Fern Canyon on the Northern California Coast is a very green must do hike. The 50-foot high walls are covered with ferns that include lady fern, wood fern, five-finger fern, deer fern, leather leaf fern, and sword fern, and their lineage can be traced back 325 million years. Fern Canyon is beautiful, and as well as the James Irvin Trail.
To start, the Fern Canyon trailhead is in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park at Gold Bluffs Beach. You will start from the parking lot and take the trail about .2 miles to the mouth of the canyon.
If you’ve seen the movie The Lost World: Jurassic Park, you might expect to see dinosaurs as you venture back into the canyon, and that’s where a scene from the film was filmed.
The hike through the canyon is about .3 miles, and usually from June to September, the park service places wooden footbridges in the canyon over areas where the creek runs to make it easier for hikers. As you get to the end of the canyon, you can either climb out or double back the way you came.
If you climb up, you will come to the James Irvine Trail. If you choose to loop back, you can go left and hike above Fern Canyon and at certain points look down on it. The James Irvine Trail comes back down at the entrance to Fern Canyon. If you go right, you can continue and head into the forest and hike among the redwood trees and ferns to the Prairie Creek Visitor Center.
If you’re going to hike the James Irvine Trail, plan on spending the whole day hiking through the old-growth forest. During the hike, you will pass ancient redwoods, Sitka spruce and western hemlock, among other trees. You will also pass skunk cabbage, deer fern, salal and saxifrage.
This hike can be done two ways. If you hike in from the Prairie Creek Visitor Center, the hike is mostly a descension, but you will have to hike back on an ascension. It’s just the opposite if you start out in Fern Canyon. I’m glad we hiked in from Fern Canyon, as the day was long and mostly descending back made the return easier.
This trail is meant to be hiked all day. Just take your time and enjoy it.
Directions: From Orick, take Highway 101 North for 2.8 miles to Davison Road, where you will turn left. Follow it for 6.8 miles where it ends in the parking lot. Davison Road is a dirt road, and it may not be suitable for low clearance vehicles. There are two streams the cross the road to Fern Canyon, and sometimes they get stuck trying to cross. Parking is here: 41.400470, -124.065612
The Skinny:
Trail: Fern Canyon/James Irvine Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 41.400813, -124.065533
Trailhead Elevation: 48 Feet
Distance: 11 Miles – Lollipop
Level of Difficulty: 🟡
Average Grade: 3.1%
Steepest Grade: 12.2 over .3 miles
Ascension: 2231 Feet
Trail Condition: 🟢🟢🟢🟢
Scenery: 🟢🟢🟢🟢
Nearest Town: Orick
Challenges: Possible Fatigue
Traffic: 🥾🥾🥾 – Fern/🥾 – James Irvine
Highlights: The Scenery
Best Time: Spring, Summer, Fall
Hazards: Trip Hazards – Roots in the Trail
Wildlife Concerns: Bears, Mountain Lions
Cell Service: 📵
Would I Do This Hike Again?: Yes
Parking: $8 At The Time of This Writing
Restrooms: Vaulted at the Trialhead