Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Prairie Creek is where the redwoods meet the ocean without much in between. The park runs from Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway — ten miles of old-growth corridor paralleling Highway 101 — down Davison Road to ten miles of Gold Bluffs Beach. Seventy-five miles of trail connect the two, along with a 19-mile bike loop.

The elk are the reason many people stop. Roosevelt elk are the largest elk subspecies in North America, bulls running to 1,200 pounds, and herds graze Elk Prairie in front of the visitor center and the dune grass at Gold Bluffs Beach. They were nearly wiped out here; State Parks now describes them as thriving. Rut runs August through October and calving late May into June, and in both seasons they are genuinely dangerous. Stay 75 feet back at minimum.

Established in 1923 by Save the Redwoods League and California State Parks, the park still shows Civilian Conservation Corps work from the 1930s. Since 1994 it has been co-managed with the National Park Service as part of Redwood National and State Parks, which is why you'll see both agencies' signs on the same trail.

A useful thing to know: parking along the Drury Parkway and at the visitor center is free. The fees apply at Elk Prairie picnic area ($8) and Gold Bluffs Beach ($12), and those are cash only. On the first Saturday of every month from October through May, the Parkway closes to cars entirely for Hike & Bike Days.

Dogs are restricted to roads, campgrounds and beaches — no trails at all. Cal-Barrel Road is the usual workaround.