Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park |
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 Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park
Location in California
Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park
Location in the United States
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| Location | Humboldt County, California, USA |
| Nearest city | Carlotta, California |
| Area | 430 acres (170 ha) |
| Established | 1943 |
| Governing body | California Department of Parks and Recreation |
Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park is a special state park in California, USA. It is famous for its amazing groves of giant coast redwood trees. These tall trees grow in three different parts of the park, all along the Van Duzen River.
The park is about 20 miles (32 km) south of Eureka, California. Then, it is another 17 miles (27 km) east of Fortuna on State Route 36. A kind person named Owen R. Cheatham helped create this park. He started the Georgia-Pacific Corporation. He wanted to make sure these beautiful redwoods would be safe forever.
The park first opened in 1943. It has grown to cover 430 acres (174 hectares) of land. In 1983, a part called Cheatham Grove was added to the park. This area is about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of the main park. The Save the Redwoods League helped make this happen.
Exploring Grizzly Creek Redwoods Park
This park is a bit hidden away. It is not right next to the main highway, U.S. Route 101. This means it is often very quiet. You might even be the only visitor in some of the redwood groves. It is a great place to enjoy nature peacefully.
Discover Cheatham Grove
Cheatham Grove is a very cool part of the park. It has a short walking trail, about a mile (1.6 km) long. This grove is famous because it was a filming spot for the movie Return of the Jedi! It was used to create the look of the Forest Moon of Endor. Imagine walking where Star Wars was filmed!
You can also find a rare albino redwood tree along the trail. These trees are special because they do not have the usual green color. They are very unique. The grove is also part of a fun adventure game called a Redwood Edventure Quest.
Protecting Our State Parks
Sometimes, state parks face challenges. Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park was once considered for closure. This happened around 2012. About 70 California state parks were at risk of closing. This was due to money problems in the state budget.
Before this, in 2008, the park was also threatened with closure. Luckily, these parks were saved. They avoided closing by making changes like reducing open hours. They also cut back on some maintenance work across all state parks. This helped keep them open for everyone to enjoy.
