The Ah Pah Trail

Length 0.6 mi · Climbing 40 ft

California > Redwood National and State Parks > Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Foggy morning on the Ah Pah Trail

Background

The short Ah Pah Trail follows the path of a logging road that was removed in the 1990s to reduce erosion. Interpretive signs along the path describe the removal process. This is an interesting look at one of the ways the National Park Service is preserving the park.

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Hike description

The trailhead is at the highest point of Drury Parkway, 6.5 miles north of the visitor center. Look for a sign that says "Ah Pah Interpretive Trail 500 feet" and park on the short stub of paved road, the only section of the old logging road that remains. The path descends gently through exceptionally nice redwood uplands, with large and varied trees on a steep hillside. The hillside has been re-graded to remove most traces of the road, but much of the trail still runs through a wide treeless swath. As a result, you don't get the usual feeling of being enveloped in the redwood forest.

The trail ends at a nice redwood grove. Traffic noise drifts up from highway 101, intruding on the serenity of this otherwise very attractive place.

The Ah Pah Trail