Parking & Directions

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park has three separate vehicle entrances that do not connect by road inside the park. The main day-use area, with the visitor center and the Redwood Grove, is on Highway 9 in Felton. The campground is reached from Graham Hill Road in Scotts Valley. The Fall Creek Unit has its own trailhead parking on Felton Empire Road. Parking in the day-use area or campground costs $10 a car.

Getting There

From Highway 17, take the Mount Hermon Road exit and follow Mount Hermon Road until it ends at Graham Hill Road. From that junction California State Parks gives these directions:

• Day-use area (Redwood Grove, visitor center, picnic areas): turn right onto Graham Hill Road, then left onto Highway 9. The entrance is about 2 miles down on the left. The address is 101 North Big Trees Park Road, Felton.
• Campground: turn left onto Graham Hill Road. The entrance is about 2.5 miles down on the right, at 2591 Graham Hill Road, Scotts Valley.
• Fall Creek Unit: turn right onto Graham Hill Road and continue about half a mile; California State Parks puts the parking area on the right. The unit's trailheads are marked on Felton Empire Road off Highway 9, about a quarter mile west of Felton.

California State Parks puts the campground about 5 miles from downtown Santa Cruz.

Day-Use Parking

The day-use entrance road crosses the San Lorenzo River and leads to the park office and entrance station, the main parking lot, the picnic areas, the Mountain Parks Foundation Nature Store and the visitor center. An ADA-accessible restroom is in the main parking lot. The fee is $10 a car ($9 for seniors 62 and older), paid by phone through LAZ. See hours and fees for passes.

If the lot is full, California State Parks asks you to wait for a space before paying, because paying by phone does not reserve one.

Campground Parking

Vehicles bound for the campground must use the Graham Hill Road entrance east of Felton; you cannot drive through from the day-use area. A campsite comes with one vehicle; each extra vehicle is $10 a night and parks in the overflow lot in front of the campfire center. The longest trailer allowed is 31 feet and the longest camper or motorhome 35 feet, and there are no hookups or dump station. From the campground it is about a two-mile walk, or a five-minute drive, to the Redwood Grove.

Parking for the Garden of Eden

For the Garden of Eden, California State Parks says to park at the Ox Fire Road trailhead, 0.75 miles south of the main entrance on Highway 9, rather than in the day-use lot.

Parking for Fall Creek

Fall Creek is day use only. Park at the marked trailheads on Felton Empire Road. Dogs, bikes, camping, smoking and fires are not allowed there.

Buses and Groups

Buses pay $50 for 10 to 24 passengers and $100 for 25 or more. Weddings, parties and special events need a permit: call (831) 335-6324.

A Note on the Railroad

Private railroad tracks run through the park; the trains are those of Roaring Camp, a private business next to the park. California State Parks marks the tracks and trestles as private property and tells visitors to keep off them. Roaring Camp has its own address at 5401 Graham Hill Road, Felton.