Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Shelter Cove General Store
GROCERIES
( 707-986-7733; 7272 Shelter Cove Rd)
For those who are self-catering, Shelter Cove General Store is 2 miles beyond town. Get
groceries and gasoline here.
Cove Restaurant
AMERICAN
( 707-986-1197; 10 Seal Ct; mains $8-25; 10am-2pm & 5-9pm Thu-Sun)
The first-choice place to eat, this joint has everything from veggie stir-fries to New York
steaks.
Humboldt Redwoods State Park & Avenue of the
Giants
Don't miss this magical drive through California's largest redwood park,
Humboldt Red-
woods State Park
(
www.humboldtredwoods.org
)
, which covers 53,000 acres - 17,000 of
which are old-growth - and contains some of the world's most magnificent trees. It also
boasts three-quarters of the world's tallest 100 trees. Tree huggers take note: these groves
rival (and some say surpass) those in Redwood National Park, which is a long drive further
north, although the landscapes here are less diverse.
Exit Hwy 101 when you see the 'Avenue of the Giants' sign, take this smaller alternat-
ive to the interstate; it's an incredible, 32-mile, two-lane stretch. You'll find free driving
guides at roadside signboards at both the avenue's southern entrance, 6 miles north of
Garberville, near Phillipsville, and at the northern entrance, south of Scotia, at Pepper-
wood; there are access points off Hwy 101.
Three miles north, the
California Federation of Women's Clubs Grove
is home to an
interesting four-sided hearth designed by renowned San Franciscan architect Julia Morgan
in 1931 to commemorate 'the untouched nature of the forest.'
Primeval
Rockefeller Forest
, 4.5 miles west of the avenue via Mattole Rd, appears as it
did a century ago. It's the world's largest contiguous old-growth redwood forest, and con-
tains about 20% of all such remaining trees. Walk the 2.5-mile
Big Trees Loop
(note that
at the time of research a footbridge had been taken out and you'll have to walk across a
