The pilgrimage begins in the State Park five miles west of Highway 101 off the Mattole Road (which goes to Honeydew and the Lost Coast). Starting up the Grasshopper Multi-Use Trail and fire road, signs allow hiking, bikes, and horses. Note: there is also a Grasshopper Peak Trail, similar in difficulty, from near Weott on Highway 101. The trail climbs 2,900 feet out of the redwoods in 6.6 miles to Grasshopper Camp at 3,200 feet. The brochure states, “This is the toughest hike in the park!” It is seldom crowded. At Grasshopper Camp, the forest still recovers from the 2003 Canoe Fire. The camp has bear boxes but no tables or water. Fires are disallowed.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
# WORDS: 1200
# PHOTOS: 17
Member Exclusive
A Premium or Unlimited Membership* is required to view the rest of this article.
* A Basic Membership is required to view Member Q&A events
Discussion
Become a member to post in the forums.
Companion forum thread to:
Gilham Butte: Behind the Redwood Curtain
Since you have to register at the visitor center to get your permit for camping in the state park and a place to park I think access through the park only makes sense. My last trip out to Quigley Barn(at Bull Creek Trail Camp) we saw every trail sign destroyed by what we believed was small rounds fire. Every one.
Glad to see some info on this area as it has been on my radar for a while. Nice and close.
I did find hiking on the old roads up to Grasshopper Peak less than ideal. Sloped and covered in small gravel made for lousy footing just walking along at times.
Never do see anyone out there past 100 yards from the road. Plenty of bears and deer though.
Don't forget that Grasshopper Peak Trail is only accessible when the summer bridges are in place. No overnight parking at the visitor center across from the trailhead. No self registration. They don't make it easy on us to use it out there for overnights. How the state park and BLM figure that out is something I look forward to seeing.
You can make it a shorter hike by parking by Panther Gap road, and just take the Perimeter M.U.T.. Large area off the road for parking four cars. More than you'll ever see out there. This is where we were told to park by state park staff. No issues with the locals there.
Currently Albee Creek and all the other campgrounds in the park are open from Memorial Day to Labor Day except for Burlington Campground next to the visitor center on the Ave. of the Giants. So you will not be able to park your vehicle there. Leaving Panther Gap as your only close entry point for the off season. Fall is really nice.
Hope this is not the only post.
No one else has anything to say?
Is this the type of article that you want to see on BPL? By the lack of discussion I guess this location sparks no interest.
What did you like about it?
What did you not like?
To me it seemed like an excerpt from a larger article. Kind of a weird intro, felt like I missed something.
Become a member to post in the forums.