Humboldt Redwoods State Park: Camping and Hiking with Dogs
Destination:
Hidden Springs Campground | Humboldt Redwoods State Park | near Myer's Flat, California
Hidden Springs Campground is right off the Avenue of the Giants and is one of three developed campgrounds at Humboldt Redwoods State Park (Burlington and Albee Creek are the other two). Reservations can be made at reservecalifornia.com (search under Humboldt Redwoods State Park).
Camping Information:
The campground consists of 155 sites; most are best suited for tent camping since the terrain is hilly and steep in a lot places. Each site has a good amount of privacy created by the thick mixed forest. We had site 49 which was small but perfect for just one tent. We were not able to see any neighbors and there is only forest behind site 49. You can click on this video link (created on Instagram) that shows a 180 view of site 49.
Each campsite has a picnic table, a large bear locker, and a fire ring. There are nice bathrooms with flush toilets, sinks, and showers. There are also water spigots available throughout the campground. The Eel river is close by for swimming (though we did not visit the river on this particular trip).
Pros:
The overall beauty of this campground is above average due to the hilly/steep terrain and thick forest that creates a ton of shade and privacy.
Good bathroom amenities (flush toilets, sinks, showers)
The campground roads are great for walking the dogs since the campground is so large and most sites are hidden from view by trees. There is also a really cool amphitheater surrounded by redwoods in the center of the campground. I believe there are Ranger Talks here every evening during the summer months.
Cons:
There are no hookups here if you have an RV (we tent camp, so it didn't affect us).
Sites are small and mostly for tent camping (RVs should check vehicle length of each site on reservecalifornia.com before booking).
Dogs are not allowed on State Park trails (as always), but we did find some very low traffic paved side roads what were almost like trails and were just as beautiful.
Some sites that are closer to Avenue of the Giants could have road noise (our site 49 was quiet).
Hiking Information:
Where can you walk dogs at Humboldt Redwoods State Park? There are no trails that we can legally take our dogs in Humboldt State Park, so we had to get creative and find very low traffic paved side roads that were just as pretty as the redwood trails.
The first spot is on Mattole Road which has little traffic, especially early in the morning. We parked in the "Big Trees" day use area and then turned left out of the parking area to walk the pups on Mattole Road (making sure to stay on the edge and watch for cars). I would suggest going super early (like 7 or 8 AM) so that you don't encounter many cars - though there are plenty of large shoulder areas that you can move onto if there are any cars coming your way. You could definitely walk for a few miles here. The photo below on the right shows me walking Pip and Ella on Mattole Road (such a beautiful area!).
The second good spot to walk your pups (but still enjoy the beauty of the forest) is a short dead end paved road close to Hidden Springs Campground (right off of Avenue of the Giants). I didn't see a name for the road but here are the GoogleMap coordinates for parking. I would guess it is roughly a total of one mile all the way to the end and back. Traffic was nonexistent and would be good for a stroll any time of day. There is also a geocache hidden here (if you are not a geocacher- you should try it!!). The photo below on the left shows Neal walking Ollie here.
If you are traveling with a partner, there is always the option to take turns visiting the actual trails at Humboldt Redwoods State Park. I stayed at the campground with the dogs (reading and drinking coffee) for a couple of hours while Neal explored the nearby trails. Not as fun as hiking as a family, but still an option if you want to bring dogs but enjoy your trip here :)
