Portola Redwoods State Park

The drive to Portola Redwoods State Park requires a lot of patience and alert driving but is worth it if you are looking for some solitude among the trees.  The road to get to this park is narrow and winding and you may experience some entertainment on the way there.  In my case, I was flipped off by a rude driver and saw another car that had fallen into a ditch.  Unfortunately, it was not the same guy.  You pay your parking fee at the visitor center which used to be an old lodge built by a group called the Shriners.  The visitor center has interesting displays about this masonic group, who sold the land to the state and about Chris Iverson, who build a cabin in this area.

I visited in the winter when seasonal footbridges were removed and campgrounds were closed, thus some trails were impassable without fording a river. The easy trails I took were: Old Tree Trail and Old Haul Rd -> Iverson Trail -> Tiptoe Falls.  If there is a footbridge, Trail to Tiptoe Falls can be combined with the latter to make a loop.