Site 25
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If you want to camp under old-growth redwoods, Jed Smith is the place to go. It’s the only campground in Redwood National and State Parks that has big lowland redwoods right there in the camp. It also happens to be just across the river from Stout Grove and some of the world’s best redwood hikes.
The main drawback is that it’s right next to busy two-lane Highway 199 with its high-speed traffic, so most of the campground gets traffic noise. Sites 47–58 are the exception and are definitely the best sites, but some other parts of the campground are far enough from the highway that the noise isn’t too bad.
About a third of the sites are in areas that naturally don’t have any redwoods at all. The map on this page shows those areas in light green.
The Smith River near the campground
Site 49
Site 80
Site 4
Sites 48–57 are the campground’s best sites. They’re on a redwood-shaded riverside terrace below the rest of the campground, so they’re well-shielded from traffic noise by a 40-foot-high embankment. In fact, if the river is high enough the traffic noise can’t be heard at all over the rushing sound of the water. This is unfortunately one of the few areas in the campground that’s been logged, but even so it still has the biggest trees.
Sites 55 and 56 might be the best of all, since they're both on the river, have big redwoods, are near, but not too near, the nice new bathrooms and the visitor center, and are near a water spigot. The only drawback is that they don’t have a lot of privacy.
Site 55 is one of the best in the campground
Two walk-in sites, A and B, are in the nicest part of the campground, next to some huge redwoods, by the river and in the part of the camp that doesn’t get any traffic noise. These are different than hike/bike sites A and B.
To reach the campsites, you have to park in the pullout a few sites away and walk about 100 yards. They feel a little more isolated than the regular sites and you won’t have cars driving by. The two sites have one big, common fire pit.
Site 51, seen from walk-in campsite B
The campground has four cabins in a rather nice old-growth redwood grove. The cabins are clean and in great condition, but very basic. They’re a great option for cold, rainy winter days when it can be kind of miserable (and even a little dangerous, due to falling debris) to camp outside.
Each cabin has four bunk bed platforms (two bunk beds, each with a full-size platform below and a twin-size above), electrical outlets, and, best of all, an electric heater. You have to bring your own bedding. There’s no bathroom or kitchen, and you’re not allowed to cook inside. There isn’t any place to sit inside other than the bunk beds.
Like the regular campsites, each cabin has an outdoor picnic table and fire pit. All the cabins are wheelchair accessible.
Cabin 2 (site 26)
Map of Jedediah Smith Campground. Dark green areas are old growth redwoods.
Many state park campgrounds, especially on the coast, have hike/bike sites that are mainly used by touring cyclists. The hike/bike sites provide a network of places where they can drop in and camp without reservations.
Jed Smith’s hike/bike sites are unusually nice; there are five of them instead of one, and they’re set well apart from the rest of the campground. They are, of course first-come, first-served and can’t be reserved, and vehicles are not allowed. The nightly fee is $5 per person (not per campsite). There aren’t any showers or restrooms, but you can use the showers in the main campground and the nearby picnic area restrooms.
Hike/bike campsite E
There’s a nice picnic or “day use” area on a riverside flat that has a few pretty good-sized redwoods; you can park under the redwoods or drive onto a gravel beach by the river. This is the only part of Jedediah Smith where day use visitors have to pay to park.
You can hike from the campground to the day use area on a short trail loop, the River Beach and Nature Trails. These trails are fine for a short walk but not nearly as good as going across the river to Stout Grove. The trail has fewer redwoods than most other parts of the campground, in part because the vegetation along the trails is so dense that it’s hard to see very far into the woods.
The campground has a tiny state park visitor center; on summer weekends it offers ranger-led walks and educational talks at the neighboring campfire center. A larger national park visitor center is across the highway.
The day use picnic area has a small but pretty impressive group of redwoods
The campground is designed for regular cars; you’re supposed to drive up to your campsite and pitch a tent right next to your car. RVs up to 25 feet and trailers up to 21 feet are allowed, but typically for a state park campground, there aren’t any hookups and the narrow, twisty roads are difficult to navigate in large vehicles.
Every site has a fire pit, a picnic table, and a food storage locker. All of the North Coast redwood parks are very strict that every crumb of food must be stored in the locker unless you’re actually eating. Animals that live around campgrounds get really bold when people leave food out; raccoons, for example, have no issue tearing into tents while people are inside.
There’s a nice new bathroom and pay shower building next to the visitor center (bring lots of quarters), and a new bathroom in the day use area; the other bathrooms are older and not as nice.
There’s a nice new bathroom and shower building near the visitor center
The area has a lot of mosquitos in summer.
The campground is open all year. Reservations can be made up to 6 months, but not less than 2 days, before the first night of a stay.
© 2018, 2022 David Baselt