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The KMUD Community
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Southern Humboldt is Redwood Country
Garberville, Redway, Benbow | What's
here? | Avenue of the Giants | Shelter
Cove | Lost Coast | RV
Parks and Campgrounds
Only four hours north of San Francisco, the Garberville/Redway area is the perfect base for your exploration of the wonders of the Redwood Empire and the Lost Coast. The immediate community is comprised of historic and beautiful Benbow, the lovely mountain town of Garberville, and the thriving community of Redway.
Nearby, on day trips, you can visit the world renowned Avenue of the
Giants, the rare and spectacular Lost Coast, the special coastal community
of Shelter Cove, and redwood groves with world record trees. Spring
is ablaze with wildflowers, and fall provides some of the finest weather
of the year. Year 'round, expect to encounter abundant wildlife.
The communities are small, friendly, intensely proud and independent. The diversity of nature is exceeded only by the diversity of the people who choose this special area for homes. Stores and services are plentiful. Many fine accommodations are available, ranging from highly rated motels and campgrounds to State Park camping facilities.
The entertainment calendar is full of a growing number of events, including presentations of Shakespeare, jazz, crafts fairs and theater arts.
This pleasant setting for a vacation has yet to be discovered by the crowds that characterize many other popular places. You, too, will be captured by the spell of this special place. We would like to welcome you and invite you to spend your entire vacation with us.
- LOCATION: Two hundred miles north of San Francisco on U.S.
101, Garberville is in the heart of California's Redwood Empire.
- CLIMATE: The climate is classified as Mediterranean with
summertime temperatures in the 80s. Winters are wet and mild with
occasional snow or frost. Elevation is 479' and the air is crystal
clear.
- POPULATION: Approximately 4,000 in Garberville/Redway/ Benbow
serving a rural trade area of 12,000.
- ECONOMIC BASE: A resort and recreation center offering sport
and commercial fishing, retirement and vacation homes, agriculture
and cottage industry.
- SHOPPING: A variety of attractive, busy shops, professional
offices, services and banking facilities. There is also a library
and movie theater, as well as locally produced wines, arts, crafts,
and redwood gifts.
- RECREATION: Nine hole golf course open to the public, tennis
courts, swimming and sunbathing, sailboarding, surfing, boating, river
and ocean fishing, hunting, hiking, horseback riding, bicycling, picnicking,
camping and wilderness backpacking, beachcombing, birding, exploring
redwoods and backcountry or just loafing.
- EVENTS: A week of Shakespeare Festival at Benbow Lake, Arts
and Crafts Fairs, Redwood Players live theater, Jazz on Benbow Lake,
the largest Reggae Festival in the western United States, Harley-Davidson
Redwood Run, Garberville Rodeo, Kinetic Sculpture Race, Pickle Family
Circus, Feet First Dancers, spring and fall marathons and numerous
live concerts.
- ACCOMMODATIONS: Southern Humboldt has 23 motels and inns,
35 restaurants and over 1400 camp and RV sites.
- TRANSPORTATION: Greyhound Bus Line, bus service for seniors
and handicapped, car rental, air service to San Francisco Bay Area
from Garberville, and the Eureka/Arcata Airport.
- AIRPORTS: Garberville: 3,000-foot paved runway, 100 LLAV
fuel, Unicom 122.8 MHz, repair facilities, charter service and instruction.
Shelter Cove: 3,400-foot paved runway, no services.
- MEDICAL: Eighteen-bed hospital with emergency facilities,
two medical centers. Paramedic ambulance with advanced like support.
Pharmacy, dental care, optometry, chiropractics, physical therapy
and holistic health care. Veterinary clinic and animal hospital.
- FIRE PROTECTION: Fourteen volunteer fire departments and
eight California Department of Forestry Fire Stations.
- LAW ENFORCEMENT: California Highway Patrol Headquarter, Department
of Motor Vehicles, Humboldt County Justice Court, Sheriff's Department
Substation and Search and Rescue Team.
- SCHOOLS: Unified district, six elementary schools, junior
and senior high schools and College of the Redwoods branch campus
Six pre-schools, four private schools and Heartwood College.
- CHURCHES: Twenty churches and organizations representing
most recognized religious denominations.
- SERVICE CLUBS/ORGANIZATIONS: Rotary, Soroptimist, Kiwanis,
Chamber of Commerce, VFW, American Legion, Lions Club and ESA Sorority.
Plus more than forty activity, social political, fraternal and special
interest groups.
- MEDIA: Public radio station KMUD
91.1 FM (listen to it
now via RealAudio), commercial station KHUM
104.7 FM, two weekly local newspapers (Life&Times of Southern Humboldt,
PO Box 68, Garberville, CA 95542, phone 707/923-2824) and (The
Independent, PO Box 2438, Redway, CA 95560, phone 923-4205), Cable
TV offering 21 channels.
- PARKS/PICNIC AREAS: With over 100,000 acres of public parklands
in Southern Humboldt, picnic areas are always close by. Particularly
popular are Benbow Lake and numerous locations along the Avenue of
the Giants by the Eel River.
Humboldt Redwoods / Avenue of the Giants
A
drive along the Avenue of the Giants will take you back hundreds,
even thousands of years into time. The trees themselves are living
testaments, dating back to the dawn of time. There are redwoods
to drive through, to walk through, and in which to shop. There is
even a tree that was used as a home by an eccentric old hermit.
There are groves of trees in which to picnic, to camp, to swim,
to take leisurely strolls vigorous hikes or bike rides. Be sure
to lie on your back and look up at the trees from that perspective.
Discover how people lived and worked in the redwoods. Learn about "goosepens," "widowmakers," "misery whips," and other words from the language legacy left by the loggers.
A short side-trip into Rockefeller Forest, the finest example of old growth redwoods in the world, takes you near trees that hold world records for height, old cabins, a giant barn with hand hewn timbers, and old homestead sites where apple orchards still flourish. Humboldt Redwoods State Park on the Avenue, is the argest remaining stand of virgin redwoods in the world. Most of your drive will follow the Eel River, one of the finest salmon and steelhead streams on the West Coast.
Begin your tour of the Avenue six miles north of Garberville at Sylvandale, and continue through Phillipsville, Miranda, Myers Flat, Weott and Redcrest near the northern end. Quaint, friendly towns are roughly spaced at six-mile intervals. Then, if you wish return to Garberville by the equally beautiful but quicker drive along four-lane Highway 101 Make Garberville/Redway your base for exploration of the best of the redwoods, via the Avenue of the Giants.
Shelter Cove is located in the heart of the spectacular Lost Coast, just 24 miles west of Garberville and Redway over a paved two-lane mountain road. At the turn of the century it was a vitally important shipping point serving southern Humboldt County. Today the Cove is famous for its pristine beauty, excellent fishing and tremendous recreational opportunities. The sheltered harbor provides surfing, swimming, picnicking and beach combing.
An abundance of salmon, rock fish, ling cod, abalone and perch delight the fisherman. Small parks along the rocky shoreline and a rare black sand beach to the north offer exploring, beach-combing and picnicking. Facilities include two stores with delis, a campground and RV park three motels two restaurants tackle shop, boat rentals and concrete launching ramp. An excellent paved 3,400-foot airstrip with parallel taxiway is maintained by Humboldt County.
The environmentally planned subdivision covers 2,545 acres of mingled green belt and view sites which are offered for permanent and vacation homes. The small village has a Community Center housing a fire station, district offices, meeting hall and a library Weekly church services are held at the Center.
Nestled on a marine terrace jutting out into the Pacific Ocean, Shelter Cove enjoys a unique location surrounded by the King Range National Conservation Area, 53,000 acres of public land developed and managed by the Bureau of Land Management. To the south is the spectacular Sinkyone Wilderness State Park.
The trip to the Cove, along Redwood Creek, across the Mattole River Valleys over the Noonin' Grounds, and up Paradise Ridge, is a prelude to the first breath taking view of the Pacific Ocean and to the Lost Coast.
The steep and rocky terrain of the King Range has defied the inroads of civilization, thus protecting California's spectacular Lost Coast. Jagged mountains rise sharply from sea level to 4,087 feet at King's Peak, the highest point directly on the West Coast. In 1970 Congress established the King Range National Conservation Area to protect the unique beauty of the area. Adjoining the southern border lies the awesome Sinkyone Wilderness State Park established in 1977. Together, these two public lands offer nearly 50 miles of hiking along the Lost Coast Trail, through a vast, unspoiled wilderness.
The King Range Conservation Area extends some 35 miles along the Pacific Coast and up to six miles inland. This rugged land of great diversity contains many trails ideal for hiking, exploring, fishing and camping. An unusually large variety of wildlife and birds make their homes in the forests, meadows and streams. You can observe migrating whales and other sea mammals along the beaches. A total of 48 campsites have been established at four locations.
The Sinkyone Wildemess State Park contains 7,312 acres of diversified scenic wonderland. A Visitor Center located at Needle Rock provides information and camping permits. There are 31 hike-in campsites in the northern part of the park, all located in proteded areas near streams, with access to beaches and trails for exploring. At the extreme south end of the Park, Usal Beach offers 16 drive-in campsites. Some roads in the wilderness areas near the coast are narrow, steep and, in some places, unpaved. To reach the King Range Conservation Area or the Sinkyone State Park take the Briceland Road west from Redway.
RV Parks and Campgrounds
GARBERVILLE-REDWAY-BENBOW
BENBOW LAKE STATE PARK, Benbow Drive, Benbow 95542 - 76 sites
- Phone (707)923-3238
BENBOW VALLEY RV PARK, 7000 Benbow Drive, Benbow 95542 - 112 sites
- Phone (707)923-2777
DEAN CREEK RESORT, 4112 Redwood Drive, Redway 95560 - 64 sites
- Phone (707)923-2555NORTH ON AVENUE OF THE GIANTS
HIDDEN SPRINGS STATE PARK, Avenue of the Giants, Myers Flat 95554 - 155 sites
- Phone (707)946-2409
BURLINGTON STATE PARK, Avenue of the Giants, Weott 95571 - 58 sites
- Phone (707)946-2409
ALBEE CREEK STATE PARK, Bull Creek Flats Road, Weott 95571 - 34 sites
- Phone (707)946-2409SOUTH TO LEGGETT
RICHARDSON GROVE STATE PARK, Highway 101, Piercy 95587 - 169 sites
- Phone (707)247-3318
REDWOODS RIVER RETREAT, 75000 Highway 101, Leggett 95585 - 36 sites
- Phone (707)925-6249
STANDISH HICKEY STATE PARK, Highway 101, Leggett 95585 - 162 sites
- Phone (707)925-6482WEST TO SHELTER COVE
SHELTER COVE CAMPGROUND, 492 Machi Road, Shelter Cove 95589 - 105 sites
- Phone (707)986-7474
SINKYONE WILDERNESS STATE PARK, 7 miles Southwest of Whitethorn - 47 sites
- Phone (707)986-7711
KING RANGE CONSERVATION AREA (BLM), Turnoff is 3.5 miles east of Shelter Cove - 48 sites
- Phone (707)986-7731
A.W. WAY COUNTY PARK, Mattole Road between Honeydew and Petrolia - 20 sites
- Phone (707)629-3314For State Park camping reservations, please call MYSTIX at (800)444-7275
Most of the information on this page is from a 1992 brochure published by the Garberville/Redway Chamber of Commerce.
Updated and converted to HTML by Simon Frech July 14, 1999. Minor corrections made on April 13, 2001.
Comments, updates, link requests, and corrections are welcome. Please to the webmaster.