Forest Tour · Usal Redwood Forest
Explore four forest communities on a three-hour ecology and restoration tour covering 20–25 miles, with your guide driving the UTV and optional hiking along the way.
A living classroom
Discover Usal Redwood Forest as a living classroom on a three-hour guided ecology and forest restoration tour. A typical tour covers 20–25 miles through this conservation landscape, with your guide driving a side-by-side UTV between stops for observation, questions, and exploration.
Travel from hardwood ridges through mixed forests and redwood groves to fern-filled streamside habitats. Explore the connections among trees, native plants, fungi, lichens, wildlife, and watersheds, and learn how restoration supports forest recovery.
Your visit supports the Redwood Forest Foundation’s stewardship of Usal Redwood Forest.
Experience the forest. Choose to protect it.
Four forests in one adventure
Each forest community has its own microclimate. Notice the shifts in temperature, moisture, wind, and shade, and how they shape forest life.
Hardwood-dominated forests near the ridgetops.
Mixed forests on the slopes below the ridges.
Redwood-dominated forest, including places like the Enchanted Forest and the Grandmother Tree.
Riparian corridors filled with red alder and ferns, down to the North Fork of Usal Creek.
What you’ll discover
Learn about forest recovery, habitat restoration, watershed protection, ecological monitoring, and sustainable forest management, and how science and traditional ecological knowledge can inform stewardship of a healthier, more resilient forest.
Look closely at native plants, fungi, lichens, and signs of wildlife, and connect forest habitats with Roosevelt elk, eagles, owls, and salmon. At the North Fork of Usal Creek, learn why shade, water temperature, and sediment matter to stream life.
Discover places such as the Enchanted Forest, Candelabra Grove, and Grandmother Tree. Optional hiking of up to 5 miles, mostly downhill from the Ridgeline Trail to the Peter Douglas Trail, opens onto the Pacific, Usal Beach, and the valleys around them.
Wildlife sightings are never guaranteed. Routes, stops, and hiking distances vary with group interests, pace, weather, road conditions, and seasonal access.
How the tour runs
Arrive 15 minutes early to meet your guide and use the bathroom. Introductions and a safety briefing start the tour.
Your guide drives a route of about 20–25 miles, stopping at hardwood ridges, mixed forest, redwood groves and streamside habitat.
Time for questions, close looks, photos and optional hiking. Tell your guide what interests you at the start.
Finish back at the meeting point about three hours after departure.
Meet your guide
Chris Watkins is an outdoor guide, naturalist, and storyteller with a lifelong passion for California’s wild places.
As the Community Engagement Ambassador for the Redwood Forest Foundation, Chris connects people with the beauty, ecology, and conservation of the 50,000-acre Usal Redwood Forest through guided experiences, community outreach, and partnerships.
With a lifelong passion for foraging, Chris enjoys sharing his knowledge of edible and medicinal mushrooms and plants. His goal is simple: to inspire people to experience, understand, and protect the forest.
“Experience the forest. Choose to protect it.”
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Book your tour
Choose a morning or afternoon departure. Tours run rain or shine.
A minimum of two paid seats is needed for a tour to run. Solo travelers are welcome; we’ll do our best to find another guest to join you.
Full refund with 24 hours’ notice. Same-day cancellations are charged a $250 fee; no-shows are charged in full. Call to cancel.
Plan your visit
Meet at Hales Grove, about an hour’s drive north of Fort Bragg on Highway 1, 15 minutes before departure.
Look for the large log with “Hales Grove” painted in yellow on the left side of the highway, before the green cabin on the right. Park across the highway from the red cabin, and take care turning, parking, and crossing.
There’s a bathroom at Hales Grove and none along the forest route.
Questions
Your guide drives the side-by-side UTV throughout the tour. Guests ride as passengers and can focus on the scenery and stories of Usal Redwood Forest.
The tour lasts approximately three hours. Each UTV has seats for up to five guests, plus your guide.
Hiking is optional. Opportunities include up to 5 miles, mostly downhill, from the top of the groomed and maintained Ridgeline Trail to the Peter Douglas Trail, with views of the Pacific Ocean, Usal Beach, and surrounding valleys. Tell your guide your hiking interests at the start. Distance and other stops are tailored to the group, conditions, and time available within the three-hour tour.
Chips, cookies, and drinks are complimentary for all guests. A sandwich lunch is optional and costs an additional $20 per person. Snacks and drinks are available whether or not you purchase lunch.
Wear closed-toe shoes suitable for uneven ground and bring layers, sun protection, drinking water, and a camera. Choose comfortable walking shoes if you plan to hike.
Meet at Hales Grove 15 minutes before your scheduled tour departure. Allow approximately one hour to drive from Fort Bragg, plus your early-arrival time. Your booking confirmation and reminder include meeting and parking directions. A bathroom is available at Hales Grove before departure.
Keep an eye out for wildlife as you explore the forest. Sightings vary by season and conditions and are never guaranteed.
Routes and stops vary with group interests, pace, weather, road conditions, and seasonal access. Your guide balances scenic driving, forest stops, and optional hiking within the three-hour tour.
Your tour supports the Redwood Forest Foundation’s work to protect, restore, and sustainably manage Usal Redwood Forest. Along the way, your guide shares the connections between healthy forests, wildlife, and watersheds.
There is no age requirement to join the tour.
A bathroom is available at Hales Grove. There are no restroom facilities elsewhere along the forest route.
Yes! Tours run rain or shine. We only cancel for weather when high winds could bring down trees. Bring layers and rain gear when rain is forecast.
A minimum of two paid seats is required for each tour to operate. Solo travelers are welcome to book, but departure is pending until the two-paid-seat minimum is met. We’ll do our best to find another guest to join you. If the minimum isn’t met, you can purchase a second seat for $250 before applicable taxes and booking fees, or reschedule to another available departure.
