When I headed to Northern California one of the things on my to do list was to see the infamous Redwoods, and I was not disappointed. We headed into Felton, a small town in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which is home to the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.

The park itself is on the family friendly side, with picnic areas and a steam engine ride, as well as blacksmith demonstrations, arts and crafts and much more. I was visiting with my cousin and her two children who are three and five and it was a perfect day out. We started off with a picnic in one of the many shaded areas before heading over to the visitor center to learn more about the area. From here we headed out onto the ‘Loop Trail’ which is a 0.8mile (1.2km) flat loop that takes you through the heart of the redwoods. One particular highlight on our trip was spotting a doe and fawn grazing just off the trail, completely unfazed by all the people mere feet away. Along the trail there was a tree which had been hollowed out by a fire, the tree was still so big that we were able to fit four of us inside with plenty of room to spare,  as well as seeing ‘The Giant’ a redwood that is 17ft wide and 270ft tall, it really helped to put into perspective just how big these giants are.

I would definitely recommend a day trip to Felton if you are in the vicinity, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park was a fantastic day out. I’m so glad that I got to see these trees up close, to truly see how magnificent they are, and to tick one more thing off the ever growing bucket list.