Redwood National Park in winter.

Roads in the rainy season.

Redwood National and State Parks are open year-round, but visitor centers and campgrounds run on seasonal schedules, so check hours before you go. NPS winter hours begin November 2, 2026: the Kuchel, Prairie Creek, and Hiouchi visitor centers keep 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and each close two days a week, and the Crescent City Information Center keeps 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. The Jedediah Smith Visitor Center is closed until May 2027. Cell service is limited and GPS directions are often wrong here. NPS suggests using park maps and road signs, and carrying a paper map for remote areas. The state parks inside the boundary charge their own day-use fees, $8 per vehicle at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, per California State Parks.

The Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, through Prairie Creek Redwoods, is the road most likely to change your plans. In winter it's often closed for days at a time by fallen redwood trees or ice on the road, and park alerts post the current status. From October to May it also closes to motor vehicles on the first Saturday of each month for Bike and Hike Day, when hikers, leashed pets, strollers, and bikes have it to themselves, per the NPS parkway page.

Howland Hill Road, through Jedediah Smith Redwoods near Crescent City, is open year-round. It's narrow and partly unpaved, too tight for RVs, trucks, or trailers, and in spring it may be partly closed for short periods while crews repair winter storm damage. Davison Road, the 8-mile single-lane gravel road to Gold Bluffs Beach and Fern Canyon, has two stream crossings that can be challenging, especially after rain; NPS recommends high-clearance vehicles, and RVs over 24 feet and trailers aren't permitted. Bald Hills Road is open but has road damage, so drive slowly, and it isn't recommended for RVs or trailers. It climbs into the Bald Hills, where NPS lists winter snows among the sights. Cal-Barrel Road, off the parkway, is closed to vehicles during the winter season, per the NPS scenic drives page.

For today's roads, check the NPS current conditions page; for weather, call (707) 443-7062 or ask at a visitor center. Our Redwood road closures page has every road's notes.

Hikes, footbridges, and elk.

Winter changes two of the park's best-known hikes. Fern Canyon's wooden footbridges over Home Creek are installed only from June to September, so in winter you wade the creek and climb over fallen trees. The conditions page already listed the 2026 footbridges as removed on September 10. Pets aren't allowed in the canyon. The upside is access: the day-use reservation to drive to Gold Bluffs Beach and Fern Canyon is required only from May 15 through September 15, so in winter you can drive in without one. You still pay the $12 day-use fee, in cash or by check (no cards), or show an America the Beautiful or California State Parks pass. Reservations for the summer season open December 15, per the NPS Fern Canyon reservations page.

On the Redwood Creek Trail, the creek runs high and fast from December to May, and the footbridges across it are removed until summer, with no gravel bars for camping; the conditions page already lists them out. The Tall Trees Grove is still reachable from the gated Tall Trees Trailhead, which needs a free reservation year-round: a 4.5-mile round trip with 1,600 feet of total elevation change. Reservations are online only and aren't issued at visitor centers. All-day reservations open up to 180 days ahead and close 24 hours before your hike, half-day ones open the day before, and the gate code comes by email. Allow an hour's drive from the nearest visitor center, including 6 miles of dirt road, and note the small lot can't take RVs over 21 feet or trailers. The NPS Tall Trees hike page still mentions getting the gate combination from rangers, a 50-party daily limit, and 7 miles of dirt road, so follow the Tall Trees reservations page.

Roosevelt elk move from higher ground in summer down to the valleys in winter, and bulls still carry their antlers through the season. Look for them near Orick, at Elk Meadow on Davison Road 3 miles north of Orick, at Elk Prairie by the Prairie Creek Visitor Center, and south of Crescent City. Give them at least 25 yards, a quarter of a football field, whether they're by the road or on a trail.

Pack rain gear, dress in layers, and wear shoes or boots with non-slip soles, since the forest and the coast get slippery. Our Redwood photography page covers light in the groves.

Where to sleep.

The developed campgrounds are booked on ReserveCalifornia; search by the campground's name rather than "Redwoods." In winter, Jedediah Smith Campground, in an old-growth grove on the Smith River, is open and first-come, first-served from November through April, with coin-operated showers and a dump station. Gold Bluffs Beach Campground is open year-round, but winter road conditions may limit access, and trailers are prohibited. Mill Creek Campground is open only from mid-May to early October. NPS campground data lists free hot showers year-round at Elk Prairie and Gold Bluffs Beach. Our Redwood camping page has sites and vehicle limits.

For a backcountry night, a free permit is required, requested online up to 160 days ahead and no later than 24 hours before your trip. Redwood Creek is the only area where dispersed camping is allowed, and the conditions page lists it closed October 15 through April 1 for high water. For towns, Crescent City, home to the park's information center on Second Street, sits at the north end, and Orick is near the Kuchel Visitor Center at the south end. Our Redwood airports page covers the drive in.

How quiet winter really is.

December is the quietest month at Redwood, averaging about 23,000 recreation visits against 95,000 in June. November runs 30% of June's visits, December 24%, January 26%, February 26%, and March 34%.

So is Redwood worth visiting in winter? Yes, if you want quiet groves and elk in the meadows and don't mind hiking in rain gear. It's the wrong season if you want the Fern Canyon footbridges, a dry beach day, or the Redwood Creek Trail crossings. The best time to visit Redwood page weighs winter against the rest of the year.

Daylight and rain.

On December 21 the sun rises at 7:39 a.m. and sets at 4:50 p.m. at the Kuchel Visitor Center, per the U.S. Naval Observatory, which leaves 9 hours 11 minutes of daylight. By March 21 sunset is 7:30 p.m., on daylight time. Under a tall canopy on a rainy day it gets dim sooner, so start longer hikes early.

NPS says temperatures along the redwood coast stay fairly constant all year, in the mid-40s to low 60s°F, and that winters are cool with considerable rain. NOAA 1991-2020 normals at the Klamath station (USC00044577, 28 ft) put December's average high at 54°F and low at 38°F, and January's at 55°F and 39°F. December is the wettest month there, with about 15 inches of precipitation, and the station's snowfall normals are zero. Ice still happens: NPS names ice on the road as one reason the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway closes.

Common questions.

How cold are the redwoods in December?

Cool and wet. At the Klamath NOAA station, December averages a high of 54°F and a low of 38°F, and NPS gives a year-round range in the mid-40s to low 60s°F along the redwood coast. December is also the wettest month there, with about 15 inches of precipitation, so bring rain gear and layers.

Is Redwood National Park open all year?

Yes. Redwood National and State Parks are open year-round, though visitor centers and campgrounds keep seasonal schedules. In winter the Fern Canyon and Redwood Creek Trail footbridges are out, the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway can close for days after storms, and Mill Creek Campground is closed. Jedediah Smith Campground stays open, first-come, first-served.

Where these facts come from

Winter rain and temperatures come from the NPS weather page; year-round opening, seasonal schedules, the weather line, and navigation advice from the NPS operating hours page; winter visitor center hours from the park's NPS visitor center records on the NPS visitor centers page; winter snows in the Bald Hills from the NPS Bald Hills Road page; Cal-Barrel Road from the NPS scenic drives page. Road notes come from the NPS current conditions page and the NPS pages for the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, Howland Hill Road, and Bald Hills Road. Fern Canyon footbridges come from the NPS Fern Canyon page; the reservation window, fee, pets, and Davison Road from the NPS Fern Canyon reservations page; Redwood Creek footbridges from the NPS Redwood Creek Trail page; Tall Trees reservations from the NPS Tall Trees reservations page and the NPS Tall Trees hike page; 2026 footbridge status and Redwood Creek dispersed camping from the NPS current conditions page; elk from the NPS Watch Wild Elk page. Campground seasons and showers come from the NPS campgrounds data, the NPS developed campgrounds page, and California State Parks; backcountry permits from the NPS backcountry page and NPS camping page. Sunrise and sunset come from the U.S. Naval Observatory for 2026 in local clock time. Temperatures, precipitation, and snowfall are NOAA 1991-2020 normals at Klamath (USC00044577). Road lines are OpenStreetMap geometry routed by OSRM (© OpenStreetMap contributors). Crowd numbers are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package on NPS IRMA Stats. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.