The Avenue of the Giants begins here, just north of Garberville and Redway, where the old route of US 101 peels off the modern freeway and plunges into the redwoods along the South Fork of the Eel River. For the next fifty kilometres or so the road winds through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, and for much of that distance you are riding through some of the tallest trees on Earth.
The southern end of the avenue passes through small communities like Phillipsville and Miranda, with a mix of old roadside attractions, cabins and cafés. Some of the attractions date back to the early days of automobile tourism, when people drove up from San Francisco to see the big trees. There are drive-through trees, carved wooden statues and gift shops selling redwood burl furniture. It is all a bit kitsch, but it has a certain charm.
The riding is slow and gentle, with long, sweeping curves and low speed limits. The road is narrow and shaded, with the trees rising on both sides like the columns of a cathedral. The light filters through the canopy in shafts, and the air is cool, damp and fragrant with the smell of redwood needles and moss. Traffic is usually light, especially in the morning, but there can be slow-moving RVs and tourists stopping to take photos.
The redwoods here are coast redwoods, the tallest tree species in the world. Many of them are over 90 metres tall, and some are more than a thousand years old. They thrive in this foggy coastal climate, which provides moisture during the dry summer months. The groves along the avenue were protected in the early twentieth century by the Save the Redwoods League, which bought land to prevent it from being logged.
Garberville and Redway, at the southern end of the avenue, have fuel, food and lodging, and they are the last towns of any size before you enter the redwoods. Fill up here, because services along the avenue are limited. The nearest larger town to the north is Fortuna, about fifty kilometres away. In summer, the coastal fog often hangs over the trees in the morning, burning off by midday.