Phillipsville is one of the first doorways into the Avenue of the Giants, and it announces the change in a gentle way. The little community, a few buildings at a turn-off from the main highway, is where the old road leaves the freeway and ducks beneath the redwoods. Within a mile, the light changes from bright sun to a deep green dusk, the air cools, and the smell of damp earth and resin takes over. The trees are enormous, with trunks wider than your garage, and they rise beyond sight.
The coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, is the tallest tree on Earth, with the biggest individuals reaching over three hundred and fifty feet, and they live for well over a thousand years. This grove forms part of Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which protects some of the largest stands of old-growth redwood left, saved by conservation groups in the 1920s, after they realised that loggers were cutting them down at astonishing speed. Fog drifting in from the Pacific supplies much of the moisture the trees need during the dry summer.
The Avenue itself is a thirty-one-mile ribbon of old highway that runs beside the freeway, along the south fork of the Eel River. It is narrow and curving, with a few tight spots, and the surface is rough in places where roots have heaved the asphalt. The speed limit is low, and rightly so, since the trees come up to the edge of the road, shadows fall in patches, and cyclists and sightseers often stop without warning. It is best taken slowly, with frequent stops to walk among the trunks, and the early morning light slanting through the mist is magical.
Fuel is easy to find at Redway and Garberville, a short distance to the south, and it is wise to fill up before entering the grove. A number of roadside stands sell burls and carvings, and a few of the old tourist attractions, such as drive-through trees, are still running. It can be cool and damp even in summer, and winter brings heavy rain and the occasional flood, so be ready with waterproofs. Spring and autumn are quieter, and the redwood forest is at its most atmospheric when mist hangs among the trunks.