Redwood National and State Parks · California

James Irvine Trail

5.1 mi of trail, end to end · Hike the James Irvine Trail to Fern Canyon Loop: 12 mi loop in the Service's write-up · about 800 ft of climbing · 110 ft–525 ft · native surface · hiking

Bridges

470 ft 295 ft · 2.0 mi high 524 ft

Along the way Foothill Trail Bridge James Irvine Trail Bridge James Irvine Trail Bridge James Irvine Trail Bridge James Irvine Trail Bridge James Irvine Trail Bridge James Irvine Trail Bridge James Irvine Trail Bridge James Irvine Trail Bridge James Irvine Trail Bridge James Irvine Trail Bridge James Irvine Trail Bridge

Hike the James Irvine Trail to Fern Canyon Loop 12 mi loop · the Park Service's write-up

4-8 Hours · no dogs · season Winter will be very rainy and windy with the possibilty of falling trees along the trail. Winter rains may flood Hope Creek and make crossing through Fern Canyon dangerous. Hikers' bridges in Fern Canyon are only installed in summer.

Start James Irvine Trailhead

Hike the James Irvine Trail to Fern Canyon Loop

All Day Hike Through Redwoods to the Ocean and Back

A favorite and convenient series of trails for those ready and able to spend the whole day hiking. Hikers will follow creeks, see different kinds of forests and be rewarded by finding the Pacific Ocean. This 12-mile (19 km) loop starts and ends adjacent to the Prairie Creek Visitor Center - all hikers should pick up a hiking map for these trails from any park visitor center .

The first section of the 4.5 mile (7.2 km) James Irvine Trail will be in old-growth redwood forests before entering the spruce forests of the coast. On the western (coastal) end of the James Irvine trail it connects briefly with the Friendship Ridge Trail, and then onto the Fern Canyon Loop Trail. This will lead hikers through the dripping walls and stream cobbles of Fern Canyon and finally onto Gold Bluffs Beach - this is the ultimate turn around point. You can return back to the Prairie Creek Visitor Center on the same series of trails, or make a longer loop by heading 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south on Davison Road and taking the 4.1 mile (6.5 km) Miners Ridge trail back to the Praire Creek Visitor Center area.

There is limited full-day parking near the Prairie Creek Visitor Center, but there is parking for any sized vehicle along Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway .

Accessibility This series of trails is not ADA accessible. Switchbacks with aggregate / wood surface. Elevation changes exceed 200 feet. Stream and steambed crossings with flowing water. Service animals are welcome.

This hike on nps.gov

On the parks map

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About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.