The Drury - Chaney Loop

Length 2.4 mi · Climbing 30 ft

California > Southern Humboldt County > Humboldt Redwoods State Park

Access trail, Drury-Chaney Loop

Background

The Drury-Chaney Loop and the adjacent Grieg-French-Bell Trail are most notable for the extraordinarily plush layer of redwood sorrel underlying the old-growth redwoods. Fallen logs, leaf litter, pretty much everything is covered with sorrel, creating the impression of a plush, wrinkled green carpet thrown over the forest floor. An occasional fern sticks out of the sorrel.

Directions: The Drury-Chaney trail is the northernmost official trail in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. It's about two and a half miles from the northern end of the Avenue of the Giants, just south of the sparse collection of houses known as Pepperwood. The trailhead, which is in a clearing on the west side of the Avenue of the Giants, is well marked. Parking is available in a pullout on the west side of the road.

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Hike description

Overall, the Drury-Chaney Loop is a bit less impressive than the Grieg-French-Bell Trail. However, it also has fewer signs of logging, with only one visible stump. The trail is a lollipop loop with a straight access trail followed by the loop itself.

The trail starts in a clearing. The first few hundred feet of trail skirts the edge of the clearing, but soon the trail dives into the lush old-growth forest. This is the most impressive part of the hike, but the remarkable lushness of the forest decreases as the trail gets further from the Avenue of the Giants. The trail crosses a dirt road and, shortly after, a T intersection marks the beginning of the loop. Going left (clockwise), the first half of the loop is not particularly remarkable; although the forest is definitely old growth it may have been affected by nearby logging activity. The second half of the loop, which runs alongside a dirt road, is a big improvement and has some classic Humboldt Redwoods scenery with the most impressive trees of the hike set among a lush carpet of ferns and sorrel.

Access Trail, Drury-Chaney Loop

The loop portion of the trail has recently been surfaced with gravel to make it wheelchair-accessible, which is a big improvement because the low-lying trail used to get very muddy in the winter. The trail is level, clearly-defined, and easy to follow.

Loop portion, Drury-Chaney Loop