Boy Scout Tree Trail is located in Jedediah Redwood State Park in Northern California. It is about just 15 minutes drive from Crescent City. The trail itself is about 5 miles long round trip with very little elevation gain. This trail is not as popular as many other trails in Redwood National/State Parks because the trail head is not as easy to reach.
We did however want to hike this trail when we visited Redwood National Park. We left early in the morning and drove on Howland Hill Road. Howland Hill Road is a beautiful scenic drive in the Redwood forest. The only downside is that it is a gravel road instead of a paved road. The road was very poorly maintained and there were pot holes everywhere! We were driving on Howland Hill Road for about 30 minutes before we got to the trail head because we had to drive very slowly to avoid the big pot holes. By the time we got to the trail head, the car was covered in dust.
When we got to the trail head, there were only 2 cars there. We got prepared and sprayed ourselves with mosquito repellant since we knew there would be tons of mosquitos on the trail. We entered the trail and we started to see giant Redwood trees. These Redwood trees are tall and beautiful. Although it was a sunny day, it was quite dark in the forest because these Redwood trees have blocked the sun light.
There were also many Redwood trees that have fallen down onto the ground. We could walk on the log and take some pictures. We saw few people climbing onto the fallen Redwood tree that was way above the ground. We were hoping that they would not fall.
The hike was easy and enjoyable. There were bridges built to help hikers to get across the creek and there were also stair cases built to help people to climb.
After about an hour, we got to the sign the says "B.S. Tree" with an arrow pointing to the right to the top of a small hill. We went up the hill and could not find where Boy Scout Tree is! We looked around and went back down to make sure the sign is correct and still could not find Boy Scout Tree. Then we went back up on to the small hill again, raised our head, and there it is! There is a wooden plaque that says "Boy Scout Tree" and it is nailed onto the giant Redwood tree! We did not see it the first time because the wooden plaque was way too high!
Overall, it was a good hike. The only downside is that the drive to the trail was painful. If you plan to hike this trail, make sure you also remember to bring mosquito repellant!
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