Today’s ride started on a bike path during a very foggy morning with views of the Arcata Bay. A good chunk of the ride was on Highway 101, with rest stops at Humboldt Botanical Garden and Shotz Coffee. The best part of the ride was biking down the scenic Avenue of the Giants, with amazing views of beautiful ancient redwoods towering over us. We had some side-quests at a farmer’s stand, famous trees, and gift shops. The day ended at Humboldt Redwoods Campground, where we had the chance to talk and relax after a fun day of biking!

Quote of the Day

“The trees have been living for 2,200 years” - Hanxi

“That’s almost as old as unc” - William

RIDE OVERVIEW

Mileage: 57.8 mi

Elevation: 2,081 ft

Points of Interest: Humboldt Botanical Garden, Shotz Coffee, Avenue of the Giants, REDWOODS, Eternal Treehouse, Immortal Tree, Redcrest

Ride Dedication: Ruth McMichens

Tales of the Trail

We started the morning on a bike path along the Arcata Bay, which was more of a marsh. It was incredibly foggy in the morning, which made the start of the ride very ominous as we rode through Arcata and Eureka. We had a chance to see downtown Eureka and the Carson Mansion, a famous Victorian-era mansion in the city. After a relaxing ride on the bike path, we hopped back onto Highway 101 and had a small climb. Our first rest stop of the day was at Humboldt Botanical Garden, where we fixed a flat and chilled for a bit before getting back on the road. We got back on the highway and had some small climbs before our second rest stop at Shotz Coffee, where we took more time to chill and get coffee before seeing the Redwoods! Once we got back on the road, it was only a short ride until we reached Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

Humboldt Redwoods State Park spans 53,000 acres, with ⅓ of the park housing the largest area of old-growth redwoods left on planet earth. We biked on The Avenue of the Giants, a famous scenic drive spanning 31 miles known for its proximity to some amazing Redwoods. It was truly beautiful to see the Redwoods towering over us as we biked through this route, and their size can’t be captured in pictures – redwoods are a must-see in person! It was amazing to learn that these ancient trees have lived for thousands of years, making these giants even more of a spectacle! While we were biking through the Redwoods, we had the chance to stop at a local farmers’ stand where many of us tried their delicious blackberry popsicles. We relaxed at the farmers’ stand for a bit, where there was a cute dog, an amazing garden, and some great people. The farmers were even nice enough to give us some free cucumbers, which we pocketed to enjoy later! Some of us stopped in Redcrest, where we explored gift shops and visited the Eternal Tree House, which is a room carved in the stump of a 2,500-year-old redwood! A group of us had a little too much fun stroking wooden beards, and we found some cool-looking wooden sculptures. A group also got to see the Immortal Tree, a 1,000-year-old extremely durable redwood that has survived years of fires, lightning strikes, and floods.

After a somewhat short climb and fun descent, we made it to the campground, where we checked out the visitors center and set up our tents in the midst of redwoods. We also found out the campground had showers, which is always an unexpected luxury on camping days! After setting up our tents, we had a lot of time to relax, talk, eat, climb up stumps, and sit around the campfire. It was great to have a lot of time to enjoy the campground and each other’s company.