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.

Mill Creek Campground — Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park

After climbing up, up, up along the coast, the Mill Creek access road takes you twisting down into a valley among the trees. 

Upon arrival the rangers assigned me a campsite but worked hard to figure out which is the available sites best suit my needs. We settled on a site along an out of the way loop. On a Thursday night mid-September there were many open campsites and the campground was pretty quiet. It was incredible just to wander around the campground and wonder at the trees. Mill Creek is in a second generation forest. The old growth trees had been cut for logging years ago but their awe-inspiring stumps are scattered throughout the campground. The trees that grow today are impressive in their own way. 

Roughly 20 minutes from Crescent City, there's relatively quick access to the beach and coastline. Check out the Battery Point Lighthouse which can only be accessed at low tide. The campground has flushing toilets, drinking water, and pay showers. There are also fire pits, picnic tables, and large bear lockers in each campsite. The roads down to the campground and throughout are a little rough, keep an eye out for big dumps and dips. The campground hosts sell firewood and have quarters for the showers and are incredibly friendly. I loved staying at Mill Creek and had a wonderful experience yet, $35 dollars a night feels a little pricey.

Pricey but Gorgeous

My husband had never seen the giant redwoods in this National park, so off we went. This area is a must do for anyone's bucket list.

Beautiful Camp

 This is by far one of my most favorite places. Clean, lots of hiking trails, river access...just beautiful! Oh and the beach is about 15-20 mins down the road. 

Love this place! 

This was a beautiful, wooded campground. It was quiet and relaxing. We did not have a reservation, but easily found a space in mid-September. The bathrooms have lots of bugs crawling around, but overall it was a good experience.

Quiet campground in a great location

Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park is a beautiful location with a wonderful campground. The campground is intertwined among a pretty dense redwood forest. There are a lot of sites (145) in a pretty small area, but with the number of trees and dense undergrowth of ferns each site feels quite private.

There aren’t a ton of hiking options from the campground, but you can take the Trestle Loop Trail or Alder Basin Trail around the campground and perhaps combine the two with the Hobbs Wall Trail which takes you out to Highway 1 in a big loop of about 6.7-miles and about 2,000 feet of elevation gain. Another trail, which I did not hike when I was there, but looks nice is an out and back along a trail that parallels the West Branch Mill Creek leaving from the north end of the campground between sites 108 and 109\. If you go all the way to the trails end at Hamilton Road the trail will be 4.5-miles round trip with 1,200 feet of elevation gain.

Beautiful campground in the redwoods

wonderful sites, clean bathrooms with dump station 

beautiful sites

Very lush greenery, tall redwoods, and fun features in this campground. Hollowed burned tree stumps for exploring and hiding out, staircases leading to spacious grounds, plus ferns and berries everywhere make this campground nearly perfect. Square footag, privacy, and fun features will vary greatly between sites...

Make reservations in advance for this campground in order to stay for 2 or more nights. One night stays need no reservation. However the grounds fill up quickly as the campgrounds seasonal opening is highly anticipated by many campers.

NO hanging hammocks or items from trees

Fog rolls through daily and nightly, and critters like chipmunks and banana slugs ventured through our site.

Mill Creek Capground - Del Norte REDW

We were there on a weekend. It wasn't super busy. There is a lot of privacy between campsites. I wish I knew that you had to pay for the showers, but it wasn't that much. The bathrooms were clean and well kept. Karin was an awesome ranger at the entrance of the campground with a lot of information. There is a beautiful creek along the campground and a trail that runs along it, but at one point the trail just dead ends with construction. I wish there was a sign at the beginning of the trail. Overall, it was a lovely experience. Keep your eyes open for humming birds.

Redwood 2nd Growth

Beauriful scenery at every turn! Our girls felt like they were in a fairie land. The shade was welcomed from the huge trees and helped us sleep in a little later in the mornings. Each site was quiet and secluded! The girls loved biking to the creek, hiking at Prairie Creek state Park, and Jedidiah Smith is just a short drive where we went stand-up paddle boarding. Overall a great park, although it was confusing on weather you were in the National Park or the State Parks.

Beautiful scenery

If you’re looking to immerse yourself in the Redwoods, this is the campground for you. I’ve been camping here for more than half my life and I just can’t get enough! Here’s why...

Set down in a little Redwood valley just south of Crescent City, CA to the east of Hwy 101 is what I describe as heaven on earth. As you turn off the highway, you head down the mountain on a paved road for about a mile and a half. You’ll take a short stop at the Ranger Station to check in and get the latest updates on weather, Ranger Talks, tide schedules and anything else you need to know for your stay. Head down another mile and you’ll enter the campground.

At the stop sign, you can either go left or right. The spots to the right will hug you next to the mountain and along the creek that runs through the campground. The small and cozy amphitheater also sits among these spots for the ranger talks and activities for the kiddos. These spots are a bit more open and let you interact with your fellow campers. There a few loops to choose from so you’re sure to get the perfect one for you.

Turn left at the stop sign and you’ll find my favorite loop. These spots vary widely from more open spots to more secluded ones. Some are by the creek, some are back in little nooks of the mountain and some have a short hike to get to. I’ve stayed in all kinds and have never been disappointed. They feel a bit more secluded, though it could just be me romanticizing my favorite place on earth.

Whatever loop you choose to stay in, rest assured you’ll be in the heart of the Redwoods. Lush ferns, new and old growth trees and beautiful flora surround every site. You can join the Ranger Talks, take a hike on one of the trails around the campground or just sit and relax, taking it all in.

Bonus points always go to this campground for coin operated showers (perfect after a long day of adventuring) amazingly friendly and knowledgeable camp hosts and a stellar location to venture out from on your daily adventures.

Thiugh my favorite time to visit has always been August (to escape the heat of the valley), any time of year is a good time to go.

Book your stay through Reserve America, and don’t forget to start mapping out your adventures!

Best campground in the Redwoods, hands down. 

We stayed here three nights, the first night we stayed in spot 57, which was uncomfortably close to 58, only a large log separating the two, would be awesome for two groups, the next night we moved across to 59, better, but very small spots. the high teens, low 20's of this campground have wonderful spots, and I think my review would have been 5 stars had we stayed in one of those spots. Overall in was a good campground, rangers were friendly and knowledgable, there are giant redwood stumps throughout the campground for kids to play on. Good location, close to crescent city and Stout Grove.

Close together spots, beautiful forests

Definitely my favorite campground in the redwood area. I will be back!

Magical

Can be damp and shady, so-so facilities. Plan in advance for reservations. Group camping and hike/ bike in is located near meadow and will likely see elk grazing nearby. However, excellent location to explore beaches and hiking in the most fantastic redwoods!

Big trees and a beautiful creek

This campground is a great stop if you’re looking for something in the redwoods besides the popular Jedidiah. There are two full loops to choose from.

There were plenty of open sites last minute but we heard that it does get busy. Some sites are SMALL but the reservation website lists the dimensions of each site and contains a picture as well. It makes it easy to book, site unseen. Some sites are open while others are secluded. There are hike/bike in campsites as well.

There are RV amenities within the campground but not at each individual site. I would say that this campground isn’t too RV friendly just because it’s a smaller campground in general. It might be hard to maneuver around but it is allowed.

There are bathrooms with flush toilets as well as showers with hot water. It’s .25 cents per minute for the showers, maximum 12 minutes. Everything was cleaned each morning. Bring extra TP, as it usually ran out mid day. 

Bear boxes are provided and you are asked to keep everything in there at all times. We had a chipmunk try to get into ours but didn’t see any bear. Fires are permitted, just make sure you put it out completely at night.

No hammocks or tying to trees allowed. That was a bummer, as I love my hammock but totally understandable. You have to protect the redwoods that remain.

No cell service but if you drive up to the ranger station, they have WiFi. Doesn’t reach the campsites though.  

Great campground in the Redwoods

Loved camping in the big trees. Good campfire rings, clean air and trees provide ample privacy for quiet camping. We did a lot of tree hugging!

Prehistoric Redwoods Oasis

Incredible campground surrounded by the redwoods. Site 75 was decent, there’s definitely better ones. We had a good time out here.

Be sure to bring mosquito repellent! 

Nice site offers showers, clean bathrooms, bear boxes, fire rings and benches. As well as trash cans and recycling. Some spots looked big and some/most were pretty small. The spots are pretty close together but, that’s okay. I feel it was kinda expensive for the size of the spots and how close they were together but, you are in a state park. The trees were very beautiful and you’re right in the middle of the red woods. The camp host was very sweet and offered a wood for purchase ($10). 



I don’t recommend getting spot 27. Very weird set up the bench was in the center of the spot and the fire was really close to the vegetation it kinda scared me. It looked to be all the odd 20s were set up kinda funky.



Small spots in the state park

We stayed in site 87 which is a “hike in” site, which basically means that you have to walk up a few steps, maybe 100 feet, to get to the campsite. Having to haul our stuff up the stairs was well worth it to be tucked away in the woods off the road. Site 88 shares the entry from the road and sits up above 87, so I would say 88 is the more private of the 2 sites.

My husband and I enjoyed walking around the campground and seeing the remaining stumps of the giant redwoods that used to be here. This area has no old growth left but was still very pretty. There are also a number of trails around the campground to explore. 

This campground has showers for 25¢ a minute. The water was hot and it had great water pressure, which I was thankful for since it gets pretty chilly in this area.

I have T-Mobile and had no cell service at any time while I was in this campground. 

Beautiful and Quiet

We loved our site, it felt quite private, even though we were between two roads and right across from the bathrooms. We were able to fit a 5 man tent and a 2 man tent in the space, though they were closer together than I’d like. Beautiful campground, clean bathrooms.  Bring quarters for the showers. 

Enjoyed our stay

Maybe more like 4.5 stars. Our site was just so weirdly adjoined to another site and by the second night a whole bunch of families moved on in to that site and a couple others and loudly partied until late and then early in the morning, more loudness. Complete with penned up dogs that yelped and whined and barked the entire time. Right. Next. To us. Some other sites that aren't adjoined like this would be amazing I think.

  

However, the bathrooms were decent. No paper towels or dryers in California so bring a towel to dry your hands, because it was cold in July. Flush toilets, running water, coin showers. I didn't use one, but my teenager did, which is beneficial to everyone.

  

There was a spigot and drain right at our site, and that was very useful. No hanging lines from the trees, so I had to get creative and hang some stuff over a branch. Not that that did anything, lol. Stuff does not dry outside there.

  

You have to drive down a very long road to get into the campground, which is totally worth it when you're dispersed camping or it's otherwise isolated, but it didn't seem AS worth it being crowded in next to others. No redwoods in the campground area, but plenty nearby. Same with trails. A couple small ones within walking distance, but not really worth it if you want to see the big mamas!

  

Nearby Crescent City was a really charming town with a great park, natural foods coop, and (cold) beach. We also saw lots of elk in the field across from the beach. 

  

No service in the campground, but if you drive up to the ranger station, you can hook up to their wifi.

  

Overall, a beautiful campground with a mostly good experience.

Beautiful Park

We stayed here on the way down from the Oregon coast. Great camp site although wet from all the early June rain. Some other sites are elevated above the access loop so would aim for those.

Make sure you get up early or late as they seem to service the restrooms between 7:30 and 8a. 

Great camp host with wood available for fires. Bear boxes at every site. Easy access to get to Prairie Creek and Elk Prairie campground for a scenic walk on the beach or access for Fern Canyon.

Close access to Crescent City for groceries and laundry if needed.

Lush and beautiful

Loved this campground . Loved the showers . The redwoods were great to bike around . Sites are not right on top of each other also . 

Amazing 

Drive from the highway to the campground is captivating. Campground staff were both pleasant &amp; informative. We were concerned about theft as many signs mentioned this, but were reassured it has not been a recent problem. We had no issues leaving our kitchen items in the bear box during the day as well as tents &amp; sleep systems in place for many hours while gone exploring. Sites were tucked close together, but there are many large ferns and overgrowth forest that provided a sense of privacy despite this. Busy place. Facilities were clean. Many trails close by. Would not recommend our site as it was close to the bathrooms and we did have an overwhelming scent of sewage during the nights while sleeping, though I didn’t notice this during the daytime. Overall would camp here again, but would prefer a different site. 

Near by notes: Crescent City had an overwhelming homeless population. Was told by locals this is much lower in Brookings and received recommendation to camp at Harris Beach next time. We drove to Klamath and stopped at the beach along the highway (we believe this to be False Klamath Cove) as well as Trees of Mystery. Rode the gondola up &amp; enjoyed the hike down. There was one black bear off the trail. 

