Stout Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park: The Complete Visitor’s Guide

I stepped off the trail and into Stout Grove, and the road noise disappeared instantly. The air turned cool and damp. Then I looked up, and I kept looking until my neck would not tilt back any further. Trees over 300 feet tall surrounded me on every side, their trunks wider than my car, rising into a canopy so dense it blocked the sky. I had visited redwood groves before, but nothing had prepared me for this one. Stout Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park stopped me completely. I stood still for a full minute before I could move.

If you are planning a Northern California redwood trip and wondering which grove is actually worth the effort, this is it. This guide gives you every detail — history, directions, parking, trail breakdown, closure info, and honest tips from someone who has been there. I cover Northern California trails and parks in depth over at CA Travel Times, and Stout Grove is hands down one of the most breathtaking places I have visited.

Stout Grove: Quick Facts

What Is Stout Grove — And Why Is It So Special?

Stout Grove is a 44-acre old-growth redwood grove sitting at the heart of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park along the Smith River. Unlike most redwood forests, it has no thick understory — just a low fern carpet and wide open space between massive trunks, making the trees feel even more towering.

In 1929, Clara W. Stout donated this land to the Save the Redwoods League, making it the park’s first dedicated grove. Worth knowing — there is no entrance fee here, just an $8 campground day-use parking charge.

Directions, Trail Map & How to Get to Stout Grove

Getting to Stout Grove is part of the adventure. Both routes require Howland Hill Road — a narrow, unpaved dirt road winding through the park. No RVs or trailers allowed.

• Coming from the South (Highway 101 Northbound) About 2.5 miles south of Crescent City, turn north on Humboldt Road. Follow the signed access road off Howland Hill Road directly to the trailhead parking lot.
• Coming from the North (Highway 101 Southbound) Take Route 197 east for 6.8 miles, then turn left onto Route 199. Drive 2.8 miles past Jedediah Smith Campground, turn right on South Fork Road, then right again on Douglas Park Drive. Continue 2.3 miles to the Stout Grove parking turnoff.
• Summer Campground Route (Option 2) Park at the Jedediah Smith Campground Day Use Area ($8 fee). Walk the river trail upstream about half a mile and cross the seasonal hikers’ bridge. The footbridge is typically installed late June through late September, depending on river levels.

My honest tip: I used the campground route on my first visit because the trailhead lot was full. The walk along the Smith River — clear, emerald green, and completely peaceful — made the whole experience feel even more rewarding.

Stout Grove Trail Map — Clockwise Loop (Recommended)

The trail is a simple 0.6-mile loop descending gently about 75 feet into the grove. Hard to get lost, easy for all fitness levels.

• Start: Gentle descent from the parking area into the grove
• First Fork → Go Left: The most photogenic, densely packed trees are on this side — best for photography
• The Stout Tree: The grove’s largest tree with a protective platform around the base — stay on it
• Second Fork → Go Right: Stay on the Stout Grove Loop, away from the Hiouchi Trail
• River Spur: Short detour down to the Smith River cobble beach — worth it in summer for swimming and picnicking
• Final Fork → Go Right: Complete the loop back to the trailhead

Connecting trails: Hiouchi Trail (river access), River Trail (becomes Little Bald Hills Trail at 20 miles), and Mill Creek Trail heading south toward the Grove of the Titans.

Best Time to Visit Stout Grove

There is no bad time, but there are smarter times. Here is what I know from personal experience and from covering this park for CA Travel Times:

Is Stout Grove Open Right Now?

Stout Grove is generally open year-round and free to access. No permit or entrance fee is required. The grove itself rarely closes — what occasionally closes is Howland Hill Road, the primary vehicle access route.

Why Is Stout Grove Sometimes Closed?

Road closures on Howland Hill Road happen for a few specific reasons:

• Annual spring maintenance: The road typically closes for motorized vehicles for a few weeks in May before the summer season. In past years, the road has reopened by late May or early June.
• Storm damage: Heavy winter storms can bring large redwoods down across the road. A fallen tree once closed western (Crescent City) access for several days while crews removed it — but eastern access to Stout Grove remained open during that time.
• Construction work: In October 2025, the NPS completed culvert replacement along Howland Hill Road, requiring a temporary partial closure of up to seven business days.

Important: When the western section of Howland Hill Road closes, Stout Grove can still often be reached from the east. Always verify current conditions before your visit at the NPS Redwood National and State Parks conditions page or stop at the Hiouchi Visitor Center — the rangers there are knowledgeable and will give you the real situation on the ground.

Parking at Stout Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park 

Parking is the single biggest logistical challenge at Stout Grove, especially in summer. The trailhead lot is small — it holds roughly 15 to 20 cars — and it fills up fast on weekends and holidays. Visitors have been known to park up to half a mile down the road when the lot is full.

Smart parking tips:

• Arrive before 8:00 AM on summer weekends. By 9:30 AM on busy Saturdays, the lot is often completely full.
• If the trailhead lot is full, drive to the Jedediah Smith Campground Day Use Area and use the summer footbridge route instead.
• Weekday mornings in late spring or early fall are the sweet spot for an uncrowded experience.
• The $8 day-use fee at the campground is free with the America the Beautiful Pass or a California State Parks pass.

The Stout Grove Trail — Step-by-Step Walkthrough

The trail is a simple 0.6-mile loop with just 75 feet of elevation change — easy for families, older adults, and all fitness levels. Surface is packed earth, wide and even throughout.

Clockwise direction (recommended):

• Start: Gentle descent from the parking area — the steepest point of the entire hike
• First Fork → Go Left: Most photogenic trees are on this side, best for photos
• The Stout Tree: Largest tree in the grove, marked by a wooden platform — stay on it to protect the roots
• Second Fork → Go Right: Stay on the Stout Grove Loop, away from the Hiouchi Trail
• River Spur: Short detour to the Smith River cobble beach — great for swimming and picnicking in summer
• Final Fork → Go Right: Complete the loop back to the trailhead

Connecting trails:

• Hiouchi Trail — follows the Smith River to the campground
• River Trail — heads east, eventually becoming the 20-mile Little Bald Hills Trail
• Mill Creek Trail — leads south to the Grove of the Titans

The Stout Tree — The Grove’s Crown Jewel

One tree draws every visitor’s eye before they even realize what they are looking at. When you turn to the left on the trail, you quickly reach the grove’s largest tree — the Stout Tree. It is hard to miss, as it has a large platform around it, but there are no signs giving information about the tree.

That absence of interpretive signs is actually one of the things I love about this place. There is nothing between you and the tree. No plaque telling you how to feel about it. Just an enormous, ancient, silent giant standing there, doing what it has done for centuries. The platform keeps foot traffic from compacting the soil around its roots — please do stay on it.

Things to Do Near Stout Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

Stout Grove is the crown jewel of Jedediah Smith, but the park around it offers a full day’s worth of experiences. For a complete breakdown of the region’s best parks and trails, explore the National Parks guides at CA Travel Times.

Other trails worth doing in the park:

• Boy Scout Tree Trail — 5.6 miles out-and-back through dense old-growth to one of the park’s largest trees, ending at Fern Falls. Budget 3–4 hours.
• Simpson-Reed and Peterson Memorial Trails — About 1 mile combined. Jungle-like ferns as high as your eyeballs, big leaf maples, and several small footbridges. Great warm-up hike.
• Mill Creek Trail — 9.4 miles out-and-back through the Grove of the Titans, home to some of the largest known redwoods on earth.
• Grove of the Titans — Requires a permit. Absolutely extraordinary.

Howland Hill Road Scenic Drive

Even if you are not hiking, the drive along Howland Hill Road through the heart of the park is one of the finest drives in all of California. Beginning a couple miles east of Crescent City, a narrow, unpaved stretch of this scenic road travels through a forest of towering old-growth redwoods, following Mill Creek through the heart of the park. I recommend doing it as a loop — entering from Highway 199 heading east and returning via Howland Hill Road heading west (or vice versa).

Smith River Activities

You can fish, snorkel, or kayak in the Smith River — the longest major free-flowing river in California. October to February are typically the best months for salmon and steelhead fishing. Make sure to have a valid California fishing license. The river access near the campground is easy and beautiful, especially on warm summer afternoons.

Jedediah Smith Campground

The Jedediah Smith Campground is open year-round. Campsites can be reserved from May through September and are first-come, first-served the rest of the year. Campsites cost $35/night. Camping inside the park is a completely different experience from a day visit — waking up to fog drifting through the old-growth groves is something I would recommend to anyone.

For more on where to explore across the wider park area, the Redwood National Park guide at CA Travel Times covers accommodation, itineraries, and the best trails across all four park units.

Practical Tips Before You Go

• No dogs on the trail. They are allowed on roads and in the campground, but not on hiking trails.
• No RVs or trailers on Howland Hill Road. Not negotiable.
• No entrance fee to visit Stout Grove. Free to access.
• Vault restrooms are available at the trailhead. Running water restrooms are at the campground.
• No cell service inside the park. Download offline maps before you leave — Google Maps and AllTrails both support this.
• Bring layers even in summer. The grove stays noticeably cool and damp year-round.
• No interpretive signs inside the grove. There is nothing between you and the trees. That is the point.
• Leashed dogs are welcome on scenic roads and in the campground — just not on hiking trails.
• The Hiouchi Visitor Center, located next to the campground, is an excellent first stop. Rangers there can give you real-time conditions, maps, and recommendations tailored to your visit.

Final Verdict — Is Stout Grove Worth It?

Yes. Without question. I have explored a lot of redwood groves across Northern California — check out the best hikes in Redwood National and State Parks for a full comparison — and Stout Grove consistently sits at the top. It is not the grove with the absolute tallest trees or the most massive single specimens, but it is the most visually stunning. That open forest floor, those towering trunks, the quiet Smith River just a few hundred feet away — everything combines into something that feels almost too beautiful to be real.

The fact that it requires a narrow dirt road and a bit of planning is a feature, not a bug. It keeps the casual, drive-through visitors away. The people you meet at Stout Grove came here on purpose, and the atmosphere reflects that. It is calm, respectful, and genuinely awe-inspiring.