Trees of Mystery absolutely must be on your itinerary if your family visits the California Redwoods!
This landmark attraction has been open since 1946 and is a great way for all ages to explore the redwoods together and have fun.
Trees of Mystery is located right on Highway 101, and is immediately recognizable by the giant Paul Bunyan with his Blue Ox, Babe.
Paul actually welcomes visitors by waving and talking, sometimes personally addressing individual guests!
The park is easy to explore because you just follow a loop trail all the way through.
It’s a lot of walking, but the trail is mostly flat and it’s never strenuous.
You may even encounter Bigfoot along your journey!
The whole time you’re in the park, you’re completely surrounded by the beautiful redwood trees towering over you.
Some of the trees are extra special, such as the Brotherhood Tree which is one of the largest living things in the world, the Candelabra and Elephant Trees with fascinating growth patterns,
and the Cathedral Tree which is 9 trees growing together as 1!
You also get to view the trees from the top when you walk on the Redwood Canopy Trail, 50-100 feet high in the trees!
The Canopy Trail consists of 8 netted suspension bridges between platforms, and it really gives you a unique perspective!
Our boys said it was like the “ultimate treehouse!”
The other main attraction is the SkyTrail gondola ride that takes you through the trees to the top of a mountain where there’s an observation deck.
When we were there, there was a lot of coastal fog so we couldn’t see much, but I’m sure it would be gorgeous on a clear day!
The last part of the park is the Trail of Tall Tales where you can listen to stories about Paul Bunyan from electronic story boxes while looking at the scenes portrayed in amazing chainsaw carvings.
The trail ends in a large gift shop with lots of great souvenirs, and there is also a museum of Native American items.
There is no food available at Trees of Mystery, but they have picnic tables near the parking lot so we packed a lunch.
There’s also a cafe across the street.
The park is open everyday except Christmas.
We went to Trees of Mystery as part of a 10-day road trip, and the kids still agree that this was their very favorite part of the trip.
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