After our two weeks in the Yosemite area we headed north and west. The drive was beautiful as we headed past Clear Lake. Clear Lake is believed to be one of the oldest lakes in North America with core samples indicating it’s at least 480,000 years old. With 68 square miles of surface area, it’s also the largest freshwater lakes in California.
For the next week or so we’re spending time in the Redwoods! Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt Redwoods State Park is a famous road through the old growth forest. We made a loop out of it by adding on a big gravel climb and some back roads.
Avenue of the Giants is a paved, mostly flat road with gentle curves. It passes secluded forest hamlets, campgrounds, picnic areas, and access points to the Eel River. It’s dark back in here with all the gigantic trees! We rode it on a weekday and pretty early season. There were some cars but not bad. On a weekend in summer expect more users to be out and about.
After meandering along the paved section we turned by Founders Grove and it got remote and gravely. I spotted a cool looking bridge crossing Eel River and when I stopped to look down at it, I saw a sign for a ferry. Say what? Apparently when the McCann Bridge (the one I saw) is underwater from the Wild and Scenic Eel River, the ferry operates to get residents of McCann across to the “mainland”. It wasn’t in operation when we rode by.
After this, we hit the steeeep gravel climb. It’s a beast but at least there are pretty flowers along the way. I even found a lot of wild fennel growing on the side of the road. At the top we stopped to eat a snack before the long road descent into Dyerville and back to the start.
If you’re looking for an adventure, this is it! Afterwards we hiked around the trails by Founder’s Grove.
Leave a Reply