They take your breath away.

You knew they’d be tall. But this? This is unreal.

The first time you step into Redwood National and State Parks, you’ll find yourself at a loss for words. The sudden silence of the forest envelops you. You want to tiptoe to avoid making any noise.

The sheer girth of the trees astounds you. Your fingers disappear into the ridges of the bark. You look up, and become dizzy trying to determine where the tree ends and heaven begins.

Hard to believe these giant trees almost disappeared a hundred years ago. Harvested to build homes for settlers in the West, redwood forests were decimated by the early 1900s.

Redwood National and State Parks are the result of efforts by a few visionary conservationists to protect these coastal forests and the surrounding ecosystem.

Here, you can take scenic drives or hikes through the giant redwoods, wander open prairie, come upon a grazing elk, and watch for whales from the Pacific shore.

Source

• http://www.npca.org/parks/redwood-national-state-parks.html