Magical winter backpacking in Mariposa Grove
onCamping among Yosemite’s giant sequoias reveals wonders off the beaten path. Camping in Yosemite in wintertime when everything is wrapped in a blanket of snow can be especially magical.
Beacon of renewal: A new welcome center opens
onIt’s a spectacular drive heading south from San Francisco on Highway 1, where under an azure sky, the furrowed Santa Cruz Mountains meet the sparkling, blue arc of the Pacific and its craggy sea stacks. In about 60 miles, the …
Prairie Creek restoration revives salmon habitat
onInteresting fact about coast redwood forests: Researchers studying the tall trees near streams can detect marine nutrients in the wood—nitrogen isotopes that salmon have brought back to the freshwater environment. In other words, there’s a little bit of salmon in …
10 spots for a natural high in Mendocino County
onThis rugged swath of Northern California is famous for spectacular stands of coast redwoods that hypnotize visitors with their pinch-me-I’m-dreaming beauty. These remaining old-growth giants give the groves in neighboring Humboldt County a run for their money, plus they’re a more doable three-hour drive from the San Francisco Bay Area. Add in nearby beachcombing, wine tasting, and sightseeing in coastal hamlets, and you’ve got a recipe for an incredible weekend getaway.
Redwoods: A safe place to be ourselves
onIn a sense, I was a latecomer to the world of the redwoods and the world of being queer. In both of these worlds, I connected with my true self.
Uniting to protect sacred redwoods
onTom Little Bear Nason, chairman of Big Sur’s Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, describes his tribe’s long-standing relationship with redwoods. He’s working with the area’s non-native communities to integrate cultural burn strategies into land management practices that will protect the forest from catastrophic wildfires. The deep-seated respect for ancient redwoods has inspired Little Bear and his apprentices to share their traditional ecological knowledge of fire mimicry with the Big Sur community.
A river runs to it
onSecuring a bright future for one of Sonoma County’s tallest redwoods—and its up-and-coming kin—at Russian River Redwoods
President’s Letter
onI hope this issue of Redwoods gives you that “walk in the redwoods” excitement. That our suggestions for redwoods adventures in Mendocino stir your wanderlust. That learning how the League is transforming a former sawmill site into a stunning new gateway to Redwood State and National Parks inspires you with the restorability of even our most impacted landscapes. That you feel hope and gratitude, reading about the generosity of the Esselen Tribe in sharing their traditional ecological wisdom. That you nod in understanding as our Community Voices writer describes how life-saving time in nature can be.
The man who kept his promise
on“I had no idea the redwoods are the best harvesters of carbon dioxide of any forest type in the world.” Whatever it takes to revive the redwoods, Wombwell is in. “If you need me to plant trees,” he says with a grin, “I’ll put on my Wellie boots.” Wombwell’s advice? “If you care about the forests, the climate, Indigenous peoples, wildlife, even the hiking and biking trails, take that step and donate.” To inspire new members of Save the Redwoods League’s Canopy Club the Wombwell family will match new gifts of $10,000 or more up to $750,000.
Helping redwoods fight climate change
onWriter John Steinbeck called redwoods “ambassadors from another time,” while W.E.B. Du Bois described them as “eternal wooden stone with tremendous grip on earth.” We search for words to describe the majesty of the coast redwood and giant sequoia forests, …
Unprecedented restoration project makes great strides
onThe most ambitious coast redwood forest restoration project ever launched marked great progress in 2022, its third year of operation on the ground. In the effort called Redwoods Rising, Save the Redwoods League, the National Park Service, and California State Parks are restoring thousands of acres of forests in Redwood National and State Parks.
For Bill Croft, the League’s dedication to science elevates its work
onLeague Board Member Bill Croft grew up just north of San Francisco in San Rafael and developed an early love for the redwoods exploring nearby Muir Woods and Samuel P. Taylor State Park. But then his education and career as …
Wonder on wheels: Bicycling on the famed Avenue of the Giants
onPedaling through Humboldt Redwoods State Park offers an immersive forest experience
President’s letter: If we make the right choices and investments today, the redwoods can help save us
onWhen I walk in places like Humboldt Redwoods State Park and the League’s Alder Creek property, I see magnificent, towering coast redwoods and giant sequoias that tell a story of hope and resilience. We tell that story in this edition of Redwoods, spotlighting what we’ve learned from the groundbreaking Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative launched in 2009. The more we learn about the redwood and giant sequoia forests, the clearer it is how significant their role could be in the climate-change solution. That is, if we act quickly and make the right investments now.
Take the 101 north to Eden
onWhen I was 4, I started going to synagogue. The same year, I cracked open the 1990 World Book Encyclopedia and was transfixed by an illustration under the article title, “Redwoods.” It’s the first memory I have where the natural …
Protecting a sensitive salamander
onNear the jade waters of the Smith River in Redwood National and State Parks is the habitat of a small amphibian species that may depend on redwood forests as its environment changes. The southern torrent salamander (Rhyacotriton variegatus) seeks clear, …
A big thank you from Montgomery Woods
onSupporters gave generously to the Montgomery Woods Initiative.
President’s letter
onA letter from Save the Redwoods League president and CEO Sam Hodder in the Resilient Future Edition of Redwoods magazine, published Winter 2022.
Feeling your way through the ancient forest
on“As interpreters, our job is to help connect people with these special places,” says Robbins. “What better group of people to help make meaning of the places we steward than the folks who have been most connected to these landscapes for the last 10,000 years?”
Leave it on the trail
onIt was six months into the pandemic—a bizarre time that seemed out of a sci-fi movie. Like real life, the trails have their ups and downs (literally!). The redwood forests were our sanctuary. Walking among the giants at Henry Cowell, Mount Tamalpais, and Humboldt Redwoods state parks gave us perspective and humility.