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This Park is off the 784, which is east of the coastal 101 route. This park had its first purchase in 1958 and it includes about 320 acres of property. 5/5 #Camp #Camping #CampLikeAGirl #RoadTrip #Washington #Oregon #California #FallRoadTrip #Redwoods #OregonCoast #OlympicPeninsula #ParkChat

A photograph of moss hanging from a tree like a beard with ferns growing from the top toward the sky.

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The next morning, I took a hike along the River and enjoyed the freedom that comes with a long vacation. My next stop was just a few miles away so I had plenty of time to enjoy this location. 4/5

A photograph of the Chetco River surrounded by forest and sandbars.

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The campground met me with a squawking scrub jay. The lazy afternoon by the river meant listening to the sounds of happy kids playing in the water and reading a book. There was still the feel of thick forests and moss hanging from the trees. 3/5

A photograph of a snail with a green and brown shell moving across the duff.

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But first, I headed inland to spend the night at Alfred Loeb State Park along the Chetco River. The one thing I'll never miss is the concrete lined rivers we have in Southern California. The Chetco was wide and meandering. A true free-flowing river was in my midst. 2/5

A photograph of a hillside of trees and ferns.

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Day 9 & 10 - Sat. Oct. 4 to Sun. Oct. 5, 2025 📍Brookings, OR 📍Alfred Loeb SP, OR Leaving California, I headed up the Oregon Coast. This was the purpose of this trip -- to see the Oregon Coastline. I was finally here to do that! 1/5

A photograph of a sign in the shape of Oregon that says Oregon Welcomes you!

A photograph of the Chetco River with a sliver of sunlight on a patch of rocks and ferns.

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The park has two campgrounds--I was at Gold Bluffs. It includes 14,000 acres, and was declared a state park in 1923. 7/7 #Camp #Camping #CampLikeAGirl #RoadTrip #Washington #Oregon #California #FallRoadTrip #Autumn #Redwoods #OregonCoast #OlympicPeninsula #ParkChat

A photograph of a boardwalk over sensitive habitat with different trees and vegetation surrounding the trail.

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This place was so magical I cried on the drive out. I absolutely loved this location. This Park is situated off the 101 freeway and the beach isn't appropriate for all vehicles. 6/7

A photograph of the ocean includes sandy grasslands and rocks leading to the shore with blue skies and grey and white clouds.

On the way out I met a fellow who worked for the federal government. At this point we were a few days in to the shutdown and he decided to go scouting new locations. I thanked him for his public service and wished him well in his US Forest Service job. 5/7

A photograph of a small green frog hiding under a leaf by a rock.

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Since October 1st was the official change of season, none of the bridges were there, and it was my most epic hike. You wind your way through a narrow canyon covered from top to bottom in ferns. Without bridges meant walking in the stream. 4/7

A photograph of a vegetation riddled canyon and pools of water with blue skies above.

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popup and awning dry out as I headed to the beach. It was a beautiful day and the coastal fog was rolling in from the north and the south. In the morning, I headed up to Fern Canyon for a hike. They filmed portions of Jurassic Park here, so it may look familiar. 3/7

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--Gold Bluffs Beach. A long, windy, and pothole riddled eight-mile dirt road takes you through a gorgeous redwood forest. You arrive at the State Park kiosk and then head a ways up the coast to the campground. I parked, opened everything up, (because we'd had rain) and let the 2/7

A photograph includes a view of the "gold bluffs" and many redwoods below and above the cliff edge with blue slightly cloudy skies above.

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Day 8 & 9 - Fri., Oct. 3 - Sat. Oct. 4, 2025 📍Orick, CA 📍Prairie Creek Redwoods SP, CA I left my mom and Jacob at the airport, completed a work meeting, and then headed off back to Prairie Creek Redwoods SP. This time to what has been dubbed the best coastal campground in all of California 1/7

A photograph includes the drive in was a dirt road surrounded by redwoods.

Melanie S. @ocparkbuilder.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

A12: #ParkChat Book Club is about to start Defending our Wildlife Heritage: The Life & Times of a Special Agent (by Terry Grosz). The book focuses on defending America's biodiversity by a wildlife conservation officer. Our first meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 5 PM Pacific. DM me for deets.

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This Park is situated off the 101 freeway and has several campgrounds--we were in Agate Campground for a night. This park is one square mile in size, which is 640 acres. After a 1928 bond act passed, purchases for this SP began in 1929. 5/6

A view looking up at fog laden redwoods trees in a misty and mystical photo.

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the road. We piled in and drove quickly back up the coast and saw the most impressive harem of females and a bull. The next morning we met two of my work friends (Sandra and Josefina) for lunch at a park in Arcata, then off to the airport for Jakey and my mom to head home. 4/6

A view of a large bull (Roosevelt elk) walking amongst his harem in a grassy field.

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rather than later. Sure enough, fog rolled in making everything damp. After hearing of our goal to see Roosevelt elk and having not yet checked that off, the SP Ranger came back after a visit to Humboldt Lagoon SP with news. An entire herd of females and one male was in a meadow 7 miles up 3/6

A view of a coastal overlook with waves crashing on sea stacks and blue skies with clouds above.

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This coastal park was full of beautiful ocean views & redwoods--the smallest we saw. We drove to Trinidad for lunch on the beach. Another hike along the coast & wandering around the redwoods during beautiful weather ensued. Rain was forecasted for later making our dry-hike needed earlier 2/6

A view looking via an overlook with stunning sea stacks, green vegetation and beautiful blue skies and white clouds.

A view of a large redwood trees adjacent to a trail that goes through the center of the photo.

Melanie S. @ocparkbuilder.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Day 7 & 8 - Thur., Oct. 2 - Fri., Oct. 3, 2025 📍Trinidad, CA 📍Sue-meg SP, CA We left Prairie Creek Redwoods SP and headed down the coast to the recently renamed Patrick's Point SP. Now called Sue-Meg SP honoring the Yurok Tribe's generations of history on this land. 1/6

A view of the rugged coast with a c-shaped coastline with green trees and vegetation on the right side.

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A12.1: #ParkChat Book Club is reading Confluence by @zakpodmore.bsky.social. The book is more than just a story of the Colorado River and its tributaries. It touches on Indigenous stories, family, water rights, & adventures. Our second meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 18th at 5 PM Pacific. DM me for deets.

A book cover with the title Confluence against a topographic map of the canyon.

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This is easily one of my favorite Northern California redwood parks. It includes 14,000 acres, and was declared a state park in 1923. 6/6 #Camp #Camping #CampLikeAGirl #RoadTrip #Washington #Oregon #California #FallRoadTrip #Autumn #Redwoods #OregonCoast #OlympicPeninsula #ParkChat

A view of Prairie Creek surrounded by lush vegetation.

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We also drove a 4x4 road called Cal Barrel Road, which took you into the heart of the redwoods. It was incredibly serene. The park is situated off the 101 freeway and has two campgrounds--we were in Elk Prairie for two nights. 5/6

Three people at the base of the "Big Tree" on a deck surrounded by other trees.

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It was such a lovely and magical location that we changed our reservation and stayed another night. We were there at the shoulder season and all the bridges were pulled up over the creeks, so any stream crossing meant wading through the very cold (like take your breath away cold) water. 4/6

A woman pops out from behind a large redwood with duff on the ground.

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The weather was pretty good (scattered showers) for this park and my mom saw an epic double rainbow while Jakey and I hiked. We saw a lot of evidence of bear, elk, and deer scat on the ground, but they never came near our campsite (that we were aware of). 3/6

A view of a large redwood tree and blue and cloudy skies above.

A view of lush green vegetation with ferns, mosses, and trees on the creek side.

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Then, we entered the next destination and (as I suspected) my mom and Jacob's socks were blown off with Prairie Creek Redwoods SP. We switched campsites so that the rutting Roosevelt elk could be seen in the meadow--though that never happened. 2/6

A view looking up with ferns on the bottom and redwood trees reaching for the grey skies.

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Melanie S. @ocparkbuilder.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Day 5, 6 & 7 - Tues., Sept 30. - Thur., Oct. 2, 2025 📍Orick, CA 📍Prairie Creek Redwoods SP, CA We left Jedediah Smith Redwoods SP and headed down to coast. We drove an offroad coastal loop near the Klamath River with spectacular views of the rugged coastline. 1/6

A view of the rugged coast with sea stacks in the ocean and grey skies above.

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A12. #ParkChat Book Club is reading Confluence by @zakpodmore.bsky.social. The book is more than just a story of the Colorado River and its tributaries. It touches on Indigenous stories, family, water rights, and adventures. Our second meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 18th at 5 PM Pacific. DM me for deets.

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Melanie S. @ocparkbuilder.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

This is a beautiful Northern California destination. It includes 10,000 acres, with its first purchase being in 1929. /end #Camp #Camping #CampLikeAGirl #RoadTrip #Washington #Oregon #California #FallRoadTrip #Autumn #Redwoods #OregonCoast #OlympicPeninsula #ParkChat

A photograph of a banana slug on redwood debris on a trail.

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Melanie S. @ocparkbuilder.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

from August & September 2023, which burned 92,000 acres. It was started by lightning, so what should be part of the natural fire regime since humans tend to start 95% of CA's fires. The park is nestled in a beautiful valley of redwoods and is near to Highway 199. 6/7

A photograph of the Smith River with trees on the banks and low lying clouds overing near the tree line.