated trails. Information centers can provide you with more detailed information on trails. If you have questions, check at an information center or ask a patrolling park ranger. For Your Protection Always lock your unattended car and place all valuables out of sight in the trunk or, preferably, carry them with you. If you are the victim of a theft, or if you witness vandalism, call the nearest law enforcement officer or information center.