Flint Ridge Backcountry Site - Redwood National and State Park

We parked in the parking lot and there was a sign saying security camera in use. There were signs warning us to not leave valuables in the car bc of thieves. I’ve never seen that at a campsite before and it really weirded me out. No cell service at the campsite.

The campsites themselves are well established with grills and picnic tables. There’s even a vault toilet.

The sites had major vegetation growth. Lots of stinging nettles. It wasn’t my favorite camp experience because the warning signs were pretty off putting, but overall it was okay.

Unfortunately the campsites no longer offer an ocean view as the vegetation has grown so much as of July 2023. When you arrive on the ONE WAY coastal drive you pull into parking on the left which is a half moon gravel area facing the ocean. On the right of the road you have a 1/4 mile hike up through dense vegetation. Be warned there is tons of poison ivy even in the campground. The 8 campgrounds are relatively spread apart for privacy. Unfortunately it appears the only composting toilet is in campsite #1 so you have go to their camp. There are also banana slugs in the area that can end up on your stuff.

Great camping spot for FREE!! Stellar views and super easy access. We parked right along the coast and easily walked all of our gear to camp. Could see the ocean from our tent while among the GIANT trees (be careful of ticks though). Would definitely recommend!!

I have been along camping the Nor Cal coast at least twice a year, my entire life. Flint Ridge is a little farther north than I normally go, but I’m so glad I stumbled across this campground a few years back. My only “complaint” is that the pit toilet has been AWFUL the couple times I attempted to use it, but everything else about this campground is beautiful, secluded, and perfect.

We just drove through but it seems like a great spot to camp given all the options. Lots of day hikes and extraordinary views. I highly recommend. The trees are MASSIVE.

We feel like we hit the jackpot at Redwood. We arrived at the Visitor Center without much of a plan for our four days here, and we immediately were interested in the free backcountry established campgrounds.

We chose Flint Ridge for our permit because of its accessibility to the road and main attractions through the park. The park is long and narrow, and Flint Ridge is located in the center, so we could drive north or south for the day and not have to backtrack through the entire park. We also only had to “hike” a short ¼ mile from our parking spot to the campsite.

The campsite itself was great: spacious, lush vegetation, a picnic table and nicer pit toilet, and even a view of the ocean! We were pleasantly surprised that our free campsite provided so much for us.

Throughout the rest of the park, we loved Fern Canyon, the Tall Trees Grove, and Crescent Beach. We also loved just driving through the scenic drives and peering out at the giant trees!

You can read much more about our five days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Redwood)