Mill Creek Northern Loop (sites 75-145)

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Del Norte Coast Redwood SP Mill Creek Campground

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Details

Campsites: 66 (jump to sites)

Accepts Reservations: Yes

Site Types:

Online Reservations

Reservations for this campground are handled through ReserveCalifornia

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Important Notice!
The Damnation Creek Trail is closed at the bridge near the end of the trail but other park trails—in both the campground and the wider park—remain open.

For information on the Last Chance Grade Project, visit the website at: http://www.lastchancegrade.com/

Notice:
Del Norte Coast Redwoods, Jedediah-Smith Redwoods, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks are the only parks in the California State Parks system that accept the Federal Access Pass discount.

DNCR Image

Tall trees meet the sea at Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. Just south of Crescent City, Mill Creek Campground is the perfect basecamp for exploring this remote, 8-mile-long swath of coastline, as well as three other parks that make up the Redwood National and State Parks group. With up to 100 inches of rain a year, these North Coast parks grow the tallest trees in the world. They also protect 45 percent of Earth’s last remaining old-growth redwood forests.

In two short, steep miles, Del Norte’s Damnation Creek Trail traverses fern-festooned redwoods and spruce forests. The trail comes to a dead-end near the coast due to a bridge that is currently dismantled. There is no coastal access.. A scenic stretch of California’s 1,200-mile-long Coastal Trail runs the length of the park as well, a treat for bicyclists as well as hikers.

On weekends, visitors can explore the area’s past—and future—at Mill Creek Day Use Area on the east side of the park, where scientists are developing restoration science to heal the wounds of mid-20th century logging.

Visitors are required to watch this short video about the impact human food has on park wildlife.

Summer temperatures range from 40 - 80° F. Morning and evening fog is common. Winter 30–55 °F. With up to 100 inches of rainfall annually, expect rain from November to May .

Rules & Notifications

Don’t feed wildlife, and keep your camp free of all traces of food.
Store food in an animal-proof food locker.
Place all your garbage in an animal-proof trash can.
The campground is only open from May 1-Sept. 30. Reservations are recommended between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.
Del Norte’s topography is steep, with elevations from sea level to 1,277 feet. Coastal areas are generally inaccessible except by Damnation Trail and Footsteps Rock Trail.
Half-mile-long Wilson Beach, or False Klamath Cove, is meant for strolling and provides excellent tidepool viewing at low tide. It is not safe for swimming due to the steep beach slope, rocky conditions, frequent rough seas, and cold water.

Dawn Chorus

Winter Wren

Varied Thrush

The park, established in 1927, has approximately 50% old growth coast redwood and eight miles of wild coastline.

The mixed understory includes tanoak, madrone, red alder, big leaf maple, and California bay. Ground cover is dense with a wide range of species. Vegetation is predominately red alder which will eventually give way to fir and second growth redwood.

The topography is fairly steep with elevations from sea level to 1277’. The predominant mountain range is oriented in a north-south direction with steep cliffs adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, making the bulk of the rocky sea coast generally inaccessible except by Damnation Creek Trail.

Wilson Beach or False Klamath Cove
This 1/2-mile of sandy beach is meant for strolling and provides excellent tidepool viewing at low tide. It is not safe for swimming due to the steep beach slope, rocky conditions, frequent rough seas, and cold water.

Redwood National and State Parks
This park, along with Prairie Creek, Jedediah Smith, and the National Park Service's Redwood National Park, are managed cooperatively by the National Park Service and the California Department of Parks and Recreation. These parks make up 45 percent of all the old-growth redwood forest remaining in California.

Location - Directions

7 miles south of Crescent City, CA turn east on the campground road. The camp is 2 miles east of the highway.
Latitude/Longitude: 41.6708 / -124.1172

^{(Photograph by CalTrans staff)}

Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
The rugged cliffs of Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park are composed of some of the most tortured, twisted, and mobile rocks of the North American continent. The rocks are mostly buried beneath soils and covered by vigorous redwood forests, which thrive in a climate famous for summer fog and powerful winter storms. The rocks only reveal themselves in steep stream banks, along road and trail cut banks, along the precipitous coastal cliffs and offshore in the form of towering rock monuments or sea stacks.

The full Geo Gems report | Geological Gems of State Parks