Located on Highway 199, the Simpson Reed Grove Trail was the seventh (11:48) stop (not counting our retail stops in nearby Crescent City) during our fourth day of our trip to the northern most point of California. This trail was the primary reason why we came this way, as it was clearly called out as being the best combination of redwood seeing/admiring with more accessible trails for the mobility impaired. My wife, her 85 year old mom, and I knew this to be one of our last forest stops, so decided to take the trail slowly. Not sure if mom would have agreed to take it if she knew exactly how long the loop was (0.8 miles), but with a lot of rest stops (plenty of places to sit on the trail), it ended up being a very worthwhile experience.
The Simpson-Reed Grove trail is located in Jediah Smith Redwoods State Park, and is named for the first president of the Simpson Timber Company, whose family made significant philanthropic contributions to preserve the old growth redwoods in the area.
There isn't much change in elevation on the main loop of the trail, but a subsequent outshoot loop (Peterson Memorial Trail that adds .13 miles and takes you over foot bridge crossing over small creeks) has more incline. We ended up skipping that portion.
There are a lot of fallen trees, left to provide to nutrients for subsequent generations. It gives multiple opportunities to get up close (tactile) and clearly experience some of the largest living things on Earth. read more