The easiest hikes in Redwood National Park, by the numbers
Of the 48 trails in Redwood National Park in our dataset, 15 (31 percent) rate easiest on the gain-and-distance scale we use, run 1 to 6 miles and climb 500 ft or less; all 15 are listed here, lowest rating first.
Yurok Loop Trail has the lowest rating: 80 ft of gain over 1.1 miles, 73 ft per mile.
Across the 15, gain runs from 57 to 468 ft and distance from 1.1 miles to 4.6 miles; the median gain is 247 ft and the median distance 2.2 miles.
12 of the 15 are point-to-point routes; the rest are loop (1) or out-and-back (2).
| # | Trail | Miles | Gain (ft) | Ft per mile | Max grade | Elevation (ft) | Rating | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yurok Loop TrailNorth Coast | 1.1 | 80 | 73 | 10% | 29 to 109 | 13.3 | |
| 2 | Hiouchi TrailNorth Coast | 1.6 | 76 | 48 | 16% | 86 to 138 | 15.6 | |
| 3 | Lady Bird Johnson Grove Nature TrailNorth Coast | 1.4 | 88 | 63 | 6% | 1,251 to 1,324 | 15.7 | |
| 4 | Tall Trees TrailNorth Coast | 2.5 | 57 | 23 | 47% | 106 to 845 | 16.9 | |
| 5 | Stout Memorial GroveNorth Coast | 1.3 | 245 | 188 | 18% | 135 to 295 | 25.2 | |
| 6 | Cathedral Trees TrailNorth Coast | 1.5 | 271 | 181 | 104% | 152 to 321 | 28.5 | |
| 7 | Dolason Prairie TrailNorth Coast | 4.6 | 94 | 20 | 33% | 278 to 2,420 | 29.4 | |
| 8 | Brown Creek TrailNorth Coast | 1.3 | 350 | 269 | 26% | 259 to 562 | 30.2 | |
| 9 | Clintonia TrailNorth Coast | 1.5 | 319 | 213 | 283% | 302 to 539 | 30.9 | |
| 10 | Davison TrailNorth Coast | 4.6 | 178 | 39 | 12% | 53 to 137 | 40.5 | |
| 11 | Coastal Trail: Tey-wo-lew SectionNorth Coast | 3.4 | 247 | 73 | 23% | 475 to 677 | 41 | |
| 12 | Coastal Trail: DeMartinNorth Coast | 3.1 | 300 | 97 | 23% | 70 to 740 | 43.1 | |
| 13 | Boy Scout Tree TrailNorth Coast | 2.5 | 393 | 157 | 26% | 212 to 639 | 44.3 | |
| 14 | Foothill TrailNorth Coast | 2.2 | 468 | 213 | 28% | 166 to 491 | 45.4 | |
| 15 | Mill Creek TrailNorth Coast | 4.1 | 290 | 71 | 12% | 91 to 218 | 48.8 |
How this list is ranked
Rating = the square root of 2 x elevation gain (ft) x distance (miles), the gain-and-distance formula Shenandoah National Park publishes for its own trails. Bands: under 50 easiest, 50 to 100 moderate, 100 to 150 moderately strenuous, 150 to 200 strenuous, 200 and over very strenuous.
This list: band easiest (under 50), 1 to 6 miles, no more than 500 ft of gain, ordered by rating asc, miles asc, capped at 25. The rating column is computed from the miles and gain printed in the same row, the numbers each trail page uses, so every row can be checked from the row itself. The rating says nothing about exposure, scrambling, altitude or conditions.
Only trails with a full page count, so "Redwood National Park" here means the 48 trails in Redwood National Park in our dataset, not every trail in Redwood National Park.
Each trail page shows the full elevation profile behind these numbers and the same data drawn as a topographic print, made to order. Start with Yurok Loop Trail.
Easiest hikes elsewhere.
The same ranking for other parks in our dataset.