The Rockefeller Loop is one of the best hikes you can do in Humboldt Redwoods - it's easy, short, and gives you everything you could want in a redwood hike - tall trees, an open under story, and both a river and a creek to relax by. The 7,000 acre Rockefeller Forest is also the world's largest contiguous old growth forest of coastal redwoods.
Hike Info
Date Hiked: 10/26
Miles: 0.7 miles
Elevation Change: 20'
Trail Type: Loop
Trailhead: On Mattole Road - Google Maps
The Hike
After packing up camp at Burlington Campground (open year round), the drive to the Rockefeller Loop Trailhead was only a scenic 10 minute drive. The turn off South Mattole Road can be hard to spot, but it's about 1.5 miles once turning off Avenue of the Giants.
The parking lot for the Rockefeller Loop
This hike is more of a leisurely stroll through the forest, since the trail is easy and flat. I didn't see a single other person this morning, and many of the ferns and sorrel still had their morning dewdrops.
The beautiful understory
Redwood needles covered wide trail
Person for scale!
The sorrel still held its morning dew
A particularly picturesque redwood stump
Where the Burlington trail breaks off
The back of the loop follows the riverbank, and Bull Creek looked so peaceful with a couple trees showing their autumn colors.
Looking up Bull Creek. The footbridges to cross Bull Creek/Eel River are only up in the summer
The trail rounds the enormous roots of a fallen tree
Something about walking through the redwoods is so calming to me. The forest might not be as dramatic as hiking along a mountain ridge, but there’s so much more for your senses in a forest, you can just soak up the sounds and the smells of a dense, lush, understory.
