Winter in California: Yosemite, Sequoia & Redwoods National Parks

I've stayed at Prairie Creek Redwoods before. Much closer. I like it better than Jedediah Smith. Lot's of nice trails among the hugest trees – Douglas Fir as well as Redwood. You can also go over to the beach. Elk every time I've been there.

You can camp at the state park or there's another park over by the beach. I don't know what's open in January. Nothing remarkeable, just a pad to park car, picnic table, fireplace, area to put tent. I wonder if there's drinking water now.

Or Richardson's Grove is even closer. I think it's open in January. Drier and warmer. Drive over to the Avenue of the Giants even though it's touristy.

Likely the easiest logistically at Yosemite would be to snoeshoe out of Hetch Hetchy. There are several routes depending on your desired length. If you are really into it, I can recommend the loop up to Tilden Lake.

Tilden Lake

Now, if you want to hit the high Sierra but think its impossible then look into snowshoeing out of the Onion Valley Trailhead. You may have to hike up the road to get to the trailhead if the road is closed but the trailhead is at 9k and puts you with a few miles of Kearsarge Pass and the heart of the Sierra.

Kearsarge Pass

And if you are really into vertical then you could head to the Shepherd Creek Trailhead just south of Onion Valley and head up toward Junction Pass. This was by far the coolest snowshoe trip I've done and if you do an up and back via Shepherds Creek then it should be doable in your timeframe.

Looking north from Junction Pass

Looking south from Junction Pass

Regardless of where you head, carefully monitor both weather and avalanche conditions. I have seen firsthand the devastation that they can cause, thankfully not up close and personal.

I can only speak for the Redwoods…

There are some nice Redwood trees South of Jedediah Smith, and you are right, that is a looooooong drive from the bay area (SF).

There are some ok trees further South, say, Humboldt Redwoods State Park, but if you are going to drive all this way, you should really spend your day or two here at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The campground can be kinda expensive (35 bucks last time I was there) if you need to stay at a campground for a night (hot showers are there too). The truly perfect hike would be to depart from the visitor center at PCRSP and hike the Miners Ridge and James Irvine loop… which is about 11 miles. However, half way through it is a beach campground that you can tent camp at called Gold Bluffs Beach Campground. This is a really special spot because there are a herd of rossevelt elk that live on this beach (maybe 1 or 2 miles in length, so while not guaranteed to see them, chances are pretty good). It is also really special because it is where “Fern Canyon” is located at… and it is one of those magical things that when the sun comes up early in the morning and you are inside of the canyon, it is, well, just really special.

What you could do is: hike in on the Miners Ridge Trail (~6 miles IIRC) to the beach camp ground and call it a night. The next morning pack up and experience Fern Canyon in the morning, than there is an unmarked (but very easy to find) trail that will take you North along the canyon wall and the beach. It is ~4 miles (IIRC) up to the the northern most part of the beach. Along the way you will get to hike and see all these cool things. Once you get to the Northern End there will be a huge pile of rocks around this really neat freshwater pond with all kinds of birds. There is a now-closed campground that still has a bench so you can setup there and have some lunch. Than hike back down to Fern Canyon and take the James Irvine trail back up to the PCRSP. Jump in the hot shower, jump in your car, and have a huge smile on your face knowing you have just hiked through some of the finest Redwoods that exist on the planet.

There are also a few other small trails around this spot that you could do to fill up half a day.

On your way up to here you could also bounce off highway 101 just South of Eureka, drive in about 10 or so miles and hike the ~11 mile Elk River Trail, also known as the Headwater Forest Trail… also known as the place where Julia “Butterfly” Hill spent 700 odd days camped out in the top of a Redwood tree to save it. It was the pinnacle of the battle between the timber companies and the environmentalists, back in the late 90s, and which brought about the end of most old growth timber cutting throughout the entire Redwoods of Northern California.

You could, of course, also spend 2 days hiking part of the Lost Coast Trail – which is of course one of the top hikes in the country. It is about 4.7 miles down to Spanish Ridge/flats which has a nice off-beach camp site. Trust me when I say that while it is only ~5 miles, it will feel like ten miles. It makes for a wonderful overnighter and could be a way to spend an extra 2 days up here. You will not see any Redwood trees on the trail, it is all about hiking the longest stretch of non-developed beach in the CONUSA.

Lets see… there are a bunch of other really beautiful day hikes up here, but for the best of the best of the Redwoods, that kind of lists them all, at least the ones that are overnights and worth seeing.

(edited reason: omg… spell check john!!!)

Jon,

Mariposa Grove is great in winter. Just be aware that camping is only allowed in the Upper Grove. I think it is about 5 miles in. Although all uphill, it's relatively easy travel.

There are many showshow/backcountry ski options out of Glacier Pt including Lake Ostrander, Glacier Point, Dewey Point (easy but nice scenery), Sentinel Dome and more. Glacier Pt. area has flags in the trees for the ski routes which simplifies route finding. Here is a site with some trip information out of Glacier Point and Crane Flat: http://www.backcountryskitours.com/pages/find_tours/find_map_yosemite.htm#crane_flat

From the Yosemite Valley you can go up to Little Yosemite Valley and beyond.

Don't forget to carry chains or 4wd. Have a great trip!

"Don't forget to carry chains or 4wd."

In California, the chain requirements on snowy highways go something like this.

R1=snow tires or else 4WD
R2=snow tires with two in chains or else 4WD
R3=snow tires with two in chains or else 4WD with two in chains

In Yosemite, the lower part of the Glacier Point Road from Chinquapin up to Badger Pass is one of the few places that gets an R3 requirement during or after a snow storm. That is where the rangers routinely ticket 4WD vehicles for not having at least two chains on. The Badger Pass Ski Area parking lot is one of the few places where you can park.

–B.G.–

If you are in the Monterrey valley area as you say, then you should definitely take a day trip go to Point Lobos. Much more dramatic and interesting that Ano Nuevo. No elephant seals, but every other kind of marine and avian life, plus much, much better scenery. Plus no chaperones that you require for the elephant seals. I've been to Ano Nuevo many, many times, but after the initial excitement wears off I am usually left with one overpowering feeling: even nature in its purest form can be…well…squalid. At least that is my Homo Sapiens bias. Most of the time they are just lying there like drugged out jabba the hutts, covered with sand, and lying on rotting kelp. For me the highlight there is the freshwater pond. All day long hundreds of seagulls come in and take a bath there, and they are constantly taking off and landing like a miniature JFK international, as well as splashing around in the water.

Point lobos has sea otters as well. On your way down, if you stop at the Elkhorn slew inlet you are almost sure to see a family or two of sea otter in there as well. But Lobos is of course a day hike. There is a kind of 8 mile loop with possible side trips, with most of it away from the "car people". But not wilderness at all, of course.

You could backpack/camp or day hike in Big Basin State Park. Ive been to Redwoods NP, but Big Basin is probably almost as good, just not as extensive. We don't have the 357 foot tree, but we do have a 321, and lots about 300 – you can't really tell the difference in a forest. They are just huge. I'd go there instead of a 5-6 hour drive and then back. Spend more time hiking. I know this park well since it is 8 miles from my house. A nice full day trip (with commute) is from the headquarters down to the sea (Skyline to Sea/Berry Creek Trail). Unfortunately in the winter the buses don't run all the way to the park. When they do you can complete the loop back to the park using buses. But there are lots of nice loops you can do depending on how ambitious you are, and there are semi-primitive campgrounds a few miles from the beach so you could hike out, camp, and then hike back on a different route. In the winter you will not see too many people, or likely any if you off the Berry Creek trail, so it will feel more like wilderness than it actually is. It is as close to wilderness as we can muster anywhere on the Santa Cruz Peninsula. You could put together a much longer itinerary if you want.

If you want to break it up, you could try Henry Coe SP. That is more like real wilderness and you can camp where you like. But no redwoods.

from near the first campground meaning 5 miles to get to trailhead and another 6 to kearsarge pass.
ive only done dayhikes in snowshoes in the eastern sierra…the roads that are usually open all the way are for sabrina basin and big pine canyon as well as pine creek canyon…beautiful,snowcapped peaks welcome you right from the start.This is relaxed easy going stuff and you can choose harder stuff if you want.
You might also try little lakes valley but the road is usually gated 5 or so miles from trailhead in winter.However,only a few minutes from trailhead you will see an awesome snowpeak view.

My family spends about a week here every June, it's a great place. The only area that I know of that allows backcountry camping is Redwood Creek, I believe it is 18 miles round trip. There are many well marked trails in the area and the temperature there tends to stay in a narrow, pleasant range. That campground is a nice basecamp as well as Patrick's Point SP which is a little futher south and on a bluff at the coast. As I recall, heavy fog every night and ferns everywhere. However, not much to do at Patrick's Point. You also need to make the tourist stop at the Somoa Cookhouse ouside of Eureka to learn a little about the area's history.

I'm sure John knows how rain would affect Redwood Creek, I know it can be a problem.

Wow, thank you all for the awesome feedback!

Jerry, John, and Rick – the consensus seems to be that Prairie Creek Redwoods SP is the way to go for the Redwoods part of the trip. We're going to do the Miners Ridge/James Irvine Loop & Gold Bluffs Beach Campground. It sounds like an ideal way to spend a day and still be able to check out other things, such as the Lost Coast Trail :)

Mark, thanks for the tips on Point Lobos. We're looking into the Skyline to Sea trek and whether there is camping along the route during winter. I have some family in the area that could probably drop us off or shuttle us back to our rental car.

Malto, those photos amazing and are tempting me to go higher in the Sierras than originally planned. It would be the first winter camping trip for both the lady friend & I and I question our preparedness for the following reasons:

1) Neither of us has mountain snow experience nor skill in reading weather & avalanche conditions.

2) We'll be bringing my TarpTent Double Rainbow and sleeping in 10 & 20 degree down bags/quilts, though we could supplement with an additional summer bag if needed. I'm not sure how much snow loading the Double Rainbow can take and am unsure how much sleeping bag warmth we'll need.

3) We'll be cooking with either a JetBoil or Esbits and a Fosters can w/windscreen, and I'm not sure how these would preform in cold at altitude.

Also, we definitely want to spend some time in the valley and the Mariposa Grove, so the ideal trip route would include seeing the valley, hiking to some points overlooking the valley, and then maybe getting some altitude on the way down to Mariposa Grove.

Does anyone have comments or advice on the points above?

Thanks again to everyone for the awesome feedback!