Every Trail Tells a Story
Boy Scout Tree and Fern Falls
Experience one of the quietest, most primeval groves in Jedediah Smith Redwoods.
Visit the massive double-stemmed Boy Scout Tree and the delicate beauty of Fern Falls.
Relive a trail with history – built by Scouts, embraced by families, and treasured by hikers for generations.
Northernmost of California’s redwood state parks, Jedediah Smith beckons the hiker with an impressive redwood forest primeval. The redwood groves, located off the tourist track between Highway 199 and Howland Hill Road, seem splendidly isolated – more so than most of the trees off Highway 101 in RNSP.
This part of the park best honors mountain man/pathfinder Jedediah Smith, credited with discovering (for west-bound travelers) the Rocky Mountains pass through which most California- and Oregon-bound emigrants traveled.
Goals of this hike are a towering redwood known as Boy Scout Tree and pretty Fern Falls. Boy Scout Trail itself was first constructed in the 1930s by the scouts of Crescent City’s Troop 10. As the story goes, the tree was named because a Boy Scout leader discovered it. Another version insists it took its name from the trail built by the scouts. Either way, it’s a legacy to youthful energy and persistence.
Boy Scout Tree isn’t the tallest redwood around, but it is memorable. A double-stem redwood, the fused trunks give it a base more than 23 feet wide. (Nearby “Girl Scout Tree,” discovered in 2018, is also a double-stemmed giant of similar size – scouting equality in arboreal form.)
I have particularly fond memories of hiking Boy Scout Trail way back when I was a Boy Scout myself, with Troop 441 from Southern California. Little did I know as a boy, tramping along this fern-laden path, that I would someday return as The Trailmaster, chronicler of trails. Later, bringing my own children here was a full-circle moment – meaningful to them and deeply moving for me. To share with them not only the grandeur of the redwoods but also my own story of discovery was its own gift.
It’s the remoteness of Boy Scout Trail that always lures me back. No traffic noise here, only the hushed drip of fog and the faint call of birds. The scenery shifts with the terrain – lush fern-filled gullies, thinner trees along ridgetops, dense old-growth crowding the creeks. Trees, trees, everywhere. And if for a moment you think you’ve seen enough redwoods (perish the thought!), pause to admire the Douglas fir that share the forest and rise nearly as tall in their own right.
A trail that began as the work of boys in uniform has matured into a rewarding hike. The blend of history, natural beauty, and personal memory ensures Boy Scout Trail remains, for me, a redwood classic.
From Highway 101, at the south end of Crescent City, turn east on Elk Valley Road. After 1.5 miles, fork right on Howland Hill Road and continue east about four more miles to parking for a half-dozen cars and the signed trailhead located on the north side of the road in the tall shadow of redwoods and Douglas fir.
Stroll the fern-lined path, 300-foot-tall trees towering above you. After a mile, the trail follows a redwood-topped ridge, with tall sword ferns pointing the way. At the 1.4-mile mark, descend steps to a footbridge over Jordan Creek. Pass more gigantic trees and descend more steps to another creek and bridged crossing.
After meandering along Jordan Creek, another mile of quiet forest walking brings you to a fork: the right branch goes to Boy Scout Tree while the other leads to Fern Falls, a small cascade at the fringe of a redwood grove.