This Lush California Trail Has ‘Jurassic Park’ Vibes. Here’s How to Book a Reservation

Fern Canyon Trail in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Orick, Calif., greets visitors with 50-foot-tall walls covered in fern, on June 13, 2022. Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Your feet will get wet, your car will need washing, and you won’t mind. That’s just one measure of what awaits on the short, scenic hike through Fern Canyon in Humboldt County, California’s Prairie Creek Redwood State Park.

The Fern Canyon Loop Trail, which neighbors Gold Bluffs Beach, measures barely a mile. The altitude change is only about 150 feet. But the path takes you up a narrow canyon into a primordial jumble of greenery between walls that rise 50 to 80 feet high on each side, nearly straight up.

Fern Canyon Trail in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Orick, Calif., on June 13, 2022. Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

If the scene seems familiar, that’s understandable. Parts of “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” were shot there 25 years ago, as were parts of the BBC’s “Walking With Dinosaurs.” A special-effects team added the film’s scampering dinosaurs in postproduction, but as you splash along now, it will be easy enough to imagine a Spinosaurus or Ceratosaurus lurking behind the next log.

It’s also easy to recognize that you’re far from Southern California—there’s water everywhere.

The walls weep. The fronds drip. Home Creek riffles through the canyon and underfoot. Unless you’re a wizard at hopping from rock to rock and balancing atop loose logs, your feet and ankles will get wet. Maybe your shins, too (bring water shoes).

Expect to get your feet wet hiking Fern Canyon Trail in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, on June 13, 2022, in Orick, Calif. Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Sword ferns, five-fingered ferns, lady ferns, chain ferns, deer ferns—they all mingle here, along with northern red-legged frogs, Pacific giant salamanders, and sometimes Roosevelt elk. The tall trees throw deep shade, but photographer Myung Chun and I hit sunny patches, too.

Fern Canyon Trail in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Orick, Calif., on June 13, 2022. Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

I felt guilty enjoying such a rare setting after such a short, easy walk. But I got over it.

“We’ve done Yosemite and seen the sequoias. But we wanted to see the redwoods. They’re different. And this is beautiful,” said hiker Jim Newton, who had come with his family from Maryland.

The second half of the loop is a more conventional route through Sitka spruce forest on higher ground. When I finished, I turned around to rehike the wet bit.

And I didn’t feel guilty doing it, because this summer, the rangers are experimenting with a cap on summer traffic on this route. For the first time, They’re requiring summer visitors to either book their canyon-adjacent parking in advance or hike into the canyon from the park visitor center, a 10-mile round trip on the James Irvine Trail.

The requirement remains in place through Sept. 30. The day-use fee is $12 cash at the entrance, whether you come during summer or not. No dogs allowed.

Under the new system, the rangers issue half-day reservations to 35 cars from 8 a.m. until noon, 35 more from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m., and 20 all-day reservations. That means no more than 90 cars per day on the usually muddy access road—a dramatic change from 2019 and 2021, when rangers counted an average of about 250 cars per day. On those days, the canyon was thronged with hikers, according to the rangers.

The new booking requirement, a pilot program, might cut down on spontaneity, but it follows a national pattern. Facing waves of stir-crazy pandemic-era park visitors, including many first-timers, rangers across the United States have been adding restrictions in a bid to fend off damage and overcrowding. (The summer’s day-trip reservation requirement in Yosemite National Park through Sept. 30 is part of the same trend.)

Chun and I arrived at about 1 p.m. with the afternoon shift of hikers. I spoke with many of them and heard no complaints about the reservation requirement or the foot traffic.

There are ways to keep your feet dry while hiking Fern Canyon Trail in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park on June 13, 2022, in Orick, Calif. Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

“I love to see people falling in love with nature,” said Kim Hill of Washington. “But I kind of want them to fall in love with nature while I’m not there.”

If park officials decide the booking requirement is a success, it’s likely to return by about May 1, 2023.

Whenever you go, don’t underestimate the drive to the Fern Canyon trailhead on Davison Road. It’s a 7.5-mile all-dirt access route that often features two shallow stream crossings (depending on the weather). The rangers recommend—but don’t require—SUVs and high-clearance vehicles. On the sunny day that we came, we made it up the road in a rented Chevrolet Malibu without a problem.

Here’s a footnote for hikers who hate company: Davison Road will close for grading from Sept. 26 through Sept. 30. So if you want to be alone or nearly alone in the canyon, wait until that week. Then hike five miles into Fern Canyon from the park visitor center on the James Irvine Trail (and five miles back out).

If You Go

Where to hike:

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, 127011 Newton B. Drury Parkway, Orick, California; [phone].

Where to sleep:

Trinidad Inn, 1170 Patrick’s Point Drive, Trinidad, California; [phone]. Nine rooms. I paid $123 for the smallest. Reservations by phone only.

Trinidad Bay B&B, 560 Edwards St., Trinidad; [phone]. Great view of the bay, pier, and sea stacks below. Four rooms, typically about $325 to $395. nightly.

Where to eat:

Once you get north of Arcata in Humboldt County, the dining options dwindle. We had one lunch and one dinner at Lighthouse Grill (355 Main St., Trinidad; [phone]). I’ve eaten well before at nearby Heady’s Pizza and Pour (359 Main St., Trinidad; [phone]), but this time the inside was crowded and it has no patio seating, so we steered clear. If you need breakfast at 7 a.m., try Murphy’s Market and Deli (Main and View streets, Trinidad; deli [phone]).

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