Ride into the redwoods from the bright, dry, noisy world of Highway 101 and the first thing that changes is the sound. Everything goes muffled. Humboldt Redwoods State Park holds tens of thousands of acres of forest along the South Fork of the Eel River, and its Rockefeller Forest is usually described as the largest surviving stretch of old-growth coast redwood anywhere. The trees are older than most European cathedrals and much taller, and the light under them is green and slow, with ferns and sorrel carpeting the floor.
The Avenue of the Giants is the old route of the highway through this country, about thirty-one miles of two-lane road that runs parallel to the freeway and weaves among the trunks. On a motorcycle it is a lovely, easygoing ride rather than a fast one. The bends are gentle, the surface is mostly good, though tree roots heave the edges in places, and the speed limit is low. The main hazards are tourists wandering in the road to photograph the trunks, and the patches of shade that stay damp after rain. Mornings can be foggy and cold, while afternoons may be warm and bright, so wear layers.
The story of the park is a conservation one. In the early twentieth century, as logging pushed up the coast, a group of well-off Californians formed the Save the Redwoods League to buy groves before the saws arrived. The state park grew out of their work, and the Rockefeller name belongs to a large donation in the 1930s. Floods on the Eel River have repeatedly swept through, and you can see high-water marks on the trunks. Roosevelt elk graze in the open meadows in places, and the salmon that run up the river in autumn are a reminder of the whole web of life here.
There is camping in the park and a visitor centre at Weott, but fuel is a different question. Rio Dell and Fortuna to the north have petrol, and Garberville to the south has more, so fill up before you enter. Food is scarce along the Avenue, with small cafes and stores in villages like Myers Flat. Mobile signal is patchy among the trees, so plan ahead.